Bible Commentaries
2 Kings 4

Verse 1

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

There cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets. They were allowed to marry as well as the priests and Levites. Her husband, not enjoying the lucrative profits of business, had nothing but a professional income, which in that irreligous age would be precarious and very scanty, so that he was not in a condition to provide for his family, or to leave them in comfortable circumstances at his death. In fact, he had died insolvent.

The creditor is come to take ... my two sons to be bondmen. A Hebrew was permitted by the law (Leviticus 25:39; Deuteronomy 15:12) to sell himself, with his children, and another Hebrew to buy them, until the year of jubilee should set them free; but the purchaser was restricted from subjecting them to the rigorous service of a slave

(Leviticus 25:39-40). A thief might be sold, in order that by his service he might repay his theft (Exodus 22:2-3). But the law did not confer upon a creditor the power of selling an insolvent debtor. The practice had crept in through time; and to such an extent had it grown, that the sons and daughters of the debtor (Neb. 5:5), his wife, as well as his children (Matthew 18:25), nay, even the sons of a deceased debtor, were liable to be sold. The practice existed in the countries bordering on ancient Israel; and acts of cruelty similar to that which is related in this passage are frequently done in the East at the present day; for at Damascus, Bagdad, and Bokhara, the sons are taken as bondmen by the creditors of their father (see Joseph Wolf, 'Missionary Labours,' p. 493).

Verse 2

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. A pot - or cruet of oil. This comprising her whole stock of domestic utensils, he directs her to borrow empty vessels not a few; then, secluding herself with her children, she was to pour oil from her cruse into the borrowed vessels, and selling the oil, discharge the debt, and then maintain herself and family with the remainder.

Verses 3-5

Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 6

And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

The oil stayed - i:e., ceased to multiply; the benevolent object for which the miracle had been performed having been accomplished.

Verse 7

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 8

And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

Elisha passed to Shunem - now Sulam, in the plain of Esdraelon at the southwestern base of Little Hemon. The prophet in his journey was often entertained here by one of its pious and opulent inhabitants.

Verse 9

And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 10

Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

Let us make a little chamber - not build, but prepare it. She meant a room in the oleah, the porch, or gateway (Judges 2:20-23; 2 Samuel 18:33; 1 Kings 17:19), attached to the front of the house, leading into the court and inner apartments. The front of the house, excepting the door, is a dead wall, and hence, this room is called a chamber in the wall. It was usually appropriated to the use of strangers, or lodgers for a night, and from its seclusion, convenient for study and retirement.

Verses 11-12

And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 13

And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

What is to be done for thee? Wishing to testify his gratitude for the hospitable attentions of this family, he announced to her the birth of a son 'about this time next year.' The interest and importance of such an intelligence can only be estimated by considering that Oriental women, and Jewish in particular, connect ideas of disgrace with barrenness, and cherish a more ardent desire for children than women in any other part of the world (Genesis 18:10-15).

Verses 14-18

And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 19

And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

My head, my head! The cries of the boy, the part affected, and the season of the year, make it probable that he had been overtaken by a stroke of the sun. Pain, stupor, and inflammatory fever, are the symptoms of the disease, which is often fatal.

Verse 20

And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. He sat on her knees until noon, [ wayeesheb (H3427), sat; but the Septuagint seems to have read wayasheen; for it renders kai ekoimeethee epi ton gonatoon, and he slept on her knees].

Verse 21

And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 22

And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

She called unto her husband. Her heroic concealment of the death from her husband is not the least interest feature of the story.

Verse 23

And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

Wherefore will thou go to him today? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. It appears from the text that it was usual at this time to visit the prophets, and probably to make them present of victuals.

Verse 24

Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. Said to her servant, Drive, and go forward. It is usual for women to ride on asses, accompanied by a servant, who walks behind, and the drives beast with his stick, goading the animal at the speed required by his mistress. The Shunammite had to ride a journey of the five or six hours to the top of Carmel.

Verse 25

So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 26

Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

And she answered, It is well. Her answer was purposely brief and vague to Gehazi, for she reserved a full disclosure of her loss for the ear of the prophet himself. She had met Gehazi at the foot of the hill, and she stopped not in her ascent until she had disburdened her heavy-laden spirit at Elisha's feet. The violent paroxysm of grief into which she fell on approaching him, appeared to Gehazi an act of disrespect to his master. He was preparing to remove her when the prophet's observant eye perceived that she was overwhelmed with some unknown cause of distress. How great is a mother's love! how wondrous are the works of Providence! The Shunammite had not sought a son from the prophet-her child was in every respect the free gift of God. Was she then allowed to rejoice in the possession for a little, only to be pierced with sorrow by seeing the corpse of the cherished boy? Perish, doubt and unbelief! This event happened that "the works of God should be made manifest" in His prophet, "and for the glory of God."

Verses 27-28

And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 29

Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

Take my staff ... and lay ... upon the face of the child. The staff was probably an official rod of a certain form and size. Necromancers used to send their staff, with orders to the messengers to let it come in contact with nothing by the way that might dissipate or destroy the virtue imparted to it. Some have thought that Elisha himself entertained similar ideas, and was under an impression that the actual application of his staff would serve as well as the touch of his hand. But this is an imputation dishonourable to the character of the prophet. He wished to teach the Shunammite, who obviously placed too great dependence upon him, a memorable lesson to look to God. By sending his servant forward to lay his staff on the child, he raised her expectations, but at the same time taught her that his own help was unavailing - "there was neither voice nor hearing." The command, to "salute no man by the way," showed the urgency of the mission, not simply as requiring the avoidance of the tedious and unnecessary greetings so common in the East (Luke 10:1); but the exercise of faith and prayer. It could not be that Elisha himself expected his staff to raise to life the widow's child, for he must have known well that if he set about anything in his own strength, or expected anything from the means, without looking directly to God in and through the means, he would be rebuked, and left without success. But the act of Gehazi was allowed to fail, in order to free the Shunammite, and the people of Israel at large, of the superstitious notion of supposing a miraculous virtue resided in any person, or in any rod, and that it was only through earnest prayer and faith in the power of God, and for His glory, that this and every miracle was to be performed.

Verses 30-33

And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 34

And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

Lay upon the child ... - (see the notes at 1 Kings 17:21; Acts 20:10). Although this contact with a dead body would communicate ceremonial uncleanness, yet, in performing the great moral duties of piety and benevolence, positive laws were sometimes dispensed with, particularly by the prophets.

Verse 35

Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

The child sneezed seven times, and ... opened his eyes. These were the first acts of restored respiration, and they are described as successive steps. Miracles were for the most part performed instantaneously, but sometimes also they were advanced progressively toward completion, and until the Gospel dispensation, when the Spirit was poured out fully, they were performed as it were by effort, and as in this case, after partial failure (1 Kings 18:44-45; Mark 8:24-25). Some of the old Jewish writers held that this son became afterward the prophet Habakkuk, and consequently the earliest of the prophets whose collected writings are contained in Scripture; but this is a mere fancy.

Verses 36-37

And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 38

And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

There was a dearth in the land ... (see the notes at 2 Kings 8:1 .) the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. When receiving instruction, the scholars sat under their masters. This refers their being domiciled the same roof (cf. 2 Kings 6:1).

Set on the great pot. Since it is most likely that the Jewish would resemble the Egyptian "great pot," it is seen by the monumental paintings to have been a large goblet, with two long legs, which stood over the fire on the floor. The seethed pottage consisted of meat cut into small pieces, mixed with rice or meal, and vegetables.

Verse 39

And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

Went out into the field to gather herbs. Wild herbs are very extensively used by people in the East, even by those who possess kitchen-gardens. The fields are daily searched for mallows, asparagus, and other wild plants.

Wild vine, [ gepen (H1612) saadeh (H7704)] - 'vine of the field;' supposed to be the colo-cynth, a cucumber which, in its leaves, tendrils, and fruit, bears a strong resemblance to the wild vine. The 'gourds,' or fruit, are of the colour and size of an orange, bitter to the taste, causing colic, and exciting the nerves; largely eaten, they would occasion such a derangement of the stomach and bowels as to be followed by death. The meal which Elisha poured into the pot was a symbolic sign that the noxious quality of the herbs was removed.

Lap-full. The hyke, or large cloak or plaid, is thrown loosely over the left shoulder, and fastened under the right arm, so as to form a lap or apron.

Verses 40-41

So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 42

And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

Brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves. Loaves in the East are exceedingly small, something like our penny rolls.

Verse 43

And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. This was not a miracle of Elisha, but only a prediction of one by the word of the Lord; and thus it differed widely from those of Christ (Matthew 15:37; Mark 8:8; Luke 9:17; John 6:12).