1Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Jehovah. And the creditor is coming to take my two children to be his slaves. 2And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? And she said, Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a flask of oil. 3Then he said, Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors; empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; and pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones. 5So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not another vessel. And the oil stopped. 7Then she came and reported to the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest. 8And it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she prevailed upon him to eat food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn aside there to eat food. 9And she said to her husband, Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually. 10Please, let us make a small walled upper room; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn aside there. 11And the day came that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12And he said to Gehazi his servant, Summon this Shunammite. And when he had summoned her, she stood before him. 13And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What shall I do for you? Shall I speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army? She answered, I am dwelling among my own people. 14So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Truly, she has no son, and her husband is old. 15And he said, Summon her. When he had summoned her, she stood in the doorway. 16And he said, At the appointed time according to the time of life you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant! 17And the woman conceived and bore a son at the appointed time, according to the time of life, as Elisha had spoken to her. 18When the child was grown, it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19And he said to his father, My head, my head! So he said to a servant, Carry him to his mother. 20When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and died. 21And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22And she called to her husband, and said, Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back. 23And he said, Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath. And she said, It will be well. 24And she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, Lead on and go; do not slacken the pace for me unless I say so. 25So she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. And so it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, Behold, the Shunammite! 26Please run now to meet her, and say to her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. 27And when she came to the man of God at the hill, she took hold of his feet; and Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is bitter, and Jehovah has hidden it from me, and has not told me. 28And she said, Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me? 29Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the boy. 30And the mother of the boy said, As Jehovah lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So he arose and went after her. 31And Gehazi went on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the boy; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and reported to him, saying, The boy has not awakened. 32And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the boy was dead, lying on his bed. 33So he went in, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed unto Jehovah. 34And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the boy sneezed seven times, and the boy opened his eyes. 36And he summoned Gehazi and said, Summon this Shunammite. So he summoned her. And when she came in to him, he said, Take up your son. 37And she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground, and took up her son and went out. 38And Elisha returned to Gilgal. Now there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets. 39And one of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. 40And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat it. 41So he said, Then bring some flour. And he put it into the pot, and said, Pour it out for the people, that they may eat. And there was nothing harmful in the pot. 42And a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and fresh heads of grain in his sack. And he said, Give it to the people, that they may eat. 43But his servant said, What? Shall I set this before one hundred men? He said again, Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says Jehovah: They shall eat and have some left over. 44So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the Word of Jehovah.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 ELISHA AUGMENTS THE WIDOW'S OIL. (
2Kgs 4:1-7)
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 irreligious age, would be precarious and very scanty, so that he was not in a condition to provide for his family.
the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen--By the enactment of the law, a creditor was entitled to claim the person and children of the insolvent debtor, and compel them to serve him as bondmen till the year of jubilee should set them free.
2 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, [the widow] 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.
6 the oil stayed--that is, ceased to multiply; the benevolent object for which the miracle had been wrought having been accomplished.
8 PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (
2Kgs 4:8-17)
Elisha passed to Shunem--now Sulam, in the plain of Esdraelon, at the southwestern base of Little Hermon. The prophet, in his journey, was often entertained here by one of its pious and opulent inhabitants.
10 Let us make a little chamber--not build, but prepare it. She meant a room in the oleah, the porch, or gateway (
2Sam 18:33;
1Kgs 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 is usually appropriated to the use of strangers, or lodgers for a night, and, from its seclusion, convenient for study or retirement.
13 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 (
Gen 18:10-
Gen 18:15).
19 RAISES HER DEAD SON. (2Ki. 4:18-37)
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.
22 she called unto her husband--Her heroic concealment of the death from her husband is not the least interesting feature of the story.
24 Drive, and go forward--It is usual for women to ride on asses, accompanied by a servant, who walks behind and drives the beast with his stick, goading the animal at the speed required by his mistress. The Shunammite had to ride a journey of five or six hours to the top of Carmel.
26 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 till 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."
29 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 dishonorable 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 [the Shunammite's] 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. 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 to prove 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.
34 lay upon the child, &c.--(see
1Kgs 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.
35 the child sneezed seven times, and the child 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 towards completion (
1Kgs 18:44-45;
Mark 8:24-
Mark 8:25).
38 PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (
2Kgs 4:38-41)
there was a dearth in the land--(see on
2Kgs 8:1).
the sons of the prophets were sitting before him--When receiving instruction, the scholars sat under their masters. This refers to their being domiciled under the same roof (compare
2Kgs 6:1).
Set on the great pot--As 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.
39 went out into the field to gather herbs--Wild herbs are very extensively used by the people in the East, even by those who possess their own vegetable gardens. The fields are daily searched for mallow, asparagus, and other wild plants.
wild vine--literally, "the vine of the field," supposed to be the colocynth, a cucumber, which, in its leaves, tendrils, and fruit, bears a strong resemblance to the wild vine. The "gourds," or fruit, are of the color and size of an orange bitter to the taste, causing colic, and exciting the nerves, eaten freely 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, is thrown loosely over the left shoulder and fastened under the right arm, so as to form a lap or apron.
43 SATISFIES A HUNDRED MEN WITH TWENTY LOAVES. (
2Kgs 4:42-44)
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. Thus it differed widely from those of Christ (
Matt 15:37;
Mark 8:8;
Luke 9:17;
John 6:12).