2 Kings 4

One of the wives of the men in the group of prophets cried out to Elisha. She said, "My husband, who served you, is dead. You know that he honored and obeyed the LORD. Now the man he owed money to is coming to take my two sons as his slaves."

1Now 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.

Note"Sons of the prophets" is not about family descent: it is the ordinary Hebrew way of naming members of a group or guild, so it means something like "the prophets' company", bands of men who lived together around a senior prophet such as Elisha. Under Israelite law a creditor could seize the children of a debtor and put them to work until the debt was cleared; a widow with no husband to earn had no other way to pay. "Thy servant" here is her husband, described that way as a member of Elisha's company; the polite speech of the time referred to oneself and one's household as the servants of the person being addressed.

2Elisha said to her, "What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" She said, "I have nothing in the house at all, except one small jar of olive oil."

2And 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.

NoteOlive oil was not only food: it was lamp fuel, medicine, cosmetic and a standard trade good, so a household's oil was also its cash. That she has only one small jar left is the measure of how poor she is; that oil can be sold is why the remedy works. "Thine handmaid" is again the deferential speech of the day, a woman speaking to a superior said "your maidservant" rather than "I."

3Then he said, "Go out and borrow jars from all your neighbors. Get empty ones, and do not get only a few.

3Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

4Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all those jars. As each one fills up, set it aside."

4And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

5So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They kept bringing jars to her, and she kept pouring.

5So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

6When the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one." He said to her, "There are no more jars." Then the oil stopped flowing.

6And 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.

7She came and told the man of God. He said, "Go, sell the oil and pay off your debt. You and your sons can live on what is left."

7Then 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.

8One day Elisha traveled to the town of Shunem. A woman of high standing lived there, and she urged him to stay and eat a meal. After that, whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.

8And 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.

NoteShunem was a village in the Jezreel valley in the north of Israel, on the route between Mount Gilboa and the Carmel ridge. "A great woman" in the King James does not mean large or admirable but well-off and socially prominent: she has land, servants and the means to build and furnish a guest room. "To eat bread" is a Hebrew idiom for taking a meal of any kind, not specifically bread.

9She said to her husband, "Look, I am sure that this man who keeps passing our way is a holy man of God.

9And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

Note"Man of God" was a standard title for a prophet, roughly "a man who belongs to God", someone recognized as speaking and acting on God's behalf. It is used of Elisha throughout this chapter in place of his name.

10Please let us build a small room for him on the roof. We can put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there."

10Let 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.

NoteHouses of this period had flat roofs reached by an outside stair, and a small room built on the roof was the normal way to add space; it also gave a guest privacy and a separate entrance. The King James "candlestick" means a lampstand: candles did not exist here, and the light would have been a small clay dish of olive oil with a wick.

11One day Elisha came there, went to the upstairs room, and lay down.

11And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

12He said to Gehazi, his servant, "Call this woman from Shunem." Gehazi called her, and she came and stood in front of Elisha.

12And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

13Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her this: You have gone to all this trouble for us. What can be done for you? Should we speak for you to the king, or to the commander of the army?" She answered, "I live among my own people."

13And 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.

NoteThe offer is patronage: a prophet with access to the court could get a hearing for someone with a legal claim, a tax problem or a dispute over land. Her reply, "I dwell among mine own people," declines it, she lives secure among her own kin and clan, who protect her interests, and she needs no outside protector.

14So Elisha said, "Then what can be done for her?" Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old."

14And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

NoteIn this society a woman's long-term security ran through a son: he inherited and held the family land, supported his mother in widowhood, and kept her within the household. With no son and an elderly husband, this woman faces losing both her standing and her livelihood when he dies, which is why Gehazi names it as the thing she lacks.

15Elisha said, "Call her." So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway.

15And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

16Elisha said, "About this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms." She said, "No, my lord. You are a man of God. Do not lie to me."

16And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.

NoteThe King James phrase "according to the time of life" means at the season when a pregnancy begun now would come to term: that is, this time next year. "Embrace a son" means hold a living child in her arms.

17But the woman became pregnant, and the next year at that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

17And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

18The child grew. One day he went out to his father, who was with the harvest workers.

18And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

NoteGrain harvest fell in the hot early-summer months, and the reapers worked in the open field through the heat of the day. The text gives no cause for the boy's collapse; readers have often taken it as sunstroke, but that is inference, not something the narrative states.

19He said to his father, "My head! My head!" His father said to a servant, "Carry him to his mother."

19And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

20The servant picked him up and brought him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.

20And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

21She went upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door on him and went out.

21And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

22She called to her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can hurry to the man of God and come back."

22And 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.

23He said, "Why go to him today? It is not the new moon festival, and it is not the Sabbath." She said, "It will be all right."

23And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

NoteThe new moon, the first day of each lunar month, and the weekly Sabbath were the regular rest days, when people were free of work and would travel to a prophet or a shrine. The husband's question assumes a visit to Elisha only makes sense on such a day; her answer, literally "peace," is a polite deflection rather than a statement that nothing is wrong.

24Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Drive the animal and keep going. Do not slow down for me unless I tell you to."

24Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

25So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her a long way off, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Look, there is that woman from Shunem.

25So 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:

NoteMount Carmel is the wooded ridge running to the Mediterranean coast, roughly twenty miles from Shunem across the Jezreel valley, several hours' hard riding, which is why she orders the servant not to slow down.

26Please run out to meet her and ask her, 'Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?'" She answered, "Everything is all right."

26Run 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.

NoteThe question and answer both use the Hebrew word shalom, "peace, wellbeing", the ordinary greeting, close to "is all well?" and "all is well." Her reply is the conventional polite form and does not commit her to saying the child is alive; she gives Gehazi nothing and keeps the news for Elisha.

27But when she reached the man of God on the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone. She is in bitter pain, and the LORD has hidden the reason from me and has not told me."

27And 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.

NoteGrasping a person's feet was the gesture of someone making an urgent plea, and it put the petitioner physically at the other's mercy. Gehazi moves to push her off because touching a holy man this way breached normal etiquette. "Her soul is vexed within her" means she is in bitter distress.

28Then she said, "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn't I say, 'Do not fool me'?"

28Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?

29Then Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your robe into your belt, take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, do not stop to greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Then lay my staff on the boy's face."

29Then 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.

NoteMen wore a long outer robe; pulling its skirts up and tucking them into the belt, "gird up thy loins", was what you did to run or work fast. Greetings in this culture were extended exchanges of enquiries and blessings, so the order not to greet anyone or answer a greeting is an order to let nothing delay him. A prophet's staff carried something of the prophet's own authority, which is why sending it ahead is meant to accomplish anything at all.

30But the boy's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as you live, I will not leave you." So Elisha got up and followed her.

30And 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.

Note"As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth" is a fixed oath formula, swearing by God's life and by the life of the person addressed, the strongest form of promise in ordinary speech, roughly "I swear I will not leave you."

31Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound and no response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not woken up."

31And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

32When Elisha came into the house, there was the boy, dead and lying on his bed.

32And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

33So he went in, shut the door with just the two of them inside, and prayed to the LORD.

33He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.

34Then he got on the bed and lay on top of the child, putting his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes on the boy's eyes, and his hands on the boy's hands. As he stretched himself out over the child, the child's body grew warm.

34And 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.

35Then Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the house. He went back and stretched himself out over the boy again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

35Then 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.

NoteThe Hebrew verb translated "sneezed" occurs only here and its exact sense is uncertain; it clearly describes a sudden sound or convulsion of breath from the child. Seven was the standard number for a complete or finished action.

36Elisha called Gehazi and said, "Call this woman from Shunem." So he called her, and she came in to Elisha. He said, "Pick up your son."

36And 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.

37She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed with her face to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.

37Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

38Elisha went back to Gilgal. There was a famine in the land. The group of prophets was sitting in front of him, and he said to his servant, "Put the big pot on the fire and boil stew for the prophets."

38And 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.

NoteGilgal was a settlement associated with the prophetic companies, distinct from the better-known Gilgal near Jericho. "Sitting before him" describes pupils seated in front of a teacher: this is a group under Elisha's instruction. The King James "dearth" means famine, and "seethe pottage" means boil a stew, usually of grain and whatever vegetables could be found.

39One of them went out to the field to gather plants to eat. He found a wild vine and picked as many wild gourds from it as his robe would hold. He came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.

39And 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.

NoteIn a famine men foraged for wild plants. The gourds are usually identified as colocynth, a melon-like fruit that grows on a trailing vine and looks edible but is intensely bitter and a violent purgative, dangerous in quantity. "His lap full" means he gathered them in the fold of his outer garment, the normal way of carrying a load.

40They poured out the stew for the men to eat. But as they were eating it, they cried out, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" They could not eat it.

40So 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.

41But he said, "Bring me some flour." He threw it into the pot and said, "Pour it out for the people to eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

41But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

42A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread made from the first grain of the harvest: twenty loaves of barley bread, along with fresh heads of grain still in the husk. Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat."

42And 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.

NoteBaal-shalishah was a town in the hill country, probably in Ephraim. "Bread of the firstfruits" was the offering owed from the first grain of the harvest, which the law directed to the priesthood; bringing it to a prophet instead is worth noticing. Barley was the cheaper grain and the first to ripen, so this is early-season food in a time of famine. The King James "corn" means grain of any kind, not maize, which was unknown outside the Americas until long after 1611.

43His servant said, "How can I set this in front of a hundred men?" But Elisha said again, "Give it to the people to eat. This is what the LORD says: 'They will eat, and they will have some left over.'"

43And 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.

NoteThe King James "servitor" simply means attendant or servant. The hundred men are the assembled prophetic company, an indication of how large these groups could be, and of why twenty small barley loaves seem absurdly inadequate.

44So the servant set it in front of them. They ate, and they had some left over, just as the LORD had said.

44So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.