2 Kings 4:24

24 Then she had the donkey saddled, and ordered the servant, "Make the donkey go as fast as it can, and don't slow down unless I tell you to."

2 Kings 4:24 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 4:24

Then she saddled an ass
Her servant did it by her order:

and said to her servant, drive, and go forward;
make all the haste he could:

slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee;
do not be afraid of riding too fast for me; if thou dost, I will tell thee; till then, keep on a good pace: Abarbinel says she walked afoot all the way, and ordered the man not to slacken his pace in riding for her, unless she called to him; and the Targum seems to favour this sense,

``do not press me to ride unless I call to thee;''

so that the ass was for Elijah to ride on; but one would think, that, as she was in haste, quicker dispatch would be made by her riding than by walking, see ( 2 Kings 4:22 ) .

2 Kings 4:24 In-Context

22 Then she called her husband and said to him, "Send a servant here with a donkey. I need to go to the prophet Elisha. I'll be back as soon as I can."

23 "Why do you have to go today?" her husband asked. "It's neither a Sabbath nor a New Moon Festival." "Never mind," she answered.

24 Then she had the donkey saddled, and ordered the servant, "Make the donkey go as fast as it can, and don't slow down unless I tell you to."

25 So she set out and went to Mount Carmel, where Elisha was. Elisha saw her coming while she was still some distance away, and he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, there comes the woman from Shunem!

26 Hurry to her and find out if everything is all right with her, her husband, and her son." She told Gehazi that everything was all right,