2 Kings 8:1

1 Now Elisha had told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he had brought back to life, that the Lord was sending a famine on the land, which would last for seven years, and that she should leave with her family and go and live somewhere else. ¹

2 Kings 8:1 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 8:1

Then spoke Elisha unto the woman (whose son he had restored
to life)
His hostess at Shunem, ( 2 Kings 4:8-17 ) the following he said to her, not after the famine in Samaria, but before it, as some circumstances show:

saying, arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever
thou canst sojourn;
with the greatest safety to her person and property, and with the least danger to her moral and religious character:

for the Lord hath called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the
land seven years:
which Jarchi says was the famine that was in the days of Joel; it was, undoubtedly, on account of the idolatry of Israel, and was double the time of that in the days of Elijah.

2 Kings 8:1 In-Context

1 Now Elisha had told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he had brought back to life, that the Lord was sending a famine on the land, which would last for seven years, and that she should leave with her family and go and live somewhere else.

2 She had followed his instructions and had gone with her family to live in Philistia for the seven years.

3 At the end of the seven years she returned to Israel and went to the king to ask that her house and her land be restored to her.

4 She found the king talking with Gehazi, Elisha's servant; the king wanted to know about Elisha's miracles.

5 While Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead person back to life, the woman made her appeal to the king. Gehazi said to him, "Your Majesty, here is the woman and here is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!"

Cross References

• 1. 8.1 2 Kings 4.8-37.