2 Kings 8:3

3 It happened at the end of seven years that the woman returned from the land of [the] Philistines and went out to appeal to the king for her household and for her {properties}.

2 Kings 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 8:3

And it came to pass, at the seven years end, that the woman
returned out of the land of the Philistines
Either hearing that the famine was over, or believing that it was, the time being expired the prophet fixed for it:

and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house, and for her
land;
which her nearest relations in her absence had seized upon, as heirs to them; or those in whose hands she had intrusted them refused, upon her return, to deliver them to her; or the king's officers had seized upon them for him, as forfeited to the crown by her going out of the land without leave; and now she needed a friend to speak for her to the king, which, in time past, she had no occasion for, and thought she never should, see ( 2 Kings 4:13 ) .

2 Kings 8:3 In-Context

1 Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Get up and go, you and your household, and dwell as an alien wherever you can, for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will come to the land [for] seven years."

2 So the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God. She and her household went and dwelt as an alien in the land of [the] Philistines for seven years.

3 It happened at the end of seven years that the woman returned from the land of [the] Philistines and went out to appeal to the king for her household and for her {properties}.

4 Now the king [was] speaking to Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please tell me all of the great things which Elisha has done."

5 It happened that as he [was] telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, suddenly the woman whose son he had restored to life [was] crying out to the king about her household and about her field. Then Gehazi said, "My lord the king, this [is] the woman and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life!"

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "fields"