2 Kings 8:1

Jehoram Restores the Shunammite's Land

1 Now ¹Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the ²LORD has called for a famine, and ³it will even come on the land for seven years."

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 spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years."

2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

3 At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her field.

4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done."

5 As he was relating to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, "My lord , O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life."

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kin 4:18, 31-35
• 2. Psalms 105:16; Haggai 1:11
• 3. Genesis 41:27, 54

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "you and your"