2 Kings 4:2

2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me. What do you have in your house?" "I don't have anything there at all," she said. "All I have is a little olive oil."

2 Kings 4:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 4:2

And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee?
&c.] Or can I do, being poor himself, and unable to relieve her out of his substance, and not knowing where to get anything for her; and so what could she expect from him? signifying, that he pitied her case, but all that he could do was to give her his best advice, and pray for her:

tell me what thou hast in thy house?
that she could part with and dispose of, in order to pay her debt; and satisfy her creditor:

and she said, thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a
pot of oil;
that is, nothing of any value; she might have some things, some sort of household goods, though perhaps she had parted with most of them in her poverty; this was the most valuable thing she had.

2 Kings 4:2 In-Context

1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha. She said, "My husband is dead. You know how much respect he had for the Lord. But he owed money to someone. And now that person is coming to take my two boys away. They will become his slaves."

2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me. What do you have in your house?" "I don't have anything there at all," she said. "All I have is a little olive oil."

3 Elisha said, "Go around to all of your neighbors. Ask them for empty jars. Get as many as you can.

4 Then go inside your house. Shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all of the jars. As each jar is filled, put it over to one side."

5 The woman left him. After that, she shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her. And she kept pouring.