2 Kings 4:1-6

1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, "Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant feared the LORD; and the creditor hath come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen."

2 And Elisha said unto her, "What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house?" And she said, "Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil."

3 Then he said, "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad from all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

4 And when thou hast come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full."

5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, "Bring me yet a vessel." And he said unto her, "There is not a vessel more." And the oil flow ceased.

2 Kings 4:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 4

This chapter treats of the miracles of Elisha, of his multiplying a poor widow's pot of oil for the payment of her husband's debts, 2Ki 4:1-7 of obtaining a son for a Shunamitish woman, who had been very hospitable to him, 2Ki 4:8-17, of his raising up her son to life when dead, 2Ki 4:18-37, of his curing the deadly pottage made of wild gourds, 2Ki 4:38-41, and of his feeding one hundred men with twenty barley loaves, 2Ki 4:42-44.