2 Kings 4:15-25

15 And he said, Call her; and he called her; and she stood in the doorway.
16 And he said, At this appointed time, when thy term is come, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that appointed time in the next year as Elisha had said to her.
18 And the child grew, and it came to pass one day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said to his father, My head, my head! And he said to the servant, Carry him to his mother.
20 And he carried him, and brought him to his mother; and he sat on her knees till noon, and died.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut [the door] upon him, and went out.
22 And she called to her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Why wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, [It is] well.
24 Then she saddled the ass, and said to her servant, Drive and go forward; slack not the riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 And she went and came to the man of God, to mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, there is the Shunammite:

2 Kings 4:15-25 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.

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Or 'at [this] time of the year' [lit. 'life'], as ver. 17; Gen. 18.14.
  • [b]. Lit. 'the.'
  • [c]. Heb. 'young man,' as ver. 19, and often.
  • [d]. Here, 'she-asses.'
  • [e]. Lit. 'Peace,' so also (4 times) in ver. 26.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.