2 Kings 4:16

16 Elisha said, "At this time next year you will have a son in your arms."^[a] Then she said, "No, my lord. Man of God, do not deceive your servant."

2 Kings 4:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 4:16

And he said, about this season
In the next year:

according to the time of life;
the usual time women go with child:

thou shalt embrace a son;
in thine arms, that shall be born of thee, which she should have in her lap, and in her bosom:

and she said, nay, my lord, do not lie unto thine handmaid;
or speak unto her what was not truth; it was so great, and so unaccountable, how it could be in her circumstances, that she could not believe it to be true, though she wished it might; or do not deceive me with vain and false words, or flatter me, jest with me, which would be unbecoming his character as a man of God, and prophet of the Lord; according to the Targum, she wished it might prove true, and she not deceived; see ( 2 Kings 4:28 ) .

2 Kings 4:16 In-Context

14 So he asked, "Then what should be done for her?" Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old."

15 "Call her," Elisha said. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway.

16 Elisha said, "At this time next year you will have a son in your arms." Then she said, "No, my lord. Man of God, do not deceive your servant."

17 The woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time the following year, as Elisha had promised her.

18 The child grew and one day went out to his father and the harvesters.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gn 18:9-15; Jdg 13:2-3; Lk 1:7-13