2 Kings 4:16

16 And he said, "At this time {next spring}, you [will be] embracing a son." She said, "No, my lord, [O] man of God! You must not tell a lie to 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 Then he said, "What may be done for her?" Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old."

15 And he said, "Call for her," so he called for her and she stood in the doorway.

16 And he said, "At this time {next spring}, you [will be] embracing a son." She said, "No, my lord, [O] man of God! You must not tell a lie to your servant!"

17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son {in the spring}, which Elisha had promised to her.

18 The child grew older, and it happened one day that he went out to his father [and] to the reapers.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "about that season as the time of life"