2 Kings 4

2 KINGS CHAPTER 4

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil

      • The wife of a man from the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that he feared Yahweh, but now the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” Elisha asked her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing there except for a jar of oil.”Go around and ask all of your neighbors to lend you empty jars. Get as many as you can. Then go inside with your sons, shut the door behind you, and pour oil into all of these jars. Set each filled jar aside.” So she left and shut the door behind her and her sons. They kept bringing her jars and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she told one of her sons, “Bring me another jar.” But he answered, “There aren’t any more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. So she came and told the man of God, and he told her, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your sons can live on what is left over.”

        • ESV Archaeology Study Bible writes, “According to biblical law, a poverty-stricken Israelite could sell himself to a fellow Hebrew, but he was to be treated as a hired worker rather than a slave, and he and his family were to be freed in the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:39-46; cf Ex 21:1-6). Despite these regulations, Israelites at the times of Amos and Nehemiah abused the practice of debt slavery for their own gain (Amos 2:6; 8:6; Neh 5:1-13). Creditors could also forcibly take children from their parents as a form of payment, although they could often be redeemed (cf Ruth 4:1-12; Jer 32:6-15). Among the responsibilities of the kinsman-redeemer in an extended Israelite family was the maintenance or redemption of the person or dependents of a kinsman in debt (Lev 25:35-55). In the apparent absence of a kinsman of the widow in this story, Elisha, as the leader of the prophetic communities effectively takes on this role for her. The proceeds from the sale of the multiplied oil (cf 1 Kgs 17:7-16) will leave her and her sons with enough money to survive after she has paid off her debts.”

        • Guzik says, “The miracle was given according to the measure of her previous faith in borrowing vessels.” He then cites Spurgeon, “If she borrowed few vessels, she would have but little oil; if she borrowed many vessels they should all be filled, and she should have much oil. She was herself to measure out what she should have; and I believe that you and I, in the matter of spiritual blessings from God, have more to do with the measurement of our mercies than we think. We make our blessings little, because our prayers are little.”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible points out the significance of Elisha’s instruction to the widow to shut the door behind her, “Elisha was meeting a private need; the miracle was not for public show…Elisha was absent during the miracle so the woman and her son would recognize that the provision was by the Lord’s power.”

Elisha and the Shunammite Woman

      • One day Elisha went to Shunem. A wealthy woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there to eat. She said to her husband, “Look, I’m sure the man who passes our way often is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small upper room for him and furnish it with a bed, table, chair, and a lamp. Whenever he visits us, he can stay there.”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “Elisha’s dealings with the woman from Shunem are presented in two parallel sections (4:8-20, 21-37). Shunem was a border town in the tribal allotment to Issachar (Josh 19:18). Because the Shunemite woman recognized that Elisha was a true prophet- a holy man of God- she wished to provide hospitality for him during his frequent travels (see Isa 58:7; Heb 13:2; 3 Jn 1:5). A small room…on the roof, reached by an outside stairway, assured privacy for both Elisha and his hosts.”

      • One day Elisha came for a visit, went into the upper room, and rested there. He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” So he called her and she came to him. Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her: ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She replied, “No, I live among my own people.” So he asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her then?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is old.” Elisha said, “Ask her to come here.” So he called her and she came and stood in the doorway. Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will be holding a son.” She said, “No, my lord, oh man of God, don’t lie to your servant!” The woman did conceive, and she gave birth to a son about the same time the next year, just as Elisha had told her.

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “Elisha wanted to return some favor to his host. Gehazi served as an apprentice, as Elisha had served with Elijah (1 Kgs 19:21)…”

        • ESV Study Bible notes, “Elisha offers the Shunammite woman benefits, through his patronage, from the king or the commander of the army- two of the most powerful people in the land. She has no need of their help, however, because she is wealthy…and, living among her own kinfolk (my own people), has their support and protection…”

        • Guzik adds, “The woman who so generously provided material things for the prophet of God was now blessed by the God of the prophet, blessed beyond material things.”

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son

      • The boy grew older, and one day he went out to his father who was with the harvesters. He complained to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” So he picked him up and carried him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door behind her, and left. She called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys so I can hurry to the man of God and then come back.” He said, “Why go to him today? It’s not a new moon or a Sabbath.” She replied, “Everything is all right.” Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Lead on. Don’t slow down for me unless I tell you to.”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible says, “The implication is that it was the custom in Israel to consult prophets only on particular rest days and that to do anything else was unusual. Am 8:5 associates New Moons (marking the beginning of each month) with Sabbaths in terms of cessation of work when it attacks avaricious people for their anxiety that ‘the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat’ (cf also 1 Sam 20:5-34; Hos 2:11)…”

        • Guzik adds, “This shows the faith of the woman. She prepared for the resurrection of the boy, not his burial.”

      • So she went to Mount Carmel to visit the man of God. When he saw her coming from a distance, the man of God told his servant Gehazi, “Look, it’s the woman from Shunem. Run out to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you alright? Are your husband and your boy alright?’” She told Gehazi, “Everything is alright.” But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone- she is in bitter anguish, and Yahweh has hidden it from me and not told me.” She said to him, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t lie to me.’” Elisha told Gehazi, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, and go. Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone. Then place my staff on the boy’s face.” The boy’s mother said, “As surely as Yahweh lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So Elisha got up and followed her back.

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “Mount Carmel lay about twenty miles northwest of Shunem. The length of the trip and the woman’s obvious haste aroused Elijah’s suspicion that some tragedy concerning the child had occurred. The woman brushes off Gehazi’s inquiries; she was resolved to deal with no one but Elisha. With this sign of deep respect and supplication [grabbing hold of Elisha’s feet] the woman poured out her heart to Elisha (see Matt 28:9; Luke 8:41, 47; 17:16; Rev 1:17). The loss of her son undid all the joy she felt at his promised birth and seemed to make that birth a cruel deception. Elisha instructed Gehazi not to talk to anyone along the way, indicating the seriousness and urgency of the mission. Jesus gave similar instructions when he sent out the seventy-two disciples (Luke 10:4).”

        • On the staff that Elisha gave to Gehazi to place on the boy’s face, NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible notes, “This is a different Hebrew word than that used for Moses’ rod; it connotes a crutch or a cane. It appears that Elisha and Gehazi thought the staff would be enough to revive the boy…”

      • Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”

        • Speculation abounds as to why the boy didn’t return to life when Gehazi followed the instructions Elisha gave him.

        • Guzik comments, “Instead of going directly himself, Elisha sent his servant Gehazi with his staff. This seems to follow the previous pattern in Elisha’s ministry: He did not do things for people directly but gave them the opportunity to work with God and to trust Him for themselves. God told the alliance of kings to have ditches dug (2 Kings 3:16). God told the widow to gather vessels and pour the oil herself (2 Kings 4:1-7).”

          • Pulpit Commentary lists a number of instances from which parallels can be drawn, “…on some occasions it has pleased God to allow miracles to be wrought by the instrumentality of lifeless objects, as when Elisha’s hones resuscitated a dead man (2 Kings 13:21), and when virtue went out from the hem of our Lord’s garment (Mark 5:25-34), and still more remarkably, when ‘handkerchiefs or aprons from the body of Paul were brought unto the sick, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits were case out of them’ (Acts 19:12)…”

        • Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers says, “The Rabbis explain Gehazi’s failure by assuming that he had disobeyed his master’s injunction by loitering on the way. This is contradicted by the narrative itself. He had acted with all despatch. Others blame him on other grounds, which, in the absolute silence of the text, cannot be substantiated. The prophet says no word of censure when he receives the announcement of the failure.”

          • Those who’re interested in reading some of the Jewish speculations mentioned in the commentary above to may refer to this article from the Jewish Bible Quarterly titled “Gehazi and the Miracle Staff of Elisha.” I, however, agree with the conclusion stated by Ellicott’s Commentary- none of these can be substantiated.

      • When Elisha came into the house he saw the boy lying dead on his bed. He went in, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to Yahweh. Then he went up and lay on the boy: putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, and his hands on the boy’s hands. And as he stretched out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha got up, walked back and forth in the room, then went back and stretched himself upon him again. The boy sneezed 7 times, then opened his eyes. Elisha called for Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her, and when she came, he said, “Take your son.” She came and fell down at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.

        • Most commentators recognize, as noted by the NLT Illustrated Study Bible, that, “Elisha’s actions and faith in the Lord were similar to Elijah’s (1 Kgs 17:17-24).” However, as the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible pointed out back in 1 Kings, these actions are not without an interesting parallel that, for me, is nothing short of enigmatic:

          • “This verse [1 Kings 17:21] and 2 Ki 4:34-35 are among the most blatant examples of magical procedures used by Israel’s prophets. Incantation literature from Assyria indicates the belief that demons exercise power over an individual by touching part to part. It is an expression of possession. Here Elijah is imitating that procedure to reverse the effects as vitality and life force are transferred. Nonetheless, here, as the prayer indicates, the power of Yahweh is at work. In the ancient world, sharp lines were not drawn between magic and religion. Both are related to interacting with the world of the divine. Incantations in the ancient world also represented attempts to tap the power of deity through word of power, but in Israel, unlike her neighbors, God could not be bound or obligated by such words or by accompanying rituals. As is often seen to be the case in the OT, Yahweh regularly uses ideas and practices that are familiar to the Israelites in their culture to accomplish his work.”

        • In light of this, perhaps the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible comment on the curious action of Elisha instructing to Gehazi to place his staff on the boy’s head could have some explanatory power: “In Akkadian incantation texts, a staff is a component used in the exorcism of disease-causing spirits. Because the boy’s head was hurt, the staff is laid on the boy’s face.”

Elisha Purifies the Deadly Stew

      • When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he told his servant, “Put on the large pot and make a stew for the sons of the prophets.” One of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine. Not knowing what they were, he picked as many of its gourds as he could hold in his garment. Then he came back and cut them up into the stew. They served the stew for the men to eat, but as they began to eat, they cried out, “Oh man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they couldn’t eat it. Elisha said, “Then bring the flour.” Then he threw the flour into the pot and said, “Now serve it to the men and let them eat.” There was no longer anything harmful in the pot.

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “Like Bethel (2:3) and Jericho (2:5, 15), Gilgal was the center for a group of prophets (2:1). Elisha was the leader of these groups, and thus sat at the head of the table for meals.”

        • HCSB says, “The phrase ‘a famine’ is translated literally ‘the hunger.’ Because of the definite article, some scholars believe this is a reference to the seven-year famine of chapter 8, where the exact same expression occurs in the Hebrew.”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible notes, “The poisonous ingredient is generally considered to be ‘apples of Sodom’ (colocynths, a yellow gourd), which can be fatal.”

        • ESV Study Bible adds, “As with the salt thrown into the water at Jericho (2:21), the flour used by Elisha is a visible sign of the Lord’s power working through Elisha.”

Feeding of a Hundred

      • A man from Baal Shalishah came to bring food to the man of God- 20 loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest as well as some fresh grain. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” But Elisha’s servant said, “How can I feed 100 men with this?” He answered, “Give it to the people and let them eat, because this is what Yahweh says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” So he gave it to them, they ate, and had some left over in accordance with the word of Yahweh.

        • HCSB remarks, “Baal-shalishah was about 14 miles north of Lydda in the foothills of Ephraim, where Saul searched for the lost donkeys (1 Sam 9:3-4). Since the temple in Jerusalem was politically inaccessible, the believer gave the ‘first bread of the harvest’ (see Lev 23:20; Dt 18:4-5) for the support of the servants of Yahweh.”

        • Guzik adds, “In a miracle that anticipated Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000, Elisha commanded that a small amount of bread be served to 100 men…God promised not only to provide, but to provide beyond the immediate need. Elisha trusted the promise of God, acted upon it, and saw the promise miraculously fulfilled.”

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