2 Kings4

Elisha performs several miracles, beginning with the multiplication of a widow's oil to pay her debts. He then blesses a hospitable Shunammite woman with a son, whom he later miraculously raises from the dead after the child suddenly dies. The chapter concludes with Elisha purifying poisoned food and miraculously feeding one hundred men with limited provisions during a famine.

Elisha Multiplies the Widow's Oil

The wife of one of the guild prophets complained to Elisha. "Your servant my husband died," she said, "and you know that he feared ADONAI. Now a creditor has come to take my two children as his slaves."

Elisha asked her, "What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" She answered, "Your servant has nothing in the house but a flask of oil."

Then he said, "Go, and borrow containers from all your neighbors, empty containers; and don't borrow just a few!

Then go in; shut the door, with you and your sons inside; and pour oil into all those containers; and as they are filled, put them aside."

So she left him and shut the door on herself and her sons. They brought her the containers while she poured.

When the containers were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another container"; but he answered, "There isn't another container." Then the oil stopped flowing.

She came and told the man of God; and he said, "Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; then you and your sons can live on what's left."

The Shunammite Woman Shows Hospitality

One day Elisha visited Shunem, and a well-to-do woman living there pressed him to stay and eat a meal. After this, whenever he came through, he stopped there for a meal.

She said to her husband, "I can see that this is a holy man of God who keeps stopping at our place.

Please, let's build him a little room on the roof. We'll put a bed and a table in it for him, and a stool and a candlestick. Then, whenever he comes to visit us, he can stay there."

One day Elisha came to visit there, and he went into the upper room to lie down.

He said to Geichazi his servant, "Call this Shunamit." He called her; and when she arrived,

he said to him, "Tell her this: 'You have shown us so much hospitality! What can I do to show my appreciation? Do you want me to say anything to the king for you? or to the commander of the army?" She answered, "I'm happy living as I do, among my own people."

He said, "What, then, is to be done for her?" Geichazi answered, "There's one thing - she doesn't have a son; and her husband is old.

Elisha said, "Call her." After he called her, she stood in the doorway.

He said, "Next year, when the season comes around, you will be holding a son." "No, my lord," she answered. "Man of God, don't lie to your servant!"

But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son the following year when the season came around, just as Elisha had said to her.

The Shunammite’s Son Dies

When the child was old enough, he went out one day to be with his father, who was with the reapers.

Suddenly he cried out to his father, "My head! My head hurts!" He said to his servant, "Carry him back to his mother."

When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he lay 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 on him and went out.

She called to her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants with a donkey. I must get to the man of God as fast as I can; I'll come straight back."

He asked, "Why are you going to him today? It isn't Rosh-Hodesh and it isn't Shabbat." She said, "It's all right."

Then she saddled the donkey and ordered her servant, "Drive as fast as you can; don't slow down for me unless I say so."

She set out and came to the man of God on Mount Karmel. When the man of God saw her in the distance, he said to Geichazi his servant, "Look, here comes that Shunamit.

Run now to meet her, and ask her, "Is everything all right with you? with your husband? with the child?" She answered, "Everything is all right."

But when she reached the man of God on the hill, she grabbed his feet. Geichazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone. She is in great distress, but ADONAI has hidden from me what it is, he hasn't told me."

Then she said, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn't I say not to deceive me?"

Then Elisha said to Geichazi, "Get dressed for action, take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, don't greet him; if anyone greets you, don't answer; and lay my staff on the child's face."

The mother of the child said, "As ADONAI lives, and as you live, I will not leave you. He got up and followed her.

Geichazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the child's face, but there was no sound or sign of life. So he went back to Elisha and told him, "The child didn't wake up."

When Elisha reached the house, there the child was, dead and laid on the bed.

Elisha Raises the Boy

He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to ADONAI.

Then he got up on the bed and lay on top of the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands. As he stretched himself out on the child, its flesh began to grow warm.

Then he went down, walked around in the house awhile, went back up and stretched himself out on the child again. The child sneezed seven times, then opened his eyes.

Elisha called Geichazi and said, "Call this Shunamit." So he called her; and when she came in to him, he said, "Pick up your son."

She entered, fell at his feet and prostrated herself on the floor. Then she picked up her son and went out.

Elisha Purifies the Poisoned Stew

Elisha went back to Gilgal. At the time, there was a famine in the land. The guild prophets were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, "Put the big pot on the fire, and boil some soup for the prophets."

One of them went out to the field to gather vegetables and came upon a wild vine, from which he filled the front of his cloak with wild squash. On returning he cut them up and put them into the stew; they didn't know what they were.

Then they poured it out for the men to eat; but on tasting it, they cried, "Man of God! There's death in that pot!" And they couldn't eat it.

But he said, "Bring some flour." He threw it in the pot, then said, "Pour it out for the people to eat." This time there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Elisha Feeds a Hundred Men

A man came from Ba'al-Shalishah bringing the man of God twenty loaves of bread made from the barley firstfruits and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, "Give this to the people to eat."

His servant said, "How am I to serve this to a hundred men?" But he said, "Give it to the people to eat; for ADONAI says that they will eat and have some left over."

So he served them, and they ate and had some left over, as ADONAI had said.

Study Notes for 2 Kings 4

Verse 1

The 'sons of the prophets' were a dedicated community group. The widow’s desperation stems from the law that allowed creditors to take children as bondmen (cf. Exod 21:7; Lev 25:39), highlighting her immediate financial and familial crisis.

Verse 2

Elisha’s question focuses on what God can work *with*. Even the smallest resource possessed by the faithful—a pot of oil—becomes the catalyst for divine provision.

Verse 3

The command to borrow 'not a few' vessels tests the woman's faith and obedience. The extent of the miracle depended directly on her preparation and expectation.

Verse 6

The oil stopped only when there were no more vessels to fill, illustrating that God’s provision is often limited only by the capacity of human faith or need.

Verse 7

Elisha ensures the woman not only pays her debt but also has enough resources remaining to sustain her and her children, demonstrating holistic divine care and security.

Verse 8

Shunem was a town in the Jezreel Valley. The description 'a great woman' (Hebrew: *ishshah g'dolah*) implies she was wealthy, influential, and pious, recognizing Elisha’s status.

Verse 10

Building a separate chamber on the roof ('alîyah) shows extraordinary reverence and hospitality, aiming to provide the prophet a quiet, dedicated space for rest and prayer.

Verse 13

Elisha offers to use his influence with the royal court. Her reply, 'I dwell among mine own people,' expresses contentment and independence, suggesting she trusts God’s provision over political favor.

Verse 14

Gehazi, Elisha's servant, identifies the woman's deep, unspoken need. Having a son was vital for inheritance, security, and continuation of the family line in Israelite society.

Verse 16

The promise of a son 'according to the time of life' (i.e., the next year) parallels the miraculous promise given to Abraham and Sarah (Gen 18:10), signaling a divine intervention in nature.

Verse 18

The child is old enough to join his father in the field during the harvest, suggesting several years have passed since his miraculous birth.

Verse 23

New Moons and Sabbaths were typical days for seeking prophetic counsel or instruction. Her brief answer, 'It shall be well,' expresses determined faith, masking the tragedy from her husband.

Verse 25

The woman travels approximately 20 miles to Mount Carmel, a significant location associated with Elisha’s powerful ministry, demonstrating her urgency and faith.

Verse 26

Her repeated affirmation, 'It is well' (shalom), is a powerful statement of belief, refusing to confess the death until she reaches the prophet himself.

Verse 27

Elisha admits that God had intentionally concealed the tragedy from him, demonstrating that prophetic knowledge is a gift received from God, not an inherent human quality.

Verse 28

Her grief-stricken question reminds Elisha that the pain of losing a miraculous gift is greater than the pain of never having received it at all.

Verse 29

Gehazi is sent ahead with Elisha's staff, symbolizing delegated authority. The command not to salute anyone emphasizes the extreme urgency of the mission (cf. Luke 10:4).

Verse 30

The mother’s refusal to leave Elisha shows she has faith not in the object (the staff) or the servant, but in Elisha's personal presence and God's power working through him directly.

Verse 31

The failure of the staff alone indicates that God's power sometimes requires the prophet's direct engagement, prayer, and sustained physical effort.

Verse 33

Elisha shuts the door, emphasizing the necessity of solitary prayer and direct communion with God when undertaking a momentous miracle.

Verse 34

This physical contact (mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes) is an intense act of identification and prayer, replicating the actions of Elijah when he raised the widow's son (1 Kings 17:21).

Verse 35

The process involves sustained prayer and effort. The boy sneezing seven times marks the completion of the restoration of life.

Verse 37

The woman's reaction is profound gratitude and worship, recognizing God’s miraculous power delivered through the prophet, receiving her son back as a second gift.

Verse 38

Elisha returns to Gilgal, a location associated with covenant renewal. The 'dearth in the land' (famine) demonstrates the ongoing hardship faced by the prophetic community.

Verse 39

The 'wild gourds' were likely colocynth, known for its bitter, purgative, and occasionally lethal properties, mistaken for edible vegetables due to starvation.

Verse 41

The addition of meal (flour) acts as a symbolic agent of purification. The miracle demonstrates God's ability to transform death and toxic situations into life and safety through the prophet's word.

Verse 42

The man brought 'firstfruits' (barley loaves and corn), an act of pious devotion that acknowledges God’s sovereignty. This offering becomes the source material for the next miracle.

Verse 43

The servant's disbelief highlights the extreme scarcity. Elisha’s confident command, 'for thus saith the LORD,' establishes the multiplication as a divinely guaranteed act, not human probability.

Verse 44

This miracle of mass feeding foreshadows the later ministry of Jesus (e.g., Matt 14:13-21) and concludes the chapter by demonstrating God's abundant provision through his prophet.

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2 Kings4

Elisha Multiplies the Widow's Oil

The Shunammite Woman Shows Hospitality

The Shunammite’s Son Dies

Elisha Raises the Boy

Elisha Purifies the Poisoned Stew

Elisha Feeds a Hundred Men

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