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and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.</div><span class= "bld">IV.<p>IV.—VIII. THE WONDROUS WORKS OF ELISHA THE PROPHET.</span><p>(1-7) He multiplies the widow’s oil. (Comp. <a href="/1_kings/17-12.htm" title="And she said, As the LORD your God lives, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.">1Kings 17:12</a> <span class= "ital">seq</span>.)<p>(1) <span class= "bld">Of the wives of the sons of the prophets.</span>—This shows that “the sons of the prophets” were not young unmarried men leading a kind of monastic life under the control of their prophetic chief. Those who were heads of families must have had their own separate homes. (See Note on <a href="/1_kings/20-35.htm" title="And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray you. And the man refused to smite him.">1Kings 20:35</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord.</span>—She makes this the ground of her claim on the prophet’s assistance. In <a href="/1_kings/18-3.htm" title="And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly:">1Kings 18:3</a>; <a href="/1_kings/18-12.htm" title="And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry you where I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he shall slay me: but I your servant fear the LORD from my youth.">1Kings 18:12</a> it is said of Obadiah, Ahab’s steward, that he “feared the Lord,” and on account of this slight resemblance, the Targum, Josephus, and Ephrem Syrus identify the dead man of this verse with Obadiah, who is supposed to have spent all his property in maintaining the prophets (<a href="/1_kings/18-4.htm" title="For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)">1Kings 18:4</a>) (!) Possibly the widow meant to say that her husband’s debts were not due to profligate living (<span class= "ital">Thenius</span>).<p><span class= "bld">The creditor is come to take unto him my two sons.</span>—According to the law (<a href="/leviticus/25-39.htm" title="And if your brother that dwells by you be waxen poor, and be sold to you; you shall not compel him to serve as a bondservant:">Leviticus 25:39</a>). They would have to continue in servitude until the year of jubilee. The ancient Roman law was more severe, for it contained no provision for the future release of the unhappy debtor. (Comp. also <a href="/matthew/18-26.htm" title="The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.">Matthew 18:26</a>, and Notes.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-2.htm">2 Kings 4:2</a></div><div class="verse">And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">What hast thou?</span>—The form of the pronoun here, and in <a href="/2_kings/4-3.htm" title="Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.">2Kings 4:3</a>; <a href="/2_kings/4-7.htm" title="Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your children of the rest.">2Kings 4:7</a>; <a href="/2_kings/4-16.htm" title="And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.">2Kings 4:16</a>; <a href="/2_kings/4-23.htm" title="And he said, Why will you go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.">2Kings 4:23</a> <span class= "ital">infra</span>, is peculiar, and points, as the present writer believes, to the northern origin of the narrative, rather than to later composition.<p><span class= "bld">A pot of oil.</span>—Usually explained, <span class= "ital">vas unguentarium</span>, an “oil-flask.” Keil says that <span class= "ital">’āsûk</span> rather denotes “anointing,” <span class= "ital">unctio</span>, and <span class= "ital">’āsûk shèmen</span>, “an anointing in (or with) oil,” i.e., oil enough for an anointing. But it seems better to take the word as a verb: “save (whereby) I may anoint myself with oil” (<a href="/micah/6-15.htm" title="You shall sow, but you shall not reap; you shall tread the olives, but you shall not anoint you with oil; and sweet wine, but shall not drink wine.">Micah 6:15</a>). Vulgate, “parum olei, quo ungar.” The Jews, like the Greeks and Romans, anointed themselves after the bath (<a href="/2_samuel/12-20.htm" title="Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.">2Samuel 12:20</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-3.htm">2 Kings 4:3</a></div><div class="verse">Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, <i>even</i> empty vessels; borrow not a few.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">Abroad.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">from the outside</span> (of the house); out of doors.<p><span class= "bld">Borrow not a few.</span>—See margin. <span class= "ital">Do not scant</span>, or <span class= "ital">stint</span>, namely, to borrow.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-4.htm">2 Kings 4:4</a></div><div class="verse">And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.</div>(4) <span class= "bld">And when . . . thou shalt shut.</span>—And go in and shut the door. The object was to avoid disturbance from without; perhaps, also, because publicity was undesirable in the case of such a miracle. (Comp. our Lord’s injunction of secrecy on those whom He healed, and His exclusion of the people, in <a href="/luke/8-51.htm" title="And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.">Luke 8:51</a>; <a href="/luke/8-54.htm" title="And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.">Luke 8:54</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Thou shalt set aside.</span>—By the help of thy sons (<a href="/context/2_kings/4-5.htm" title="So she went from him, and shut the door on her and on her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.">2Kings 4:5-6</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-5.htm">2 Kings 4:5</a></div><div class="verse">So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought <i>the vessels</i> to her; and she poured out.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">From him.</span>—<span class= "ital">Mē’ittô</span>, the correct form. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/3-11.htm" title="But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.">2Kings 3:11</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Who brought . . . poured out.</span>—There should be a semicolon at “sons.” The rest is literally, <span class= "ital">They were bringing to her, and she was pouring continually</span> (<span class= "ital">mĕyaççèqeth</span>, only here). She did not leave her pouring. The story is evidently abridged in this verse.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-6.htm">2 Kings 4:6</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, <i>There is</i> not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">Her son.</span>—Probably the eldest. The LXX. has plural here and in the verb that follows.<p><span class= "bld">Stayed.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">stood</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, halted, stopped. (Comp. <a href="/luke/8-44.htm" title="Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.">Luke 8:44</a>, <span class= "greekheb">η</span>̔ <span class= "greekheb">ρ</span>̔<span class= "greekheb">υ</span>́<span class= "greekheb">σις ἔστη</span>.) Bähr makes the word mean <span class= "ital">continued</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, to flow (!).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-7.htm">2 Kings 4:7</a></div><div class="verse">Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">Then she came.</span>—<span class= "ital">And she went in.</span><p><span class= "bld">He said.</span>—<span class= "bld">LXX</span>., “Elisha said.”<p><span class= "bld">Thy debt</span>.—Right. Margin incorrect.<p><span class= "bld">And live thou and thy children.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">and thou—thy sons—thou mayest live</span>. Clearly “and” has fallen out before the second word. Many MSS. and all the versions have it.<p><span class= "bld">Thou.</span>—’<span class= "ital">Attî</span>, an archaism, perhaps retained in the dialect of northern Israel (<a href="/1_kings/14-2.htm" title="And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray you, and disguise yourself, that you be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get you to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.">1Kings 14:2</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Of the rest.</span>—<span class= "ital">On what is left over</span>—i.e., of the price of the oil.<p>(8–37) The Shunammitess and her son.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-8.htm">2 Kings 4:8</a></div><div class="verse">And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where <i>was</i> a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And <i>so</i> it was, <i>that</i> as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">And it fell on a day.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">And it came to pass at that time.</span> Literally, <span class= "ital">during that day</span>, referring to the period of the miracle just related. Perhaps, too, the contrast of the poor and rich woman is intentional.<p><span class= "bld">Passed.</span>—<span class= "ital">Crossed over—scil</span>., the plain of Jezreel, which he would have to do, whether he went from Samaria, or from Carmel to Shunem, which lay on the slope of Little Hermon, about midway between the two.<p><span class= "bld">A great woman</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, of high rank, or rich (<a href="/1_samuel/25-2.htm" title="And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.">1Samuel 25:2</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/19-33.htm" title="And the king said to Barzillai, Come you over with me, and I will feed you with me in Jerusalem.">2Samuel 19:33</a>). Rabbinic tradition identifies her with Abishag the Shunammite of <a href="/1_kings/1-3.htm" title="So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.">1Kings 1:3</a> (!). In that case she must have been at this time more than 200 years old.<p><span class= "bld">So it was.</span>—<span class= "ital">It came to pass.</span><p><span class= "bld">Passed by</span>.—<span class= "ital">Crossed over</span>, as above.<p><span class= "bld">He turned in.</span>—<span class= "ital">He would turn aside</span> (frequentative). For the phrase, see <a href="/genesis/19-2.htm" title="And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, No; but we will abide in the street all night.">Genesis 19:2</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-9.htm">2 Kings 4:9</a></div><div class="verse">And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this <i>is</i> an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.</div>(9) <span class= "bld">An holy man of God.</span>—The term “holy” is not a merely ornamental or conventional epithet of the “man of God” (<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, prophet) as such, but denotes the special moral elevation of Elisha.<p><span class= "bld">Continually.</span>—<span class= "ital">At stated intervals, regularly.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-10.htm">2 Kings 4:10</a></div><div class="verse">Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.</div>(</span>10<span class= "ital">)</span> <span class= "bld">A little chamber . . . on the wall.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">a little upper chamber</span> (‘<span class= "ital">alîyāh</span>) <span class= "ital">with walls</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, a chamber on the roof of the house, walled on each side as a protection against the weather. (Comp. <a href="/1_kings/17-19.htm" title="And he said to her, Give me your son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed.">1Kings 17:19</a>.) Here the prophet would be secure from all interruption or intrusion on his privacy, and so would be likely to honour the house longer with his presence.<p><span class= "bld">A bed.</span>—The four things mentioned are the only essentials in Oriental furnishing.<p><span class= "bld">A stool.</span>—<span class= "ital">A chair of state.</span> The same word means throne.<p><span class= "bld">Candlestick.—</span><span class= "ital">Lamp-stand</span><span class= "bld">.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-11.htm">2 Kings 4:11</a></div><div class="verse">And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.</div>(11) <span class= "bld">And it fell on a day.</span>—See Note on <a href="/2_kings/4-8.htm" title="And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.">2Kings 4:8</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Chamber.</span><span class= "ital">—Upper chamber.</span><p><span class= "bld">Lay</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, lay down to rest.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-12.htm">2 Kings 4:12</a></div><div class="verse">And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">Gehazi his servant</span>.—First mentioned here. His name means “valley of vision,” and is perhaps derived from his native place, which may have got its name from being a haunt of prophets.<p><span class= "bld">His servant.</span>—<span class= "ital">His young man</span> (<a href="/genesis/22-3.htm" title="And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him.">Genesis 22:3</a>).<p><span class= "bld">She stood before him</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, before Gehazi. The sentence, “And when he had called her, she stood before him,” is an anticipation of the result, and might be placed within a parenthesis.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-13.htm">2 Kings 4:13</a></div><div class="verse">And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what <i>is</i> to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">And he said unto him</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, Elisha, as he lay on the bed (<a href="/2_kings/4-11.htm" title="And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.">2Kings 4:11</a>), had charged Gehazi to say this when he called their hostess. It is hardly likely that Elisha communicated with her through his servant in order to save his own dignity. He may have thought she would express her wishes more freely to Gehazi than to himself.<p><span class= "bld">Thou hast been careful . . . with all this care.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">trembled all this trembling</span>. Comp. <a href="/luke/10-41.htm" title="And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things:">Luke 10:41</a> (<span class= "greekheb">τυρβα</span>́ζῃ).<p><span class= "bld">Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king?</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">is it to speak for thee to the king?</span> that is, dost thou stand in need of an advocate at court? Is there any boon thou desirest from the king? This shows what influence Elisha enjoyed at the time: but it does not <span class= "ital">prove</span> that Jehu, whom he anointed, was already on the throne, for Jehoram respected and probably feared the prophet.<p><span class= "bld">The captain of the host.</span>—The commander-in- chief, who was the most powerful person next the king.<p><span class= "bld">I dwell among mine own people.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">In the midst of my people I am dwelling</span>—<span class= "ital">scil</span>., far from the court and courtly interests. I have nothing to seek from such exalted personages; I am a mere commoner living quietly in the country.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-14.htm">2 Kings 4:14</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, What then <i>is</i> to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">And he said</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, when Gehazi had reported the woman’s reply.<p><span class= "bld">She hath no child.</span>—Which was at once a misfortune and a reproach. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/30-23.htm" title="And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God has taken away my reproach:">Genesis 30:23</a>; <a href="/context/1_samuel/1-6.htm" title="And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.">1Samuel 1:6-7</a>; <a href="/luke/1-25.htm" title="Thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.">Luke 1:25</a>; <a href="/context/deuteronomy/7-13.htm" title="And he will love you, and bless you, and multiply you: he will also bless the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your land, your corn, and your wine, and your oil, the increase of your cows, and the flocks of your sheep, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you.">Deuteronomy 7:13-14</a>; <a href="/context/psalms/128-3.htm" title="Your wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of your house: your children like olive plants round about your table.">Psalm 128:3-4</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-15.htm">2 Kings 4:15</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">Call her.</span>—The Shunammite is now summoned into the presence of the prophet himself.<p><span class= "bld">She stood.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">took her stand.</span> Modesty, or reverence for Elisha, prevented her from going farther.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-16.htm">2 Kings 4:16</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, <i>thou</i> man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">About this season.</span>—<span class= "ital">At this set time</span>.<p><span class= "bld">According to the time of life.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">at the reviving time—i.e.</span>, next spring; or, <span class= "ital">when the time revives</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, in the following year: a phrase occurring in <a href="/genesis/18-10.htm" title="And he said, I will certainly return to you according to the time of life; and, see, Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.">Genesis 18:10</a>; <a href="/genesis/18-15.htm" title="Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, No; but you did laugh.">Genesis 18:15</a>. Böttcher renders, “when the year has revolved,” assuming the ground meaning of the term “life” to be something <span class= "ital">joined in a circle</span>.<p><span class= "bld">Thou shalt embrace.</span>—<span class= "ital">Thou art about to embrace.</span><p><span class= "bld">Do not lie</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, raise no delusive hopes. (Comp. <a href="/isaiah/58-11.htm" title="And the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.">Isaiah 58:11</a>.) We can imagine the emotion with which this would be said. (Comp. the incredulity of Sarah, <a href="/context/genesis/18-12.htm" title="Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?">Genesis 18:12-13</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-17.htm">2 Kings 4:17</a></div><div class="verse">And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.</div>(17) <span class= "bld">And the woman conceived.</span>—Comp. with this verse <a href="/genesis/21-2.htm" title="For Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.">Genesis 21:2</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Said.</span>—<span class= "ital">Promised.</span><p><span class= "bld">According to the time of life.</span>—See Note on <a href="/2_kings/4-16.htm" title="And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.">2Kings 4:16</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-18.htm">2 Kings 4:18</a></div><div class="verse">And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.</div>(18) <span class= "bld">It fell on a day.</span>—See Note on <a href="/2_kings/4-8.htm" title="And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.">2Kings 4:8</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-19.htm">2 Kings 4:19</a></div><div class="verse">And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.</div>(19) <span class= "bld">My head, my head.</span>—The boy had a sunstroke. It was the hot season of harvest, and his head was probably uncovered.<p><span class= "bld">A lad.</span>—<span class= "ital">Rather, the young man.</span> The servant waiting on him.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-20.htm">2 Kings 4:20</a></div><div class="verse">And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and <i>then</i> died.</div>(20) <span class= "bld">Taken</span><span class= "ital">.</span>—<span class= "ital">Carried.</span><p><span class= "bld">Brought him.</span>—<span class= "ital">Brought him in</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> in-doors.<p><span class= "bld">Till noon.</span>—We gather from this that the boy was hurt in the forenoon.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-21.htm">2 Kings 4:21</a></div><div class="verse">And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut <i>the door</i> upon him, and went out.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">Laid him on the bed of the man of God.</span>—She wished to keep the death secret, and the corpse inviolate, during her intended absence.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-22.htm">2 Kings 4:22</a></div><div class="verse">And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.</div>(22) <span class= "bld">One of the young men.</span>—To lead and drive the ass.<p><span class= "bld">Asses.</span>—<span class= "ital">She-asses.</span><p><span class= "bld">That I may run.</span>—Notice the striking <span class= "ital">naturalness</span> of the language, in which she promises to be back soon.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-23.htm">2 Kings 4:23</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? <i>it is</i> neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, <i>It shall be</i> well.</div>(23) <span class= "bld">Wiltt thou go.</span>—<span class= "ital">Art thou going</span>. Archaic forms of the pronoun and participle are here used.<p><span class= "bld">It is neither new moon, nor sabbath.</span>—Comp. <a href="/amos/8-5.htm" title="Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?">Amos 8:5</a>. This remark is interesting, because it implies that the faithful in the northern kingdom were wont to visit prophets on these holy days for the sake of religious instruction and edification. Thenius suggests a doubt whether the later practice of resorting to the Scribes on these days has not here been transferred by an anachronism to the days of Elisha. (Comp. <a href="/numbers/18-11.htm" title="And this is yours; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in your house shall eat of it.">Numbers 18:11</a> <span class= "ital">seq</span>.; <a href="/leviticus/23-3.htm" title="Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.">Leviticus 23:3</a>, for the legal mode of observing new moons and Sabbath days.)<p><span class= "bld">It shall be well.</span>—Omit <span class= "ital">it shall be</span>. The expression may be equivalent to our common “all right;” admitting the truth of what is said, yet persisting in one’s purpose. She did not want to be delayed, nor to have her faith shaken by argument.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-24.htm">2 Kings 4:24</a></div><div class="verse">Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not <i>thy</i> riding for me, except I bid thee.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">Then she saddled an ass.</span>—<span class= "ital">And she saddled the ass</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, which the young man brought, and probably saddled at her bidding.<p><span class= "bld">Slack not thy riding for me.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">restrain me not from riding</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, do not stop, or slacken speed. A halt for rest might naturally be taken, as the distance was considerable.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-25.htm">2 Kings 4:25</a></div><div class="verse">So she went and came unto 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, <i>yonder is</i> that Shunammite:</div>(25) <span class= "bld">To mount Carmel.</span>—Elisha, then, must have dwelt there at least occasionally. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/4-9.htm" title="And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passes by us continually.">2Kings 4:9</a>.) Carmel probably served as a fixed centre of prophetic teaching for the north, as Gilgal, Beth-el, and Jericho for the south. (Comp. also Elisha’s sacrifice there, <a href="/1_kings/18-31.htm" title="And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be your name:">1Kings 18:31</a> <span class= "ital">seq</span>.)<p><span class= "bld">Afar off.</span>—The same word (<span class= "ital">minnèged</span>) as to <span class= "ital">view</span> (chap <a href="/2_kings/2-7.htm" title="And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.">2Kings 2:7</a>; <a href="/2_kings/2-15.htm" title="And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.">2Kings 2:15</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Shunammite.</span>—Syriac, <span class= "ital">Shulamite</span>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-26.htm">2 Kings 4:26</a></div><div class="verse">Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, <i>Is it</i> well with thee? <i>is it</i> well with thy husband? <i>is it</i> well with the child? And she answered, <i>It is</i> well.</div>(26) <span class= "bld">Run now, I pray thee, to meet her.</span>—This perhaps indicates the respect in which Elisha held the Shunammitess. But it may denote surprise and apprehension at an <span class= "ital">unusual</span> visit. Hence the inquiries about each member of the family.<p><span class= "bld">It is well.</span>—She said this merely to avoid further explanation. She would open her grief to the prophet’s own ear, and to none other.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-27.htm">2 Kings 4:27</a></div><div class="verse">And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul <i>is</i> vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid <i>it</i> from me, and hath not told me.</div>(27) <span class= "bld">To the hill.</span>—Probably to the summit.<p><span class= "bld">She caught him by the feet.</span>—<span class= "ital">She laid hold of</span> (clasped) <span class= "ital">his feet</span>. Assuming the posture of an humble and urgent suppliant, and no doubt pouring out a flood of passionate entreaties for help.<p><span class= "bld">But</span> (<span class= "ital">and</span>) <span class= "bld">Gehazi came near to thrust her away.</span>—He thought her vehemence a trespass upon the dignity of his master. (Comp. <a href="/matthew/19-13.htm" title="Then were there brought to him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.">Matthew 19:13</a>; <a href="/john/4-27.htm" title="And on this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seek you? or, Why talk you with her?">John 4:27</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">The Lord hath hid it from me.</span>—Supernatural knowledge of every event was not a characteristic of the gift of prophecy. (Comp. <a href="/2_samuel/7-3.htm" title="And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you.">2Samuel 7:3</a> <span class= "ital">seq.</span> for a somewhat similar case of ignorance on the part of a prophet.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-28.htm">2 Kings 4:28</a></div><div class="verse">Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?</div>(28) <span class= "bld">Then.</span>—<span class= "ital">And</span>; so in <a href="/2_kings/4-29.htm" title="Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute you, answer him not again: and lay my staff on the face of the child.">2Kings 4:29</a>; <a href="/2_kings/4-35.htm" title="Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself on him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.">2Kings 4:35</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Did I desire</span> (<span class= "ital">ask</span>) <span class= "bld">a son of my lord?</span>—Only the conclusion of her appeal is given. She says, Better to have had no son, than to have had one and lost him. The opposite of our poet’s<p>“‘Tis better to have loved and lost,<p>Than never to have loved at all.”<p>But this last is the fruit of reflection; <span class= "ital">her</span> words are the spontaneous outflow of a mother’s poignant sorrow. Or, perhaps, we should understand that grief does not allow her to specify the cause directly; she leaves the prophet to infer <span class= "ital">that</span> from her questions.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-29.htm">2 Kings 4:29</a></div><div class="verse">Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.</div>(29) <span class= "bld">If thou meet any man, salute him not.</span>—An injunction of utmost <span class= "ital">haste</span>. (Comp. the similar words of our Saviour, <a href="/luke/10-4.htm" title="Carry neither purse, nor money, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.">Luke 10:4</a>.) A short greeting might end in a long halt. “Orientals lose much time in tedious salutations” (<span class= "ital">Keil</span>).<p><span class= "bld">Lay my staff upon the face of the child.</span>—It seems to be implied that if the mother had had faith this would have sufficed for raising the child. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/2-8.htm" title="And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided here and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.">2Kings 2:8</a>; <a href="/acts/19-12.htm" title="So that from his body were brought to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.">Acts 19:12</a>.) Keil supposes that the prophet foresaw the failure of this expedient, and intended by it to teach the Shunammitess and his followers generally that the power of working miracles was not <span class= "ital">magically</span> inherent in himself or in his staff, as they might imagine, but only in Jehovah, who granted the temporary use of that power to faith and prayer. In other words, Elisha was seeking to lift the minds of his disciples to higher and more spiritual conceptions of the prophetic office. But this seems doubtful.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-30.htm">2 Kings 4:30</a></div><div class="verse">And the mother of the child said, <i>As</i> the LORD liveth, and <i>as</i> thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.</div>(30) <span class= "bld">I will not leave thee.</span>—She wished the prophet himself to go to her child. The writer appropriately substitutes “the mother of the child” for “the Shunammite” or “the woman” in connection with this impassioned utterance, which induced the prophet to yield to her wishes.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-31.htm">2 Kings 4:31</a></div><div class="verse">And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but <i>there was</i> neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.</div>(31) <span class= "bld">There was neither voice, nor hearing.</span>—<a href="/1_kings/18-29.htm" title="And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.">1Kings 18:29</a>; see margin, and <a href="/isaiah/21-7.htm" title="And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he listened diligently with much heed:">Isaiah 21:7</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Wherefore he went again.</span>—<span class= "ital">And he came back to meet him</span> (Elisha).<p><span class= "bld">The child is not awaked.</span>—<span class= "ital">The</span> lad woke not.<p>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. Bähr thinks that Elisha himself was at fault in supposing he could transfer the spirit and power of a prophet to his servant; and acted in over-haste without a Divine incentive. (Comp. <a href="/2_samuel/7-3.htm" title="And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you.">2Samuel 7:3</a> seq.)<p>The true explanation is suggested in the Note on <a href="/2_kings/4-29.htm" title="Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute you, answer him not again: and lay my staff on the face of the child.">2Kings 4:29</a>. (Bähr is wrong in taking <span class= "ital">the staff</span> to be other than a <span class= "ital">walking</span> staff. A different word would be used for <span class= "ital">rod or sceptre</span>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-33.htm">2 Kings 4:33</a></div><div class="verse">He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.</div>(33) <span class= "bld">He went in therefore.</span>—Comp. the narrative of Elijah’s raising the widow’s son (<a href="/context/1_kings/17-17.htm" title="And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.">1Kings 17:17-24</a>), which is imitated in the present account.<p><span class= "bld">Them twain.</span>—Himself and the body.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-34.htm">2 Kings 4:34</a></div><div class="verse">And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.</div>(34) <span class= "bld">He went up.</span>—Upon the bed (<a href="/2_kings/1-6.htm" title="And they said to him, There came a man up to meet us, and said to us, Go, turn again to the king that sent you, and say to him, Thus said the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that you send to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore you shall not come down from that bed on which you are gone up, but shall surely die.">2Kings 1:6</a>).<p><span class= "bld">And lay upon the child.</span>—Comp. <a href="/1_kings/17-21.htm" title="And he stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray you, let this child's soul come into him again.">1Kings 17:21</a>. What is hinted at there is described here (<span class= "ital">Thenius</span>).<p><span class= "bld">Stretched himself upon the child.</span>—<span class= "ital">Bowed himself</span>. So LXX., Syriac, and Vulg. (Comp. <a href="/1_kings/18-42.htm" title="So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees,">1Kings 18:42</a>.) This expression summarises the preceding details.<p><span class= "bld">The flesh of the child waxed warm</span>.—The life of the Divine Spirit which was in Elisha was miraculously imparted by contact to the lifeless body. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/2-7.htm" title="And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.">Genesis 2:7</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-35.htm">2 Kings 4:35</a></div><div class="verse">Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.</div>(35) <span class= "bld">He returned.</span>—From off the bed.<p><span class= "bld">Walked in the house to and fro.</span>—Or, in the <span class= "ital">chamber</span>. Elisha’s walking to and fro is an index of intense excitement. He was earnestly expecting the fulfilment of his prayer. Cornelius à Lapide thinks the prophet walked “ut ambulando excitaret majorem calorem quem puero communicaret” (!)<p><span class= "bld">The child sneezed.</span>—The verb occurs here only. It denotes a <span class= "ital">faint</span> rather than a <span class= "ital">loud</span> sneeze. (Heb., ‘<span class= "ital">atîshāh</span>; <a href="/job/41-10.htm" title="None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?">Job 41:10</a>.) It is omitted by the LXX., which has, “and he bowed himself over the boy until seven times.” The repeated sneezing was a sign of restored respiration. (Comp. <a href="/luke/7-15.htm" title="And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.">Luke 7:15</a>.)<p>Keil supposes that whereas Elijah raised the widow’s son at once, his successor only restored the Shunammite’s son by degrees; and that this betokens an inferiority on the part of Elisha. But the narrative in <a href="/1_kings/17-17.htm" title="And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.">1Kings 17:17</a> <span class= "ital">seq</span>. is plainly abridged.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-36.htm">2 Kings 4:36</a></div><div class="verse">And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.</div>(36) <span class= "bld">Take up thy son.</span>—So our Lord “delivered to his mother” the young man whom He raised from death by His word (<a href="/luke/7-15.htm" title="And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.">Luke 7:15</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-37.htm">2 Kings 4:37</a></div><div class="verse">Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.</div>(37) <span class= "bld">Then she went in</span>.—<span class= "ital">And she came.</span><p><span class= "bld">Bowed herself to the ground.</span>—In deep veneration for the prophet of Jehovah.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-38.htm">2 Kings 4:38</a></div><div class="verse">And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and <i>there was</i> a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets <i>were</i> sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.</div>(38-44) Elisha among the sons of the prophets at Gilgal during the famine.<p>(38) <span class= "bld">And Elisha came again</span>.—<span class= "ital">Now Elisha had returned</span>, commencing a new narrative. The word “return” refers to the prophet’s annual visit. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/4-25.htm" title="So 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, yonder is that Shunammite:">2Kings 4:25</a>, and <a href="/2_kings/2-1.htm" title="And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.">2Kings 2:1</a>, Notes.) The story is not put in chronological sequence with the foregoing.<p><span class= "bld">And there was a dearth.</span>—And the famine was.<p><span class= "bld">The sons of the prophets were sitting before him</span>.—As disciples before a master; probably in a common hall, which served for lecture, work, and dining-room. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/6-1.htm" title="And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with you is too strait for us.">2Kings 6:1</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/8-1.htm" title="And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there on me.">Ezekiel 8:1</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/14-1.htm" title="Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me, and sat before me.">Ezekiel 14:1</a>; <a href="/acts/22-3.htm" title="I am truly a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as you all are this day.">Acts 22:3</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">His servant.</span>—Perhaps not Gehazi, but one of the sons of the prophets. So in <a href="/2_kings/4-43.htm" title="And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus said the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.">2Kings 4:43</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Seethe pottage</span>.—<a href="/genesis/25-29.htm" title="And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:">Genesis 25:29</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-39.htm">2 Kings 4:39</a></div><div class="verse">And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred <i>them</i> into the pot of pottage: for they knew <i>them</i> not.</div>(39) <span class= "bld">Herbs.</span>—A rare word. (See <a href="/isaiah/26-19.htm" title="Your dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in dust: for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.">Isaiah 26:19</a>.) The Targum renders “greens.” The LXX. retains the Hebrew word; the Syriac and Arabic render “mallows.” Thenius thinks that <span class= "greekheb">αριωθ</span>, the reading of the LXX., points to another word derived from a different root, and meaning “to pluck,” so that the word would denote <span class= "ital">legumina</span>.<p><span class= "bld">A wild vine.</span>—Vulg., “quasi vitem silvestrem,” <span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, a running plant, like a vine.<p><span class= "bld">Wild gourds.</span>—In <a href="/1_kings/6-18.htm" title="And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.">1Kings 6:18</a> a related word is used to describe one of the decorations of the Temple (“knops”).<p>Wild gourds, or cucumbers (<span class= "ital">cucumeres agrestes</span>, or <span class= "ital">asinini</span>), are oval in shape, and taste bitter. Their Hebrew name (<span class= "ital">paqqû‘ôth</span>) is expressive of the fact that when ripe they are apt to <span class= "ital">burst</span> upon being touched. If eaten they act as a violent purgative. They were mistaken on the present occasion for edible gourds, a favourite food of the people (<a href="/numbers/11-5.htm" title="We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic:">Numbers 11:5</a>). The Vulg. renders “colocynth,” or coloquintida, a plant of the same family, bearing large orange-like fruits, which are very bitter, and cause colic (<span class= "ital">cucumis colocynthi, L</span>.). Keil supposes this to be the “wild vine” intended.<p><span class= "bld">They knew them not.</span>—And so did not stop the young man from his shredding.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-40.htm">2 Kings 4:40</a></div><div class="verse">So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O <i>thou</i> man of God, <i>there is</i> death in the pot. And they could not eat <i>thereof</i>.</div>(40) <span class= "bld">There is death in the pot.</span>—The bitter taste, and perhaps incipient effect of the pottage, made them think of poison.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-41.htm">2 Kings 4:41</a></div><div class="verse">But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast <i>it</i> into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.</div>(41) <span class= "bld">Then bring meal.</span>—Keil says, “the meal was only the material basis for the spiritual activity which went out from Elisha, and made the poisonous food wholesome.” Thenius, however, supposes that “the meal softened the bitterness, and obviated the drastic effect.” But Reuss appears to be right in saying, “by mistake a poisonous (not merely a bitter) plant had been put into the pot, and the prophet neutralises the poison by means of an antidote <span class= "ital">whose natural</span> properties could never have had that effect.” The “meal” here, therefore, corresponds to the “salt” in <a href="/2_kings/2-21.htm" title="And he went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus said the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from there any more death or barren land.">2Kings 2:21</a>.<p><span class= "bld">And he said, Pour out.</span>—The LXX. adds, “to Gehazi, his servant;” probably a gloss.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-42.htm">2 Kings 4:42</a></div><div class="verse">And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.</div>(42) <span class= "bld">Baal-shalisha.</span>—Probably the same as Bethshalisha, mentioned by Jerome and Eusebius, fifteen Roman miles north of Lydda-Diospolis, and not far west of Gilgal and Bethel. (Comp. “the land of Shalisha,” <a href="/1_samuel/9-4.htm" title="And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.">1Samuel 9:4</a>. Its name, Shalisha—as if <span class= "ital">Three-land</span>—seems to allude to the three wadies, which there meet in the <span class= "ital">Wâdy Qurâwâ</span>.)<p><span class= "bld">Bread of the firstfruits.</span>—Comp. <a href="/numbers/18-13.htm" title="And whatever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring to the LORD, shall be yours; every one that is clean in your house shall eat of it.">Numbers 18:13</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/18-4.htm" title="The first fruit also of your corn, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him.">Deuteronomy 18:4</a>, according to which all firstfruits of grain were to be given to the priests and Levites. Such presents to prophets appear to have been usual in ordinary times. On the present occasion, which was “a time of dearth” (<a href="/2_kings/4-42.htm" title="And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give to the people, that they may eat.">2Kings 4:42</a> is connected by the construction with the preceding narrative), <span class= "ital">one</span> pious person brought his opportune gift to Elisha.<p><span class= "bld">And full ears of corn in the husk thereof</span>.—Heb., <span class= "ital">and karmel in his wallet</span>. The word karmel occurs besides in <a href="/leviticus/2-14.htm" title="And if you offer a meat offering of your first fruits to the LORD, you shall offer for the meat offering of your first fruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.">Leviticus 2:14</a>; <a href="/leviticus/23-14.htm" title="And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that you have brought an offering to your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.">Leviticus 23:14</a>. The Targum and Syriac render “bruised grain;” the Jewish expositors “tender and fresh ears of corn.” In some parts of England unripe corn is made into a dish called “frumenty.” The word <span class= "ital">çiqlôn</span> only occurs in this place. The Vulg. renders it by <span class= "ital">pera</span> (“wallet”). The LXX. (Alex.) repeats the Hebrew in Greek letters. The Vatican omits the word. It reads: “twenty barley loaves and cakes of pressed fruit” (<span class= "greekheb">παλάθας</span>). The Syriac gives “garment.”<p><span class= "bld">And he said</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, Elisha said.<p><span class= "bld">Give unto the people.</span>—Comp. <a href="/matthew/14-16.htm" title="But Jesus said to them, They need not depart; give you them to eat.">Matthew 14:16</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-43.htm">2 Kings 4:43</a></div><div class="verse">And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave <i>thereof</i>.</div>(43) <span class= "bld">Servitor.</span>—<span class= "ital">Minister, or attendant.</span><p><span class= "bld">What, should I set this before an hundred men?</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">How am I to set?</span> &c. (Comp. <a href="/matthew/14-33.htm" title="Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth you are the Son of God.">Matthew 14:33</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">He said again.—</span><span class= "ital">And he said.</span><p><span class= "bld">They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">eating and leaving!</span> an exclamatory mode of speech, natural in hurried and vehement utterance.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/4-44.htm">2 Kings 4:44</a></div><div class="verse">So he set <i>it</i> before them, and they did eat, and left <i>thereof</i>, according to the word of the LORD.</div>(44) <span class= "bld">And they did eat, and left thereof.</span>—Comp. our Lord’s miracles, already referred to. Bähr denies any miraculous increase of the food. He makes the miracle consist in the fact that the one hundred men were satisfied with the little they received, and even had some to spare. Similarly, Thenius thinks that the provisions were not inconsiderable for a hundred men (?), and that the emphasis of the narrative lies rather on Elisha’s absolute confidence in God than on His wonder-working powers; but this is certainly opposed to the sacred writer’s intention. Keil rightly calls attention to the fact that Elisha does not <span class= "ital">perform</span>, but only <span class= "ital">predicts</span>, this miracle.<p><span class= "bld"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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