2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
Chapter 4
8
The Son of the Shunammite
Elisha went to Shunem one day, and a rich woman invited him to eat. Afterward, whenever he went to that town, he would eat at her house.9
The woman said to her husband: “See, this man who constantly passes by our house is a holy man of God.
10
If you want, we can make a small upper room for him and place a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it. So when he comes, he may stay and rest.”
11
One day, when Elisha came, he lay down in the upper room.
14
So Elisha asked Gehazi: “What can we do for her?” The young man answered: “She has no children, and her husband is now old.”
15
And so Elisha said to him: “Call her.” The young man called her, and as the woman stood by the door,
16
Elisha said: “By this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” She answered: “No, my lord, O man of God, do not deceive your maidservant.”
Commentaries
The Son of the Shunammite.
Verses 8-37 tell the story of the close relationship between Elisha and a notable woman from Shunem, a town in the tribe of Issachar (Joshua 19:18). This story includes symbolic elements worth noting: 1. The woman’s significance. 2. Her childessness and her husband’s old age. 3. The child’s conception. 4. The sudden death of the boy. 5. The woman turns to the prophet. 6. The prophet’s actions to bring the child back to life. 7. The woman refuses intermediaries; she insists on seeing the prophet himself. All these points highlight beliefs about God’s sovereignty and mainly show that He is a living God committed to giving life. Verses 38-44 present two variations on the same theme: endless food available for all when what little there is gets shared. It also serves as a prophetic answer to a severe need that a society of hoarders and greedy people cannot fulfill.