Chapter Text
Elisha's Miracles
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; 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.
2And 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.
3Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4And 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.
5So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
6And 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, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7Then 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.
The Shunammite's Son
8And 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.
9And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
10Let 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.
11And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
12And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is 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.
14And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
15And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
16And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
17And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
18And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
20And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
21And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
22And 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.
23And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
24Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
25So 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, yonder is that Shunammite:
26Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
27And 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 is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29Then 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.
30And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
32And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
34And 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.
35Then 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.
36And 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.
37Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
Death in the Pot
38And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
39And 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 them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
40So 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 thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
41But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
Feeding of a Hundred
42And 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.
43And 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 thereof.
44So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.
Summary
Elisha performs a series of miracles demonstrating God's compassion for ordinary people. He multiplies a widow's oil to save her sons from slavery. He promises a son to a wealthy Shunammite woman who has shown him hospitality, and when the child later dies, Elisha raises him from the dead.
Elisha also purifies a poisoned pot of stew and multiplies twenty loaves of barley to feed a hundred men, with leftovers remaining. Each miracle meets a specific human need through the power of God.
Meaning
These miracles reveal that God's power is not reserved for grand national crises but extends to the daily struggles of widows, mothers, and hungry prophets. The multiplication of oil and bread foreshadows Christ's own multiplication miracles, connecting the two ministries across centuries.
The raising of the Shunammite's son, like Elijah's similar miracle, demonstrates that the God of Israel is Lord over death itself. These intimate acts of compassion balance the dramatic public confrontations of Elijah's ministry, showing that prophetic power serves human need.
Background
The Shunammite woman's provision of a room for Elisha, called a prophet's chamber, established a pattern of hospitality that continued in Israelite and later Jewish culture. Shunem was a village in the Jezreel Valley near Mount Moreh.
The multiplication of twenty loaves to feed a hundred people directly parallels Jesus feeding the five thousand, a connection noted by early Christian interpreters.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-7The widow's oil multiplied
- vv. 8-17The Shunammite's hospitality and promised son
- vv. 18-28The child's death and the mother's resolve
- vv. 29-37Elisha raises the child to life
- vv. 38-41Death in the pot healed at Gilgal
- vv. 42-44Twenty loaves feed a hundred men
Key Verses
“And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.”— 4:9
The Shunammite's spiritual discernment models hospitality toward God's servants, a theme echoed in the New Testament's call to entertain strangers and prophets.
“Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.”— 4:26
Her confession of peace amid devastating loss has become a touchstone of resilient faith, immortalized in Spafford's hymn 'It Is Well with My Soul.'
“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.”— 4:34
Elisha's intimate, embodied prayer prefigures resurrection power and parallels Elijah's earlier raising of the widow's son in 1 Kings 17.
“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 thereof.”— 4:43
This miraculous multiplication of barley loaves directly anticipates Christ's feeding of the five thousand, where bread is multiplied and fragments remain.
People & Places
People
- Elisha — Prophet and successor to Elijah, performing four miracles of provision and life in this chapter.
- Gehazi — Elisha's servant who assists him and mediates between the prophet and the Shunammite woman.
- The widow of a son of the prophets — A destitute prophet's widow whose oil is miraculously multiplied to pay her debts.
- The Shunammite woman — A wealthy, hospitable woman who builds Elisha a chamber and receives a promised son who is later raised from death.
- The Shunammite's son — The child miraculously given and then restored to life after dying of a sudden head ailment.
Places
- Shunem — A town in the territory of Issachar where the hospitable woman lived.
- Mount Carmel — The mountain where Elisha was lodging when the Shunammite came seeking him, also associated with Elijah.
- Gilgal — A prophetic community center where Elisha purified the poisoned pottage during a famine.
- Baalshalisha — A locality from which a man brought firstfruits of barley loaves to feed Elisha's company.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
The chapter foreshadows the ministry of Christ in striking ways. Elisha's multiplication of oil (vv. 1-7) and barley loaves (vv. 42-44) directly prefigure Jesus' feeding miracles in the Gospels, with the explicit detail that some was left over (v. 44; cf. Matthew 14:20). The raising of the Shunammite's son (vv. 32-37) anticipates Christ's resurrection ministry, particularly the raising of Jairus' daughter and the widow of Nain's son (Luke 7), where Jesus likewise restores an only child to a grieving mother.
Devotional
This chapter shows a God who meets people in their most desperate places — crushing debt, childlessness, sudden death, hunger, and poisoned food. Elisha never turns anyone away, and God works through ordinary things: a pot of oil, a borrowed room, a handful of meal, twenty loaves of barley.
The Shunammite's quiet confession, "It is well," rises from a heart that refuses to let go of God even when everything has gone wrong. Faith here is not denial of pain but stubborn trust that God remains good. What empty vessel are you holding out today? Bring it, and watch what He pours in.
Literary Style
Hebrew historical narrative arranged as a cycle of four prophetic miracle stories. The episodes are linked by repetition, vivid dialogue, and concrete domestic detail, with deliberate parallels to Elijah's ministry creating a typological echo within the Deuteronomistic History.