2 Kings 4:31

And 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Gehazi	וְגֵחֲזִ֞י ve.ge.cha.Zi	H1522	Gechazi · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
on	עָבַ֣ר 'a.Var	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
before	לִפְנֵיהֶ֗ם lif.nei.Hem	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
laid	וַיָּ֤שֶׂם vai.Ya.sem	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
staff	הַמִּשְׁעֶ֙נֶת֙ ha.mish.'E.net	H4938	support (abstractly) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
face	פְּנֵ֣י pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
child	הַנַּ֔עַר ha.Na.'ar	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
voice	ק֖וֹל Kol	H6963	a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular absolute
hearing	קָ֑שֶׁב Ka.shev	H7182	a hearkening · noun, common masculine singular absolute
again	וַיָּ֤שָׁב vai.Ya.shov	H7725	to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
meet	קִרְאָה qirʼâh	H7125	an encountering
told	וַיַּגֶּד vai.ya.ged-	H5046	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
saying	לֵאמֹ֔ר le.Mor	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
child	הַנָּֽעַר ha.Na.'ar	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
awaked	הֵקִ֖יץ he.Kitz	H6974	to awake (literally or figuratively) · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

John 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
1 Samuel 14:37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him no…
1 Samuel 28:6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
1 Kings 18:26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O…
1 Kings 18:29 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 neith…
Job 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Ezekiel 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be en…
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 4:18-37

We may well suppose that, after the birth of this son, the prophet was doubly welcome to the good Shunammite. He had thought himself indebted to her, but henceforth, as long as she lives, she will think herself in his debt, and that she can never do too much for him. We may also suppose that the child was very dear to the prophet, as the son of his prayers, and very dear to the parents, as the son of their old age. But here is, I. The sudden death of the child, though so much a darling. he was so far past the perils of infancy that he was able to go to the field to his father, who no doubt was pleased with his engaging talk, and his joy of his son was greater than the joy of his harvest; but…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 4:29

take my staff . . . and lay . . . upon the face of the child--The staff was probably an official rod of a certain form and size. Necromancers used to send their staff with orders to the messengers to let it come in contact with nothing by the way that might dissipate or destroy the virtue imparted to it. Some have thought that Elisha himself entertained similar ideas, and was under an impression that the actual application of his staff would serve as well as the touch of his hand. But this is an imputation dishonorable to the character of the prophet. He wished to teach the Shunammite, who obviously placed too great dependence upon him, a memorable lesson to look to God. By sending his serva…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 4:30

I will not leave thee - The prophet it seems had no design to accompany her; he intended to wait for Gehazi's return; but as the woman was well assured the child was dead, she was determined not to return till she brought the prophet with her.

John Gill on 2 Kings 4:31

And Gehazi passed on before them,.... The prophet and the Shunammite: and laid the staff upon the face of the child; as he was ordered: but there was neither voice nor hearing: it seems as if he spoke when he laid the staff on the child, but it heard and answered him not, so that there was no sign of life in it: wherefore he went again to meet him; upon the road between Carmel and Shunem: and told him, saying, the child is not awaked; by which he expresses its being dead; or, if he knew nothing of its death, he supposed it fast asleep, which was the reason of its not hearing and answering, though the former seems best.

Dictionary and topics

Carmel — A park; generally with the article, “the park.” (1.) A prominent headland of Central Palestine, consisting of several connected hills extending from the plain of Esdraelon to the sea, a distance of…
Elisha — God his salvation, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, who became the attendant and disciple of Elijah (1 Kings 19:16-19). His name first occurs in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his…
Gehazi — Valley of vision, Elisha’s trusted servant (2 Kings 4:31; 5:25; 8:4, 5). He appears in connection with the history of the Shunammite (2 Kings 4:14, 31) and of Naaman the Syrian. On this latter…
Shunem — Two resting-places, a little village in the tribe of Issachar, to the north of Jezreel and south of Mount Gilboa (Josh. 19:18), where the Philistines encamped when they came against Saul (1 Sam.…
Elisha · .Raises the — .Raises the
Gehazi · Servant of Elisha — Servant of Elisha
Shunammite · to life — to life

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Kings 4:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 4:18-37

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 4:29

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 4:30

John Gill on 2 Kings 4:31

Dictionary and topics

2 Kings 4:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 4:18-37

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 4:29

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 4:30

John Gill on 2 Kings 4:31

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 4:8-37

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Kings 4:31

Rashi on 2 Kings 4:29