2 Kings 4:8

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
day	הַיּ֜וֹם hai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Elisha	אֱלִישָׁ֣ע 'e.li.Sha'	H477	Elisha · proper noun, a man's name
passed	וַיַּעֲבֹ֧ר vai.ya.'a.Vor	H5674	to cross over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Shunem	שׁוּנֵ֗ם shu.Nem	H7766	Shunem · proper noun, a place name
great	גְדוֹלָ֔ה ge.do.Lah	H1419	great (in any sense) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
woman	אִשָּׁ֣ה 'i.Shah	H802	a woman · noun, common feminine singular absolute
constrained	וַתַּחֲזֶק va.ta.cha.zek-	H2388	to fasten upon · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
eat	לֶאֱכָל le.'e.khol-	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
bread	לָ֑חֶם La.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
oft	מִדֵּ֣י mi.Dei	H1767	enough (as noun or adverb) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
by	עָבְר֔וֹ a.ve.Ro	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
turned	יָסֻ֥ר ya.Sur	H5493	to turn off (literal or figurative) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
eat	לֶאֱכָל le.'e.khol-	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
bread	לָֽחֶם La.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute

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

Joshua 19:18 And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,
Genesis 19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened…
1 Kings 1:3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
2 Kings 4:11-12 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a ver…
Job 32:9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.
Luke 24:29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
Judges 19:20 And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 4:8-17

The giving of a son to such as were old, and had been long childless, was an ancient instance of the divine power and favour, in the case of Abraham, and Isaac, and Manoah, and Elkanah; we find it here among the wonders wrought by Elisha. This was wrought in recompence for the kind entertainment which a good woman gave him, as the promise of a son was given to Abraham when he entertained angels. Observe here, I. The kindness of the Shunammite woman to Elisha. Things are bad enough in Israel, yet not so bad but that God's prophet finds friends, wherever he goes. Shunem was a city in the tribe of Issachar, that lay in the road between Samaria and Carmel, a road that Elisha often travelled, as…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 4:8

PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (Kg2 4:8-17) Elisha passed to Shunem--now Sulam, in the plain of Esdraelon, at the southwestern base of Little Hermon. The prophet, in his journey, was often entertained here by one of its pious and opulent inhabitants.

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 4:8

Elisha passed to Shunem - This city was in the tribe of Issachar, to the south of the brook Kishon, and at the foot of Mount Tabor. Where was a great woman - In Pirkey Rab. Eliezer, this woman is said to have been the sister of Abishag, the Shunammite, well known in the history of David. Instead of great woman, the Chaldee has, a woman fearing sin; the Arabic, a woman eminent for piety before God. This made her truly great.

John Gill on 2 Kings 4:8

And it fell on a day,.... Or so it was at a certain time: that Elisha passed to Shunem; a city in the tribe of Issachar; of which see Joshua 19:18, where was a great woman; of great wealth and riches, of great benevolence and hospitality, and of great grace and piety; that feared sin, as the Targum paraphrases it; a woman of great credit and reputation on all accounts. The Jews say (u) she was the sister of Abishag the Shunammite, and the mother of Iddo the prophet: and she constrained him to eat bread; she had observed him at all times pass that way, and guessed by his habit and deportment that he was a religious man, and therefore took an opportunity to invite him into her house, and ta…

The Church Fathers

It happened, in the next days, that Elisha arrived at Shunem and passed it. After the ascension of Elijah, Elisha took his place and was appointed as the chief and prefect of the children of the prophets. Duty to his calling obligated him to visit their lodgings in Bethel and Jericho, as well as those along the Jordan. In fact, since the straight line of his route compelled him to pass through the village of Shunem, now and then he made a detour to the house of the Shunammite, because she was an admirable woman. And she, after hearing the words of her fellow citizens about him and seeing him in her house, understood the advantages of his stay at her place. Therefore she asked her husband to build a high room, solitary and separated from the rest of the people of the house. Indeed, she said that it was not proper for a holy prophet to live in an impure place. She called him holy because of his virginity.
— Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:8

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

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…
Marriage — Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt.…
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.…
Hospitality · .The Shunammite woman to Elisha — .The Shunammite woman to Elisha
Liberality · Exemplified: Shunammite — Exemplified: Shunammite
Riches · Examples of saints possessing: Shunammite — Examples of saints possessing: Shunammite
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 4:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 4:8-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 4:8

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 4:8

John Gill on 2 Kings 4:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Kings 4:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 4:8-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 4:8

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 4:8

John Gill on 2 Kings 4:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 4:8-37

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Kings 4:8-37

Rashi on 2 Kings 4:8