2 Kings 4:23
in 2 Kings 4“Why would you go to him today?” he replied. “It is not a New Moon or a Sabbath.” “Everything is all right,” she said.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
KJV
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
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This verse in 2 Kings 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Her husband did not connect the illness with his wife’s demand, but thought she wished to attend one of the prophet’s devotional services. It is evident that such services were now held with something like regularity on Carmel for the benefit of the faithfull in those parts. New moon - By the Law the first day of each month was to be kept holy. Offerings were appointed for such occasions Num 28:11-15, and they were among the days on which the silver trumpets were to be blown Num 10:10; Psa 81:
This site's exposition
laid him on the bed
on 2 Kings 4:21-23
She lays the boy “on the bed of the man of God”, the bed made for Elisha at verse 10, and shuts the door. She tells her husband neither the death nor her errand, only “Everything is all right”, which renders a single Hebrew word, shalom.
This site's exposition
It is not a New Moon
Albert Barnes gathered from the husband's question that Elisha held services on Carmel with some regularity for the faithful nearby. The Law set the first day of each month apart as holy, with its own offerings at Numbers 28:11-15. He had not connected the boy's illness with her errand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"The woman conceived and bore a son at that season, in due time, as Elisha had declared to her," but after a few years, the child died. His mother placed the corpse on the bed of the prophet in the high room of her house …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
She did not think it enough to have his help sometimes in her own family, but, though a great woman, attended on public worship, for which this was none of the times appointed; therefore, said the husband, "why wilt thou go to day?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And he said, wherefore wilt thou go to him today?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wherefore wilt thou go - She was a very prudent woman; she would not harass the feelings of her husband by informing him of the death of his son till she had tried the power of the prophet. Though the religion of the true God was not the religion of the state, yet there were no doubt multitudes of the people who continued to worship the true God alone, and were in the habit of going, as is here intimated, on new moons and Sabbaths, to consult the prophet.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַ֠דּוּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| אַ֣תְּ | ʾati | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| הֹלֶ֤כֶת | holakhti | going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַיּ֔וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חֹ֖דֶשׁ | chodesh | new moon | H2320 → | 284 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שַׁבָּ֑ת | shabat | sabbath | H7676 → | 110 times |
| וַתֹּ֖אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁלֽוֹם׃ | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מַ֠דּוּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
אַ֣תְּ[are] you
ʾatiH859 →1094 times
הֹלֶ֤כֶתgoing
holakhtiH1980 →1546 times
אֵלָיו֙to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
הַיּ֔וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
חֹ֖דֶשׁnew moon
chodeshH2320 →284 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שַׁבָּ֑תsabbath
shabatH7676 →110 times
וַתֹּ֖אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁלֽוֹם׃peace
shalomH7965 →236 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 28:11At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,
it leads to
- Numbers 10:10
And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 46:6
On the day of the New Moon he shall offer a young, unblemished bull, six lambs, and a ram without blemish.
- Numbers 10:10
Through
Numbers 10:10And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you…
it leads to
- Psalms 81:3
Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to…
- 1 Corinthians 11:24–26
and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
- Ezra 3:10
When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their positions to praise…
- 2 Chronicles 29:28
The whole assembly was worshiping, the singers were singing, and the trumpeters were playing. All this continued until the burnt offering was completed.
- Psalms 81:3
Through
1 Chronicles 23:31Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the LORD in the numbers prescribed for them.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:13–14
Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me— your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.
- Isaiah 1:13–14
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:17; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.