2 Kings 4:25
in 2 Kings 4So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So 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 the Shunammite:
KJV
So 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:
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This verse in 2 Kings 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseSo she went and came unto the man of God at Mount Carmel,.... Where Elijah used to be, and where, perhaps, was a school of the prophets; this, according to Bunting (x), was sixteen miles from Shunem: and it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off; as he might from the eminence of the mountain: that he said to Gehazi his servant, behold, yonder is that Shunammite; that has so often and so hospitably entertained us at her house. (x) Travels, &c. p. 207.
This site's exposition
Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you
on 2 Kings 4:24-26
Carmel lies some fifteen to twenty miles from Shunem by the commentators' reckoning, a hard ride the woman drives without slackening. Gehazi's threefold question receives one answer, it is well, the same word she gave her husband, now spoken over a dead child with settled confidence.
This site's exposition
the man of God at Mount Carmel
John Gill recalls that Carmel was where Elijah used to stay, and he thought a school of the prophets met there. From the height of the mountain Elisha could see her coming a long way off. He knew her at once.
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 Awakening1 voice
The answer was general It is well. Gehazi was not the man that she came to complain to, and therefore she put him off with this; she said little, and little said is soon amended ( Ps. xxxix. 1, 2 ), but what she did say was very patient: "It is well with me, with my husband, with the child"--all well, and yet the child dead in the house.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The distance was about sixteen or seventeen miles.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֵּ֗לֶךְ | vatelekh | and she went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַתָּב֛וֹא | vatavo' | and she came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַ֣ר | har | [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַכַּרְמֶ֑ל | hakarmel | <the> Carmel | H3760 → | |
| וַ֠יְהִי | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּרְא֨וֹת | kirot | when saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֤ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֹתָהּ֙ | ʾotah | <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִנֶּ֔גֶד | mineged | from before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גֵּיחֲזִ֣י | geichazi | Gehazi | H1522 → | 12 times |
| נַעֲר֔וֹ | naaro | servant his | H5288 → | 239 times |
| הִנֵּ֖ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הַשּׁוּנַמִּ֥ית | hashunamit | [is] the Shunammite [woman] | H7767 → | 8 times |
| הַלָּֽז׃ | halaz | this | H1975 → |
וַתֵּ֗לֶךְand she went
vatelekhH1980 →1546 times
וַתָּב֛וֹאand she came
vatavo'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אִ֥ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַ֣ר[the] mountain of
harH2022 →546 times
הַכַּרְמֶ֑ל<the> Carmel
hakarmelH3760 →
וַ֠יְהִיand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּרְא֨וֹתwhen saw
kirotH7200 →1300 times
אִישׁ־[the] man of
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֤ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
אֹתָהּ֙<obj.> her
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
מִנֶּ֔גֶדfrom before
minegedH5048 →151 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גֵּיחֲזִ֣יGehazi
geichaziH1522 →12 times
נַעֲר֔וֹservant his
naaroH5288 →239 times
הִנֵּ֖הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
הַשּׁוּנַמִּ֥ית[is] the Shunammite [woman]
hashunamitH7767 →8 times
הַלָּֽז׃this
halazH1975 →
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
Isaiah 35:2It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the…
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:9
And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us…
- Romans 10:15
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
- Isaiah 60:13
The glory of Lebanon will come to you—its cypress, elm, and boxwood together—to adorn the place of My sanctuary, and I will glorify the place of My feet.
- Habakkuk 2:14
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
- Amos 9:13–15
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, with which all…
- Isaiah 25:9
Through
2 Kings 2:25And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:19–20
Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 18:19–20
Through
1 Kings 18:19Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
it leads to
- Joshua 19:26
Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west the border touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath,
- 1 Kings 16:33
Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
- Joshua 19:26
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:17; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.