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2 Kings 4:10

in 2 Kings 4

Please let us make a small room upstairs and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

KJV

Let 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.

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This verse in 2 Kings 4

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall,.... Either of the city, to which their house might join, or of their garden, a little distance from the house; though the Jewish writers commonly understand it of a little edifice built up of walls of stone or bricks, and not one with reeds, or stud and mud: let us set for him there a bed; that he may stay all night when he pleases: and a table; not only to eat his food, but to write on, and lay his books on he reads.

This site's exposition

passed to Shunem, where was

on 2 Kings 4:8-10

The Hebrew term rendered great woman marks wealth and social standing rather than fame, so this hospitality comes from a woman with means to build rather than merely to feed. Her own initiative, not a request from Elisha, provides a permanent room: a bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick, furnishings for study and rest rather than display. A woman housing a wandering man of God has already run once through this ministry at Zarephath (1 Ki 17:9-19), and it runs again here with the disciple standing in his master's place.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:8 · Written before 373.

proposed

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 …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

That the stranger she would invite was a holy man of God, who therefore would do good to their family, and God would recompense the kindness done to him; perhaps she had heard how well paid the widow of Sarepta was for entertaining Elijah.

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

On the wall - That he may be free from the noise of family business, and enjoy that privacy, which, I perceive, he desireth for his prayers and meditations. A bed, &c. - He will not be troublesome or chargeable to us: he cares not for rich furniture or costly entertainment, and is content with bare necessaries.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Let us make a little chamber - See the note upon Jdg 3:20 (note). As the woman was convinced that Elisha was a prophet, she knew that he must have need of more privacy than the general state of her house could afford; and therefore she proposes what she knew would be a great acquisition to him, as he could live in this little chamber in as much privacy as if he were in his own house. The bed, the table, the stool, and the candlestick, were really every thing he could need, by way of accommodation, in such circumstances.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

1Ki 17:19), attached to the front of the house, leading into the court and inner apartments. The front of the house, excepting the door, is a dead wall, and hence this room is called a chamber in the wall. It is usually appropriated to the use of strangers, or lodgers for a night, and, from its seclusion, convenient for study or retirement.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A little chamber on the wall - The room probably projected like a balcony beyond the lower apartments - an arrangement common in the East. A stool - Rather, “a chair.” The “chair” and “table,” unusual in the sleeping-rooms of the East, indicate that the prophet was expected to use his apartment for study and retirement, not only as a sleeping-chamber.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • נַֽעֲשֶׂה־let us make

    naaseh-H6213 →2628 times

  • נָּ֤אplease

    na'H4994 →404 times

  • עֲלִיַּת־an upper room of

    ʾaliyat-H5944 →20 times

  • קִיר֙a wall

    kirH7023 →75 times

  • קְטַנָּ֔הsmall

    ketanahH6996 →101 times

  • וְנָשִׂ֨יםand let us put

    venasimH7760 →584 times

  • ל֥וֹfor him

    lo

  • שָׁ֛םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • מִטָּ֥הa bed

    mitahH4296 →29 times

  • וְשֻׁלְחָ֖ןand a table

    veshulchanH7979 →

  • וְכִסֵּ֣אand a chair

    vekhise'H3678 →135 times

  • וּמְנוֹרָ֑הand a lampstand

    umenorahH4501 →

  • וְהָיָ֛הand it will be

    vehayahH1961 →3559 times

  • בְּבֹא֥וֹwhen comes he

    bevooH935 →2568 times

  • אֵלֵ֖ינוּto us

    ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times

  • יָס֥וּרhe will turn aside

    yasurH5493 →299 times

  • שָֽׁמָּה׃there towards

    shamahH8033 →834 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Romans 12:13Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.8 worksMatthew 25:40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’5 worksMatthew 10:41–42Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.5 worksHebrews 10:24And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.4 works1 Peter 4:9–10Show hospitality to one another without complaining.3 worksHebrews 13:2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.3 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Mark 9:41Indeed, if anyone gives you even a cup of water because you bear the name of Christ, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.2 worksIsaiah 32:8But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.2 worksLuke 8:3Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means.2 works1 Kings 17:19But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.2 works2 Kings 4:21And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door and went out.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Hebrews 10:24

    And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

    it leads to

    • 1 Thessalonians 5:11

      Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.

    • 1 John 3:18

      Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.

    • Hebrews 13:1

      Continue in brotherly love.

    • Galatians 5:13

      For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

    • Colossians 3:16

      Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to…

  • Through

    Matthew 25:40

    And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 19:17

      Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.

    • Proverbs 14:31

      Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.

    • Matthew 10:42

      And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 4:8; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Kings 4 →