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2 Kings 4:14

in 2 Kings 4

So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?” “Well, she has no son,” Gehazi replied, “and her husband is old.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old.

KJV

And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

This verse in 2 Kings 4

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

she hath no child, and

on 2 Kings 4:14-15

Gehazi supplies the detail Elisha has not noticed himself, that the woman is childless and her husband aged, and the shape of what follows repeats the annunciation given to Abraham and Sarah at Gen 18:10-14, a barren household promised a son at an appointed season. The prophetic word functions here as it did there, not a guess at what the couple wants but a sovereign announcement of what will be given.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And he said,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

What then is to be done for her? - It seems that the woman retired as soon as she had delivered the answer mentioned in the preceding verse.

The words behind it

12 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.

  • וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH5595305 times

  • וּמֶ֖הand what?

    umehH4100752 times

  • לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת[is] to do

    laasotH62132628 times

  • לָ֑הּfor her

    lah

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH5595305 times

  • גֵּיחֲזִ֗יGehazi

    geichaziH152212 times

  • אֲבָ֛לindeed

    ʾavalH61

  • בֵּ֥ןa son

    benH11214930 times

  • אֵֽין־not

    ʾein-H369789 times

  • לָ֖הּ[belongs] to her

    lah

  • וְאִישָׁ֥הּand husband her

    veishahH3761663 times

  • זָקֵֽן׃he is old

    zakenH2204

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

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

    Genesis 25:21

    Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 33:13

      And when he prayed to Him, the LORD received his plea and heard his petition; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.

    • Ezra 8:23

      So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.

    • Isaiah 58:9

      Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and…

    • Luke 1:13

      But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

    • Romans 9:10–12

      Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.

  • Through

    Judges 13:2

    Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 25:21

      Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 1:8

    “Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why is your heart so grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

    it leads to

    • Ruth 4:15

      He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

  • Through

    Luke 1:7

    But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 11:11

      By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised.

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.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.