2 Kings 4:16
in 2 Kings 4And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.
KJV
And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
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This verse in 2 Kings 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThou shalt embrace a son - This promise, and the circumstances of the parties, are not very dissimilar to that relative to the birth of Isaac, and those of Abraham and Sarah. Do not lie - That is, Let thy words become true; or, as the rabbins understand it, Do not mock me by giving me a son that shall soon be removed by death; but let me have one that shall survive me.
This site's exposition
do not lie unto thine handmaid
on 2 Kings 4:16-17
Her guarded protest, do not lie unto thine handmaid, is not unbelief in what God can do but fear of a false hope raised and dashed, the same wound Abraham's household knew when Sarah laughed at the same news (Gen 18:12-15). The narrator answers her plea in the next verse with the same measuring phrase Elisha used, the time of life, so the fulfillment is reported in the prophet's own words, exact repetition standing as the text's proof that the word came true.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Elisha said to the Shunammite woman, "At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son." He wanted to pay his debt for her service and pious assistance to him. Since she was blessed with the goods of the Law but was deprived of …
We have heard that after this blessed Elisha passed by Shunem, where a certain woman received him and said to her husband, "I perceive that this is a man of God: let us make him a chamber and put a bed in it for him, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he said, about this season,....
She was ready to think herself mocked with the mercy when it was so soon removed, and that it would have been better she had never had this child than to be deprived of him when she began to have comfort in him. Note, The loss of a mercy should not make us undervalue the gift of it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Do not lie - Compare a similar incredulity in Gen 17:17; Gen 18:12; Luk 1:20. The expression, “do not lie,” which is harsh to us, accords with the plain, straightforward simplicity of ancient speech. It would not mean more than “deceive” (compare the marginal reference).
The words behind it
16 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 |
| לַמּוֹעֵ֤ד | lamoed | to the appointed time | H4150 → | |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כָּעֵ֣ת | kaet | about the time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| חַיָּ֔ה | chaiyah | living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| אַ֖תְּ | ʾati | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| חֹבֶ֣קֶת | choveket | [will be] embracing | H2263 → | |
| בֵּ֑ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַתֹּ֗אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may [you] not | H408 → | 724 times |
| אֲדֹנִי֙ | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | O man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּכַזֵּ֖ב | tekhazev | you tell a lie | H3576 → | |
| בְּשִׁפְחָתֶֽךָ׃ | beshifchatekha | to maidservant your | H8198 → | 63 times |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לַמּוֹעֵ֤דto the appointed time
lamoedH4150 →
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
כָּעֵ֣תabout the time
kaetH6256 →296 times
חַיָּ֔הliving
chaiyahH2416 →498 times
אַ֖תְּyou
ʾatiH859 →1094 times
חֹבֶ֣קֶת[will be] embracing
choveketH2263 →
בֵּ֑ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
וַתֹּ֗אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
אַל־may [you] not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
אֲדֹנִי֙O lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
אִ֣ישׁO man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּכַזֵּ֖בyou tell a lie
tekhazevH3576 →
בְּשִׁפְחָתֶֽךָ׃to maidservant your
beshifchatekhaH8198 →63 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
Luke 1:13But 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.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:21
So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
- Acts 10:31
and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
- Psalms 113:9
He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!
- 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.
- Psalms 127:3–5
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
- 1 Samuel 2:21
Through
Genesis 18:10Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the…
it leads to
- Genesis 21:2
So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised.
- Genesis 17:21
But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
- Romans 9:8–9
So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.
- Genesis 21:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 128.6; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:16; 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.