2 Kings 4:20
in 2 Kings 4After the servant had picked him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
KJV
And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
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This verse in 2 Kings 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
he went out to his father, who was with the harvesters
on 2 Kings 4:18-20
The boy is old enough to walk out to the harvesters, and there he cries. A servant carries him to his mother, and he sits on her lap “until noon, and then he died”. The text names no cause, and the harvest season has led readers to think of sunstroke.
This site's exposition
sat on her lap until noon
John Gill put the boy's age at six or seven years or more, still small enough to sit on his mother's lap. The illness ran from the harvest field to noon of the same day. He died at noon.
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
By this faith women received their dead raised to life, Heb. xi. In this faith she makes no preparation for the burial of her dead child, but for its resurrection; for she lays him on the prophet's bed (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother,....
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשָּׂאֵ֔הוּ | vaiyisaehu | and he carried him | H5375 → | 656 times |
| וַיְבִיאֵ֖הוּ | vayviehu | and he brought him | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִמּ֑וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וַיֵּ֧שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בִּרְכֶּ֛יהָ | birkeiha | knees her | H1290 → | |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַֽצָּהֳרַ֖יִם | hatzohorayim | the noontide<s> | H6672 → | |
| וַיָּמֹֽת׃ | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיִּשָּׂאֵ֔הוּand he carried him
vaiyisaehuH5375 →656 times
וַיְבִיאֵ֖הוּand he brought him
vayviehuH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אִמּ֑וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
וַיֵּ֧שֶׁבand he sat
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בִּרְכֶּ֛יהָknees her
birkeihaH1290 →
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַֽצָּהֳרַ֖יִםthe noontide<s>
hatzohorayimH6672 →
וַיָּמֹֽת׃and he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 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
John 11:3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
it leads to
- John 11:5
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Hebrews 12:6–7
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
- Psalms 16:3
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.
- John 13:23
One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side.
- John 11:5
Through
John 11:5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
it leads to
- John 15:9–13
As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love.
- John 15:9–13
Through
John 11:14So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
it leads to
- John 16:25
I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
- John 16:25
Through
Luke 7:12As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with…
it leads to
- Luke 8:52
Meanwhile, everyone was weeping and mourning for her. But Jesus said, “Stop weeping; she is not dead but asleep.”
- Luke 8:52
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.