2 Kings 4:32
in 2 Kings 4When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
KJV
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
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This verse in 2 Kings 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the child was dead, and
on 2 Kings 4:32-35
Elisha shuts the door a fourth time in this chapter and prays before he acts, then stretches himself on the child, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands, the same posture and the same verb Elijah used raising the widow's son at Zarephath, 1 Ki 17:21, one shape repeated from master to disciple. The warmth returns first, and only after Elisha walks the house and stretches over the boy a second time does life fully return, healing coming in two stages rather than one instant word. Seven sneezes end it, life reasserting itself through breath.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Then the mother of the child said, 'As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave without you.' " Now, since Elisha had stayed at home and had sent his disciple, the mother of the [dead] child pressed him to aid …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Therefore fear had no power to raise us from the death of sin, but the infused grace of meekness erected us to the seat of life. Which is well denoted by Elisha when he raised the child of the Shunamite.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And when Elisha was come into the house,.... Of the Shunamite, and into the chamber built for him: behold, the child was dead, and laid upon the bed; upon his bed, and where he found it really dead.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Behold, the child was dead - The prophet then saw that the body and spirit of the child were separated.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֥א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֱלִישָׁ֖ע | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
| הַבָּ֑יְתָה | habayetah | the house towards | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֤ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הַנַּ֙עַר֙ | hanaar | the lad | H5288 → | 239 times |
| מֵ֔ת | met | [was] dead | H4191 → | 839 times |
| מֻשְׁכָּ֖ב | mushkav | laid | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִטָּתֽוֹ׃ | mitato | bed his | H4296 → | 29 times |
וַיָּבֹ֥אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אֱלִישָׁ֖עElisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 times
הַבָּ֑יְתָהthe house towards
habayetahH1004 →2046 times
וְהִנֵּ֤הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הַנַּ֙עַר֙the lad
hanaarH5288 →239 times
מֵ֔ת[was] dead
metH4191 →839 times
מֻשְׁכָּ֖בlaid
mushkavH7901 →212 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִטָּתֽוֹ׃bed his
mitatoH4296 →29 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 11:17When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb.
it leads to
- John 11:39
“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
- Hosea 6:2
After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.
- Acts 2:27–31
because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
- John 11:39
Through
1 Kings 17:17Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him.
it leads to
- Job 34:14
If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,
- Genesis 22:1–2
Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.
- Psalms 104:29
When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust.
- 2 Kings 4:18–20
And the child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the harvesters.
- Zechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
- Job 34:14
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; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 4:30-35; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book 9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.