2 Kings 4:8

“And it fell on a day, etc.] Or so it was at a certain time: that Elisha passed to Shunem; a city in the tribe of Issachar; of which (see <061918> Joshua 19:18), where was a great woman; of great wealth and riches, of great benevolence and hospitality, and of great grace and piety; that feared sin, as the Targum paraphrases it; a woman of great credit and reputation on all accounts. The Jews say f44 she was the sister of Abishag the Shunammite, and the mother of Iddo the prophet: and she constrained him to eat bread; she had observed him at all times pass that way, and guessed by his habit and deportment that he was a religious man, and therefore took an opportunity to invite him into her…”

“PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (Kg2 4:8-17) Elisha passed to Shunem--now Sulam, in the plain of Esdraelon, at the southwestern base of Little Hermon. The prophet, in his journey, was often entertained here by one of its pious and opulent inhabitants.”

“And it fell on a day - The original of the expression here used, which occurs three times in the present narrative 2 Kings 4:11, 2 Kings 4:18, is also found in Job 1:6, Job 1:13; Job 2:1. The character of the expression perhaps supports the view that the author of Kings has collected from various sources his account of the miracles of Elisha, and has kept in each case the words of the original writer. A great woman - That is, “a rich woman.” Compare 1 Samuel 25:2; 2 Samuel 19:32. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Great - For estate, or birth and quality. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 4:9”

“4:8-37 Elisha’s dealings with the woman from Shunem are presented in two parallel sections (4:8-20, 21-37). Shunem was a border town in the tribal allotment to Issachar (Josh 19:18).”

“it fell on: Heb. there was, Kg2 4:11, Kg2 4:18 Shunem: This city was situated in the tribe of Issachar, five miles south from mount Tabor, according to Eusebius; and is probably the place which he calls Sanim, in Acrabatene, in the neighbourhood of Samaria or Sebaste. Kg2 4:12; Jos 19:18; Sa1 28:4; Kg1 1:3 a great woman: Sa2 19:32; Job 1:3, Job 32:9; Luk 1:15 she constrained him: Heb. she laid hold on him, Gen 19:3; Jdg 19:20; Pro 7:21; Luk 14:23, Luk 24:29; Act 16:15 4 Kings (2 Kings) 4:9”

“The Shunammite and her Son. - Kg2 4:8. When Elisha was going one day (lit., the day, i.e., at that time, then) to Shunem (Solam, at the south-western foot of the Lesser Hermon; see at Kg1 1:3), a wealthy woman (גּדולה as in Sa1 25:2, etc.) constrained him to eat at her house; whereupon, as often as he passed by that place in his subsequent journeys from Carmel to Jezreel and back, he was accustomed to call upon her (סוּר as in Gen 19:2). Kg2 4:9-10 The woman then asked her husband to build a small upper chamber for this holy man of God, and to furnish it with the necessary articles of furniture (viz., bed, table, seat, and lamp), that he might always turn in at their house. עליּת־קיר is…”