Bible Commentary

2 Kings 4:23

2 Kings 4:23

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible · John Gill (1697–1771) · Public Domain

And he said, wherefore wilt thou go to him today?.... What reason is there for it? what is the meaning of it?it is neither new moon nor sabbath; neither the first day of the month, nor the seventh day of the week, times which were religiously observed; so with the Heathens the new moon and the seventh of the week, and so the fourth, were sacred ; which notions they borrowed from the Jews,See Gill on "1Sa 20:5" and when, it seems, it was usual to frequent the house of the prophet, to hear the word of God read and explained, and other religious exercises performed, as praying and singing praise, and receiving some good instructions and advice.

Joseph Kimchi gives a different sense of these words:"there is not a month past, no, not a week, since thou sawest him;''why therefore shouldest thou be in such haste to go to him? so the words for new moon and sabbath may signify:and she said, it shall be well; it was right for her to go, and it would be well for him and her, and the family; or, "peace" , be easy and quiet, farewell: it is much he had no mistrust of the death of the child, or that it was worse, since it went from him ill.

Hesiod. Opera & Dies, l. 2.

The Daily Devotional

One devotional. Every morning.

The full reading, the passage behind it, and where to go deeper — in your inbox before the day starts. No ads, ever.

We'll send one email to confirm it's really you. Unsubscribe in one tap, any time.

Continue tomorrow

Turn Bible study into a daily habit

Read today's devotional, save your progress, and receive a gentle daily reminder.

Recommended reading

More for 2 Kings 4:23

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

2 Kings 4 — Overview2 Kings 4 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleGreat service Elisha had done, in the foregoing chapter, for the three kings: to his prayers and prophecies they owed their lives and triumphs. One would have expected that the next chapter would tell us what…2 Kings 4 — Overview2 Kings 4 · Treasury of Scripture Knowledge2 Kings 4:1, Elisha multiplies the widow’s oil; 2 Kings 4:8, He obtains a son for the good Shunammite; 2 Kings 4:18, He restores her son when dead; 2 Kings 4:38, At Gilgal he heals the deadly pottage; 2 Kings 4:42, He…2 Kings 4 — Overview2 Kings 4 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThis chapter treats of the miracles of Elisha, of his multiplying a poor widow's pot of oil for the payment of her husband's debts, 2Ki 4:1 of obtaining a son for a Shunamitish woman, who had been very hospitable to…2 Kings 4:1-442 Kings 4:1-44 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITION 2 Kings 4:1-44 TYPICAL MIRACLES WROUGHT BY ELISHA. General introduction. The miracles of this chapter are all of them miracles of mercy. The first and last consist in the multiplying of food, and thus…2 Kings 4:1-442 Kings 4:1-44 · The Pulpit CommentaryAnd there came a man from Baal-shalisha. "Baal-shalisha" is reasonably identified with the "Beth-shalisha" of Eusebius and Jerome, which they place twelve Roman miles north of Diospolis, or Lydda (now Ludd). By "north"…2 Kings 4:1-442 Kings 4:1-44 · The Pulpit CommentaryThese young men were very nearly being poisoned. There was a famine in the land. Elisha came to Gilgal, where there was a school or college of young men in training for the sacred office of teaching others. Perhaps they…