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water on the hands of Elijah. (12) And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. (13) And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. (14) And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of

a prophet, in contrast with Jehoram, who at once despairs. (Comp. Amos v. 4, 8; and Note on 1 Chron. xiii. 3; 2 Chron. xv. 2.)

One of the king of Israel's servants.—One of the king's staff, who, like Obadiah (1 Kings xviii. 3), was perhaps a friend of the prophets of Jehovah.

Here is Elisha.-The prophet must have followed the army of his own accord, or rather, as Keil suggests, under a Divine impulse, in order that, when the hour of trial came, he might point Jehoram to Jehovah as the only true God.

Which poured water on the hands of Elijah. -Was the personal attendant of that greatest of prophets. The phrase alludes to the well-known Oriental custom of the servant pouring water from a ewer on his master's hands to wash them.

(12) The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat.All the versions except the Targum add, "the king of Judah." Jehoshaphat said what follows either on the ground of Elijah's reputation, or because the news of Elisha's succession had already reached Judah.

The proper names, Shaphat and Jehoshaphat, are identical (He judgeth, i.e., Jah judgeth). (Comp. Ahaz and Jehoahaz.)

Went down to him.-From the royal tents, which were probably pitched on an eminence, so as to overlook the camp. The three kings go to consult the prophet as persons of ordinary station might do. This shows the estimation in which he was held. Keil says they were humbled by misfortune.

(13) Unto the king of Israel.-As the leader of the confederacy; or as Elisha's sovereign, who might be supposed to have brought the others to the prophet.

The prophets of thy father-i.e., the Baal prophets (comp. 1 Kings xviii. 19) and false prophets of Jehovah (1 Kings xxii. 6, 11). Elisha's sarcasm indicates that the former had not been wholly rooted out.

Nay.-Heb., 'al; Greek, un. “ Say not so;" or, "Repulse me not." (Comp. Ruth i. 13.)

These three kings.—And not one (myself) only, emphasising the word three. Or else Jehoram would rouse compassion by the magnitude of the imminent disaster. (14) Before whom I stand.—As a minister. (Comp. 1 Kings xvii. 1, xviii. 15.)

Surely.-Ki (for); used as in verse 10 ("I cry, alas!" "I thus swear," for, &c.). Jehoshaphat is accepted because of his faithful dependence on Jehovah (verse 11). Jehoram still maintained or tolerated the cultus of Bethel and Dan. (See verse 3.)

the Minstrel.

Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. (15) But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. (16) And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches. (17) For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. (18) And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. (19) And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell

Regard the presence.-Literally, lift the face. (Comp. Gen. xix. 21; xxxii. 21.)

(15) Bring me a minstrel. - Menaggen-i.e., a harper, player on a stringed instrument (negínāh). Elisha called for music as a natural means of calming his perturbed spirit (verses 13, 14). Compo. sure and serenity of soul were essential, if the prophet was to hear the voice of God within. Cicero tells us that the Pythagoreans were wont to tranquillise their minds after the strain of thought with harp music and singing (Tusc. iv. 2). (Comp. 1 Sam. x. 5; 1 Chron. XXV. 1, Note.) The incident is a striking mark of the historical truth of the narrative.

And it came to pass.-Perfect with weak waw: a later idiom. (Comp. 1 Sam. xvii. 48.)

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The hand of the Lord came upon him.— Targum and some MSS., "the Spirit of the Lord; but comp. 1 Kings xviii. 46.

(16) Make. Right (infinitive, equivalent to an energetic imperative).

Valley. Nahal, wady, torrent-bed, gully. According to Thenius, "the brook Zered" of Deut. ii. 13 is meant; the present Wady el-Ahsy, (or el-Hasa) which forms the natural southern boundary of Moab, and from which several gorges lead up into the Moabite highlands. (See Isa. xv. 7.)

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Full of ditches. - Literally, pits, pits. (Comp. Gen. xiv. 10: Wells, wells of bitumen.") The pits were to gather the water, which otherwise would soon have run away in the bed of the torrent (Jer. xiv. 3, 4). The style of the oracle is stamped with the liveliness and originality of historic truth.

(17) Ye shall not see wind.-Which in the east is the usual precursor of rain.

Yet that valley. And that wady. He says "tha! (hu) valley," meaning "the one of which I spoke (verse 16). Contrast "this (zeh) valley," i.e., "the one in which we are (verse 16).

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Your cattle.-Miqneh: flocks and herds, as distinguished from "beasts" (běhēmāh), i.e., probably,

beasts of burden.

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together.

Heb., gird him-
self with a girdle

over the Moabites.

the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: (23) and they said, This is blood: the

(20) And it came to pass in the morn-2 were cried kings are surely slain, and they have ing, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. (21) And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they 2gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border. (22) And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon

4 Heb., destroyed.

5 Or, they smote in
it eren smiting.

(Comp. chap. viii. 12, 13.) Taken as commands, they appear to conflict with Deut. xx. 19, where the felling of an enemy's fruit trees for the purposes of siege-works is forbidden. Keil, however, explains that the law relates to Canaanite territory which the Israelites were to occupy, whereas Moab's was an enemy's country, and therefore not to be spared.

Fenced city... choice city. There is a paronomasia, or play on words of similar sound, in the Hebrew: 'ir mibçār . . . ‘îr mibhûr.

Every good tree-i.e., fruit-bearing trees.
Stop.-Gen. xxvi. 15, 18.

Mar.-Literally, make to grieve: a poetical expression. An unfruitful land is said to mourn (Isa. xxiv. 4; Jer. xii. 4).

Every good piece of land.—All the good demesne (literally, portion, allotment).

(20) When the meat offering was offered.Comp. 1 Kings xviii. 29, 36. A more exact definition of the time. The reckoning by hours was unknown before the captivity. According to the Talmud, the morning sacrifice was offered in the Temple the moment it became light. (Ewald assumes that "the meat offering was offered on this occasion in the camp.) That help came to the distressed army just at the hour of morning worship was a striking coincidence. (This allusion to the law of Exodus xxix. 38, seq., may be an indirect hit at the northern kingdom.)

There came water.-Water was coming from the way (direction) of Edom. It would seem that a sudden storm of rain had fallen on the mountains of Seir, at some distance from the camp (Josephus says at a distance of three days' march); and the water found its natural outlet in the dry wady. Reuss thinks this explanation "superfluous," in the face of "the author's intention to describe a miracle;" but there are different kinds of miracle, and, in the present instance, the miraculous element is visible in the prophet's prediction of the coming help, and in the coincidence of the natural phenomena with the needs of the Israelites. (Comp. chap. vii. 1, 2, seq.) [This statement seems to preclude also the naturalistic explanation founded on the meaning of the Arabic name of the locality. Hisyun, hasyun, hasan, mean water which gathers on a hard bottom under the sand in certain localities, and which the Arabs get at by scooping holes in the ground. See Lane, Arab. Eng. Lex. s.v.]

...

(21) And when. heard... they gathered. -Now all the Moabites had heard...and had gathered themselves: literally, had been summoned, called together (Judges vii. 23).

smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. (24) And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. (25) And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the

All that were able to put on armour.-From every one girding on a girdle, and upwards-i.e., all of adult age, all who could bear arms. It was a levy en masse of the male population for the defence of the country.

Stood in.-Had taken their stand on the frontier. (22) They rose up early.-The Moabite camp on the frontier mountains.

And the sun shone upon the water.-A parenthesis (now the sun had risen upon the water). The red sunrise tinged the water with the same colour. On the other side.- Min-nèged, opposite," over against them" (chap. ii. 7, 15). The sun rose behind the Moabites.

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Red.-'Adōm. There may be an allusion to the red earth of the locality (Edom), which would further redden the water.

(23) The kings are surely slain.-Have surely fought with (or destroyed) one another. LXX., ἐμαχέσαντο. The supposition was not improbable. Confederates of different races not seldom had been known to fall out among themselves (comp. Judges vii. 22; 2 Chron. xx. 23, and Note), and in this case the old enmity of Edom towards Israel, and the suppressed jealousies between Israel and Judah, made such a result very likely. The Moabites would know also that the wady had been waterless, so that their mistake was natural. When once their instinct for plunder was aroused they did not stop to think, but with a wild cry of "Moab, to the spoil!" they rushed in disorder upon the Israelite camp.

(24) Smote the Moabites.-Who were unprepared for resistance.

But they went forward smiting... country. -The Hebrew text (Kethib) has, and he went (wayyabo, spelt defectively, as in 1 Kings xii. 12) into it (i.e., the land of Moab), and smote (literally, smiting, an infinitive for a finite form) Moab. This is better than the Hebrew margin (Qeri), and they smote it (i.e., Moab), or the reading of some MSS. and the Targum and Syriac, "and they smote them, and smote Moab," which is tautologous. The original reading is perhaps represented by that of the LXX., καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰσπορευό μενοι καὶ τύπτοντες τὴν Μωάβ, "and they entered the country, destroying as they went on." (In Hebrew the participles would be infinitives.)

(25) And they beat down the cities.-Rather, And the cities they would overthrow, describing what happened again and again.

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On every . . filled it.-Literally, And every good plot, they would cast each man his stone, and fill

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wells of water, and felled all the good trees: 1only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.

(26) And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not. (27) Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering

1 Heb., until he left
the stones thereof
in Kir-haraseth.

it; and every fountain of water they would stop, and every good tree they would fell. All this as Elisha foretold, verse 19.

Only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof. Literally, as margin, until one left her stones in Kir-harèseth. This clause connects itself with the opening statement, "And the cities they would overthrow (or, kept overthrowing) until her stones were left in Kir-harèseth," i.e., the work of destruction stopped before the walls of this, the principal stronghold of the country. In the other cities the invaders had not left one stone upon another.

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Kir-haraseth.-Called "Kir-moab," Isa. xv. 1, and "Kir-hères," Isa. xvi. 11. The Targum on Isa. xv. calls it Kerak (castle) of Moab," and it still bears that name. It stands upon a steep cliff of chalk. Howbeit the slingers went about it.-And the slingers went round, surrounded it.

And smote it-i.e., shot at the men on the walls with deadly effect.

(26) The battle was too sore for him.-The garrison was giving way under the destructive fire of the slingers.

To break through even unto the king of Edom.-Because the Edomite contingent seemed to be the most vulnerable point in the allied army, or because he hoped that these unwilling allies of Israel would allow him to escape through their ranks. (27) Then.-And.

His eldest son-i.e., the despairing king of Moab took his own son and heir.

- To

Offered him for a burnt offering. Chemosh, without doubt, by way of appeasing that wrath of the god which seemed bent on his destruction. (Comp. the words of Mesha's inscription: "Chemosh was angry with his land." Note, chap. i. 1.) There is a reference to such hideous sacrifices in Micah vi. 7, "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions ?" In dark times of national calamity the Hebrews were prone, like their neighbours, to seek help in the same dreadful rites.' (Comp. the case of Manasseh, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 6; see also Ps. cvi. 37-39.) From the cuneiform records we learn that the sacrifice of children was also a Babylonian practice. (Amos ii. 1 refers to a totally different event from that recorded in the text.)

Upon the wall.-Of Kir-haraseth. This was done that the besiegers might see, and dread the consequences, believing, as they would be likely to do, that the Divine wrath was now appeased.

And there was great indignation against Israel. Or, And great wrath fell upon Israel. This phrase always denotes a visitation of Divine wrath. (Comp. 2 Chron. xix. 10, xxiv. 18.) The manifestation of wrath in the present case was apparently a success

Moab's Sacrifice.

upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

CHAPTER IV.-) Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bond

ful sortie of the Moabite garrison, whose faith in this terrible expedient of their king inspired them with new courage, while the besiegers were proportionally disheartened. The result was that "they (i.e., the allied forces) departed from him (raised the siege), and returned to the land" (of Israel). Why did Divine wrath fall upon Israel rather than upon Moab? upon the involuntary cause rather than the voluntary agents in this shocking rite? If the wrath of Jehovah be meant, we cannot tell. But, as the present writer understands the words of the text, they rather indicate that the object of the dreadful expiation was attained, and that the wrath of Chemosh fell upon the Hebrew alliance. It is certain that belief in the supremacy of Jehovah did not hinder ancient Israel from admitting the real existence and potency of foreign deities. (See Note on 1 Chron. xvi. 25, 26; xvii. 21; and comp. Nuri. xxi. 29; Judges xi. 24.) This peculiar conception is a token of the antiquity of the record before us. In the second half of Isaiah the foreign gods are called nonentities.

After the events described in this verse we may suppose that Mesha's successes continued, as described on the stone of Dibon. (See Note on chap. i. 1.)

IV.

IV. VIII. THE WONDROUS WORKS OF ELISHA THE PROPHET.

(1-7) He multiplies the widow's oil. (Comp. 1 Kings xvii. 12 seq.)

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(1) of the wives of the sons of the prophets. -This shows that "the sons of the prophets were not young unmarried men leading a kind of monastic life under the control of their prophetic chief. Those who were heads of families must have had their own separate homes. (See Note on 1 Kings xx. 35.)

Thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord. She makes this the ground of her claim on the prophet's assistance. In 1 Kings xviii. 3, 12 it is said of Obadiah, Ahab's steward, that he "feared the Lord," and on account of this slight resemblance, the Targum, Josephus, and Ephrem Syrus identify the dead man of this verse with Obadiah, who is supposed to have spent all his property in maintaining the prophets (1 Kings xviii. 4) (!) Possibly the widow meant to say that her husband's debts were not due to profligate living (Thenius).

The creditor is come to take unto him my two sons.-According to the law (Lev. xxv. 39). They would have to continue in servitude until the year of jubilee. The ancient Roman law was more severe, for it contained no provision for the future release of the unhappy debtor. (Comp. also Matt. xviii. 26, and Notes.)

The Widow's

men.

II. KINGS, IV.

2 Or, creditor.

(2) And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, or, scant not. Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. (3) Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; 1 borrow not a few. (4) And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. (5) So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. (6) And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more.

3 Heb., there was a
day.

4 Heb., laid hold
on him.

(2) What hast thou ?-The form of the pronoun here, and in verses 3, 7, 16, 23 infra, is peculiar, and points, as the present writer believes, to the northern origin of the narrative, rather than to later composition.

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an

A pot of oil.-Usually explained, vas unguentarium, an "oil-flask." Keil says that 'asuk rather denotes anointing," unctio, and 'asûk shèmen, anointing in (or with) oil," i.e., oil enough for an anointing. But it seems better to take the word as a verb: 66 save (whereby) I may anoint myself with oil" (Micah vi. 15). Vulgate, parum olei, quo ungar." The Jews, like the Greeks and Romans, anointed themselves after the bath (2 Sam. xii. 20).

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(3) Abroad.-Literally, from the outside (of the house); out of doors.

Borrow not a few. See margin. Do not scant, or stint, namely, to borrow.

(4) And when . . . thou shalt shut.-And go in and shut the door. The object was to avoid disturbance from without; perhaps, also, because publicity was undesirable in the case of such a miracle. (Comp. our Lord's injunction of secrecy on those whom He healed, and His exclusion of the people, in Luke viii. 51, 54.)

Thou shalt set aside.-By the help of thy sons (verses 5, 6).

(5) From him.-Me'ittô, the correct form. (Comp. chap. iii. 11.)

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Who brought poured out.-There should be a semicolon at sons. The rest is literally, They were bringing to her, and she was pouring continually (meyaççèqeth, only here). She did not leave her pouring. The story is evidently abridged in this verse.

(6) Her son.-Probably the eldest. The LXX. has plural here and in the verb that follows.

Stayed.-Heb., stood-i.e., halted, stopped. (Comp. Luke viii. 44, þúσis čorn.) Bähr makes the word mean continued-i.e., to flow (!).

(7) Then she came.-And she went in.
He said.-LXX., "Elisha said."
Thy debt.-Right. Margin incorrect.

And live thou and thy children.-Heb., and thou-thy sons-thou mayest live. Clearly "and" has fallen out before the second word. Many MSS. and all the versions have it.

Oil Multiplied.

And the oil stayed. (7) Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

(8) And 3it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. (9) And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. (10) Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

(11) And it fell on a day, that he came

Thou.-'Atti, an archaism, perhaps retained in the dialect of northern Israel (1 Kings xiv. 2).

Of the rest. On what is left over-i.e., of the price of the oil.

(8 37) The Shunammitess and her son.

(8) And it fell on a day.-Rather, And it came to pass at that time. Literally, during that day, referring to the period of the miracle just related. Perhaps, too, the contrast of the poor and rich woman is intentional.

Passed.-Crossed over-scil., the plain of Jezreel, which he would have to do, whether he went from Samaria, or from Carmel to Shunem, which lay on the slope of Little Hermon, about midway between the two.

A great woman-i.e., of high rank, or rich (1 Sam. xxv. 2; 2 Sam. xix. 33). Rabbinic tradition identifies her with Abishag the Shunammite of 1 Kings i. 3 (!). In that case she must have been at this time more than 200 years old.

So it was.-It came to pass.

Passed by.-Crossed over, as above.

He turned in.-He would turn aside (frequentative). For the phrase, see Gen. xix. 2.

(9) An holy man of God.-The term "holy" is not a merely ornamental or conventional epithet of the 'man of God" (i.e., prophet) as such, but denotes the special moral elevation of Elisha.

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Continually. At stated intervals, regularly. (10) A little chamber. . . on the wall.-Rather, a little upper chamber ('aliyah) with walls-i.c., a chamber on the roof of the house, walled on each side as a protection against the weather. (Comp. 1 Kings xvii. 19.) Here the prophet would be secure from all interruption or intrusion on his privacy, and so would be likely to honour the house longer with his presence. A bed. The four things mentioned are the only essentials in Oriental furnishing.

A stool. A chair of state. The same word means throne.

Candlestick.-Lamp-stand.

(11) And it fell on a day.-See Note on verse 8.
Chamber.-Upper chamber.
Lay-i.e., lay down to rest.

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thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. (12) And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. (13) And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. (14) And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. (15) And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. (16) 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

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a Gen. 18. 10.

1 Heb., set time.

(12) Gehazi his servant.-First mentioned here. His name means valley of vision," and is perhaps derived from his native place, which may have got its name from being a haunt of prophets.

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His servant.-His young man (Gen. xxii. 3). She stood before him-i.e., before Gehazi. The sentence, And when he had called her, she stood before him," is an anticipation of the result, and might be placed within a parenthesis.

(13) And he said unto him-i.e., Elisha, as he lay on the bed (verse 11), had charged Gehazi to say this when he called their hostess. It is hardly likely that Elisha coinmunicated with her through his servant in order to save his own dignity. He may have thought she would express her wishes more freely to Gehazi than to himself.

Thou hast been careful . . . with all this care.-Literally, trembled all this trembling. Comp. Luke x. 41 (τυρβάζη).

Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king ?— Literally, is it to speak for thee to the king? that is, dost thou stand in need of an advocate at court ? Is there any boon thou desirest from the king? This shows what influence Elisha enjoyed at the time; but it does not prove that Jehu, whom he anointed, was already on the throne, for Jehoram respected and probably feared the prophet.

The captain of the host.-The commander-inchief, who was the most powerful person next the king. I dwell among mine own people.-Literally, In the midst of my people I am dwelling-scil., far from the court and courtly interests. I have nothing to seek from such exalted personages; I am a mere commoner living quietly in the country.

(14) And he said-i.e., when Gehazi had reported the woman's reply.

She hath no child.-Which was at once a misfortune and a reproach. (Comp. Gen. xxx. 23; 1 Sam. i. 6, 7; Luke i. 25; Deut. vii. 13, 14; Ps. cxxviii. 3, 4.) (15) Call her.-The Shunammite is now summoned into the presence of the prophet himself.

She stood.-Or, took her stand. Modesty, or reverence for Elisha, prevented her from going farther. (16) About this season.-At this set time.

and her Son.

thine handmaid. (17) And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

(18) And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. (19) And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. (20) And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. (21) And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. (22) And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. (23) And he said, Wherefore wilt

According to the time of life.-Rather, at the reviving time-i.e., next spring; or, when the time revives-i.e., in the following year: a phrase occurring in Gen. xviii. 10, 15. Böttcher renders, "when the year has revolved," assuming the ground meaning of the term "life" to be something joined in a circle.

Thou shalt embrace.-Thou art about to embrace.

Do not lie-i.e., raise no delusive hopes. (Comp. Isa. lviii. 11.) We can imagine the emotion with which this would be said. (Comp. the incredulity of Sarah, Gen. xviii. 12, 13.)

(17) And the woman conceived.-Comp. with this verse Gen. xxi. 2.

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