2 Kings 4:39-40

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 4:39

And one went out into the field to gather herbs. One of the sons of the prophets, probably, went out into the neighboring country, and looked about for any wild fruits or vegetables that he could see anywhere. And found a wild vine. Not a wild grape vine ( Vitis labrusea ), the fruit of which would have been harmless, but some cucurbitaceous plant, with tendrils, and a growth like that of the vine. And gathered thereof wild gourds. The exact kind of gourd is uncertain. Recent critics... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 4:40

So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot . Either the bitter flavor alarmed them, or they began to feel ill effects from what they had swallowed, which, if it was colocynth, might very soon have produced stomachache or nausea. Rushing, therefore, at once to the worst possible supposition, they concluded that they were poisoned, and exclaimed, "O man of God, there... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Kings 4:39

A wild vine - Not a real wild vine, the fruit of which, if not very palatable, is harmless; but some climbing plant with tendrils. The plant was probably either the Ecbalium elaterium, or “squirting cucumber,” the fruit of which, egg-shaped, and of a very bitter taste, bursts at the slightest touch, when it is ripe, and squirts out sap and seed grains; or the Colocynthis, which belongs to the family of cucumbers, has a vine-shaped leaf, and bears a fruit as large as an orange, very bitter, from... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Kings 4:39-41

2 Kings 4:39-41. And found a wild vine This is generally supposed to have been the coloquintida plant, which has a leaf something like that of the vine, but is so very bitter, that some have called it “the gall of the whole earth:” it purges vehemently, and is a sort of poison if not qualified and taken in a moderate quantity. For they knew them not Neither he that gathered them, nor they that shred them, knew what they were, but took them to be the leaves of a wild vine. They cried... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 4:1-44

Miracles of care for the remnant (4:1-44)The widow of one of the prophets was in desperate trouble. She had hardly any food left and was about to lose her only means of income; for her sons were to be taken from her in payment for a debt. Elisha’s miraculous provision of oil enabled her to pay the debt and so preserve a few of God’s faithful in days of extreme hardship (4:1-7).Another of Israel’s faithful was the wife of a wealthy landowner. She recognized Elisha as God’s representative and... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 2 Kings 4:39

wild vine: i.e. a plant with vine-like tendrils. Not the grape, but probably the colocynth. read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 2 Kings 4:40

death. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect), for that which causes death. read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Kings 4:39

2 Kings 4:39. Found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds, &c.— See Hiller. Hieroph. part 2: p. 220. This is generally supposed to have been the coloquintida plant, which is so very bitter that some have called it "the gall of the whole earth:" it purges excessively, and is a sort of poison, if not qualified and taken in a moderate quantity. See Scheuchzer, who has given a print of the plant. The writer of the Observations remarks, that the common pottage of the Arabs is made by... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 2 Kings 4:39

39. went out into the field to gather herbs—Wild herbs are very extensively used by the people in the East, even by those who possess their own vegetable gardens. The fields are daily searched for mallow, asparagus, and other wild plants. wild vine—literally, "the vine of the field," supposed to be the colocynth, a cucumber, which, in its leaves, tendrils, and fruit, bears a strong resemblance to the wild vine. The "gourds," or fruit, are of the color and size of an orange bitter to the taste,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 2 Kings 4:38-41

The deadly effects of apostasy 4:38-41God again disciplined Israel by withholding fertility from the land and producing a famine (2 Kings 4:38; cf. 1 Kings 17). The people were not only hungry for bread but also for what would truly satisfy their spiritual hunger, namely, the Word of God. The wild gourds were similar to Baalism. They looked attractive but proved disgusting and deadly when consumed. Scripture compares meal or bread to the Word of God because it is what satisfies people’s most... read more

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