2 Reis 4:38-39 NVIPT

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 4:38-44

Ministries to man, good and bad. "And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land," etc. Elisha had returned to Gilgal, the seat of a school of the prophets; he had come thither once more on his yearly circuit, and during the famine, which prevailed in the land. As the students sat before their master, he discerned in their emaciated forms the terrible effects upon them of the famine. In the narrative we discover the action of several ministries, or events with which men... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Kings 4:38

There was a dearth in the land - Rather, “The famine was in the land.” The seven years’ dearth of which Elisha had prophesied (marginal reference) had begun.The sons of the prophets - See 1 Kings 20:35 note. They were sitting before him as scholars before their master, hearing his instructions. 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 4:38

2 Kings 4:38. There was a dearth in the land The same that we read of chap. 2 Kings 3:1. It continued seven years, just as long again as that in the time of Elijah. For if a wicked nation will not be reformed by a lesser judgment, they must expect to be visited with a greater. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him To hear his wisdom, and be instructed in the law, that they might teach others. He said unto his servant, Seethe the pottage, &c. By this it appears that they... 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

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 2 Kings 4:38

IV. THE MIRACLE OF HEALING THE DEATH IN THE POT"And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to... 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