He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain ,.... Himself and the dead child; that nobody might come in and interrupt him in his prayers for the restoration of it to life, nor see the motions and gestures he used, and the postures he put himself in: and prayed unto the Lord ; that he would restore the child to life. read more
And he went up ,.... To the bed, which was on an ascent in the chamber; see Gill on 2 Kings 1:4 and lay upon the child; as Elijah did on the widow's son of Zarephath, 1 Kings 17:21 . and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and stretched himself upon the child ; that is, he did each of these one after another, since the disproportion of their bodies would not admit of their being done together: and the flesh of the child waxed... read more
Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro ,.... Left the chamber, and came down to the house where the family chiefly resided, and walked to and fro in deep thought and meditation, and, no doubt, in fervent ejaculations for the wished for blessing to be completed: and went up ; to the chamber again, and up to the bed in it: and stretched himself upon him ; as before: and the child sneezed seven times ; which was a sign of life, and even of health; and hereby his head... read more
Prayed unto the Lord - He had no power of his own by which he could restore the child. read more
Lay upon the child - Endeavored to convey a portion of his own natural warmth to the body of the child; and probably endeavored, by blowing into the child's mouth, to inflate the lungs, and restore respiration. He uses every natural means in his power to restore life, while praying to the Author of it to exert a miraculous influence. Natural means are in our power; those that are supernatural belong to God. We should always do our own work, and beg of God to do his. read more
The child sneezed seven times - That is, it sneezed abundantly. When the nervous influence began to act on the muscular system, before the circulation could be in every part restored, particular muscles, if not the whole body, would be thrown into strong contractions and shiverings, and sternutation or sneezing would be a natural consequence; particularly as obstructions must have taken place in the head and its vessels, because of the disorder of which the child died. Most people,... read more
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 belong to the same class as our Lord's feeding the four and the five thousands, and Elijah's increasing the meal and oil of the widow of Zarephath ( 1 Kings 17:10-16 ). It serves no useful purpose to ask how miracles of this class were wrought. The inspired writers have not told us; and... read more
2. The promise of a child to the Shunammite woman, and the restoration of the child to life. read more
Godliness has, to a large extent, the promise of this life, as well as of the life to come. The "good Shunammite" and her husband are examples of the union, which is more common than men are apt to allow, between piety and prosperity. They have nothing heroic about them, nothing out of the common. They are substantial middle-class people, dwelling in a quiet country-side, farming on a moderate scale, with a comfortable house of their own, dwelling contentedly amid their laborers and their... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 4:18-37
We may well suppose that, after the birth of this son, the prophet was doubly welcome to the good Shunammite. He had thought himself indebted to her, but henceforth, as long as she lives, she will think herself in his debt, and that she can never do too much for him. We may also suppose that the child was very dear to the prophet, as the son of his prayers, and very dear to the parents, as the son of their old age. But here is, I. The sudden death of the child, though so much a darling. He was... read more