Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Get the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”
Parallel Translations
-
Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Get the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”
-
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 seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
-
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 seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.'
Cross-references (26)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 4:38 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Kings 2:1 When Yahweh was about to take Elijah up by a whirlwind into heaven, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
- 2 Kings 2:3 The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from your head today?” He said, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”
- 2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while wherever you can; for Yahweh has called for a famine. It will also come on the land for seven years.”
- Luke 10:39 She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
- Acts 22:3 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.
- Leviticus 26:26 When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight. You shall eat, and not be satisfied.
- Deuteronomy 28:22-24 Yahweh will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with fiery heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew. They will pursue you until you perish. Your sky that is over your head will be bronze, and the earth that is under you will be iron. Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust. It will come down on you from the sky, until you are destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 You will carry much seed out into the field, and will gather little in, for the locust will consume it. You will plant vineyards and dress them, but you will neither drink of the wine, nor harvest, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you won’t anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.
- 1 Samuel 7:16-17 He went from year to year in a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places. His return was to Ramah, for his house was there; and he judged Israel there; and he built an altar to Yahweh there.
- 1 Samuel 19:20 Saul sent messengers to seize David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, God’s Spirit came on Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied.
- 2 Samuel 21:1 There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the face of Yahweh. Yahweh said, “It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
- Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.
- Jeremiah 14:1-6 This is Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. “Judah mourns, and its gates languish. They sit in black on the ground. The cry of Jerusalem goes up. Their nobles send their little ones to the waters. They come to the cisterns, and find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They are disappointed and confounded, and cover their heads. Because of the ground which is cracked, because no rain has been in the land, the plowmen are disappointed. They cover their heads. Yes, the doe in the field also calves and forsakes her young, because there is no grass. The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights. They pant for air like jackals. Their eyes fail, because there is no vegetation.
- Ezekiel 14:13 “Son of man, when a land sins against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand on it, and break the staff of its bread, and send famine on it, and cut off from it man and animal;
- Ezekiel 24:3 Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says, “Put the cauldron on the fire. Put it on, and also pour water into it.
- Mark 6:37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them something to eat?”
- Mark 8:2-6 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have stayed with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. If I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come a long way.” His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves. Having given thanks, he broke them, and gave them to his disciples to serve, and they served the multitude.
- Luke 4:25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.
- Luke 8:35 People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
- Luke 8:38 But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
- Luke 9:13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”
- John 21:5 Jesus therefore said to them, “Children, have you anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.”
- John 21:9 So when they got out on the land, they saw a fire of coals there, with fish and bread laid on it.
- Acts 10:38 even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
- Acts 15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return now and visit our brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”
- Luke 2:46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, in the land of Israel.
That is, in the land of Israel.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 4:38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and…
2Ki 4:38 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 seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
Ver. 38. See the pottage.] The propbets were poor, and glad of pottage. Nescio quomodo bonae mentis sorer est paupertas. {a} The saints are kept at hard commons, but have their keeping of free cost. The wicked have larger provisions, but pay sweetly.
Read full note →
{a} Petron.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Elisha came again to Gilgal; where he came with…
Elisha came again to Gilgal; where he came with Elijah, 2Ki 2:1; where was a school of the prophets, whom he designed to comfort concerning the present dearth and their other discouragements, and to confirm in the profession and practice of religion, and to instruct in the duties of the present season.
Sitting before him; at his feet, as scholars to be taught by him. See 2Ki 2:3; Act 22:3.
Read full note →
Seethe pottage: he provides no delicious meats, but mere necessaries, to teach them the contempt of worldly delights.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We have here Elisha in his place, in his…
We have here Elisha in his place, in his element, among the sons of the prophets, teaching them, and, as a father, providing for them; and happy it was for them that they had one over them who naturally cared for their state, under whom they were well fed and well taught. There was a dearth in the land, for the wickedness of those that dwelt therein, the same that we read of, Kg2 8:1. It continued seven years, just as long again as that in Elijah's time. A famine of bread there was, but not of hearing the word of God, for Elisha had the sons of the prophets sitting before him, to hear his wisdom, who were taught, that they might teach others. Two instances we have here of the care he took about their meat. Christ twice fed those to whom he preached. Elisha was in the more care about it now because of the dearth, that the sons of the prophets might not be ashamed in this evil time, but, even in the days of famine, might be satisfied, Psa 37:19.
I. He made hurtful food to become safe and wholesome. 1. On the lecture-day, the sons of the prophets being all to attend, he ordered his servant to provide food for their bodies, while he was breaking to them the bread of life for their souls. Whether there was any flesh-meat for them does not appear; he orders only that pottage should be seethed for them of herbs, Kg2 4:38. The sons of the prophets should be examples of temperance and mortification, not desirous of dainties, but content with plain food. If they have neither savoury meats nor sweet meats, nay, if a mess of pottage be all the dinner, let them remember that this great prophet entertained himself and his guests no better. 2. One of the servitors, who was sent to gather herbs (which, it should seem, must serve instead of flesh for the pottage), by mistake brought in that which was noxious, or at least very nauseous, and shred it into the pottage: wild gourds they are called, Kg2 4:39. Some think it was coloquintida, a herb strongly cathartic, and, if not qualified, dangerous. The sons of the prophets, it seems, were better skilled in divinity than in natural philosophy, and read their Bibles more than their herbals. If any of the fruits of the earth be hurtful, we must look upon it as an effect of the curse (thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee), for the original blessing made all good. 3. The guests complained to Elisha of the unwholesomeness of their food. Nature has given man the sense of tasting, not only that wholesome food may be pleasant, but that that which is unwholesome may be discovered before it comes to the stomach; the mouth tries meat by tasting it, Job 12:11. This pottage was soon found by the taste of it to be dangerous, so that they cried out, There is death in the pot, Kg2 4:40. The table often becomes a snare, and that which should be for our welfare proves a trap, which is a good reason why we should not feed ourselves without fear; when we are receiving the supports and comforts of life we must keep up an expectation of death and a fear of sin. 4. Elisha immediately cured the bad taste and prevented the bad consequences of this unwholesome pottage; as before he had healed the bitter waters with salt, so now the bitter broth with meal, Kg2 4:41. It is probable that there was meal in it before, but that was put in by a common hand, only to thicken the pottage; this was the same thing, but cast in by Elisha's hand, and with intent to heal the pottage, by which it appears that the change was not owing to the meal (that was the sign only, not the means), but to the divine power. Now all was well, not only no death, but no harm in the pot. We must acknowledge God's goodness in making our food wholesome and nourishing. I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Read full note →
II. He made a little food to go a great way. 1. Elisha had a present brought him of twenty barley-loaves and some ears of corn (Kg2 4:42), a present which, in those ages, would not be despicable at any time, but now in a special manner valuable, when there was a dearth in the land. It is said to be of the first-fruits, which was God's due out of their increase; and when the priests and Levites were all at Jerusalem, out of their reach, the religious people among them, with good reason, looked upon the prophets as God's receivers, and brought their first-fruits to them, which helped to maintain their schools. 2. Having freely received, he freely gave, ordering it all to be set before the sons of the prophets, reserving none for himself, none for the hereafter. "Let the morrow take thought for the things of itself, give it all to the people that they may eat." It well becomes the men of God to be generous and open-handed, and the fathers of the prophets to be liberal to the sons of the prophets. 3. Though the loaves were little, it is likely no more than what one man would ordinarily eat at a meal, yet with twenty of them he satisfied 100 men, Kg2 4:43, Kg2 4:44. his servant thought that to set so little meat before so many men was but to tantalize them, and shame his master for making so great an invitation to such short commons; but he in God's name, pronounced it a full meal for them, and so it proved; they did eat, and left thereof, not because their stomachs failed them, but because the bread increased in the eating. God has promised his church (Psa 132:15) that he will abundantly bless her provision, and satisfy her poor with bread; for whom he feeds he fills, and what he blesses comes to much, as what he blows upon comes to little, Hag 1:9. Christ's feeding his hearers was a miracle far beyond this; but both teach us that those who wait upon God in the way of duty may hope to be both protected and supplied by a particular care of divine Providence.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Elisha came again to Gilgal,.... Where he was…
And Elisha came again to Gilgal,.... Where he was with Elijah a little before his assumption to heaven, Kg2 2:1 and whither he went, there being a school of the prophets, as he did to all places where there were any, and where he had been before with Elijah; partly to instruct, encourage, and strengthen them, and partly to confirm his office as a prophet by miracles, which he did in several places he came to:
and there was a dearth in the land; a famine through drought:
Read full note →
and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: as disciples before their master, see Act 22:3.
and he said unto his servant; very probably Gehazi:
set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets; who seemed to have lived together in one house or college, and to be to the number of one hundred, see Kg2 4:43 and therefore required to have a large pot set on to boil pottage for them all.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 38. Came again to Gilgal] He had been…
Verse 38. Came again to Gilgal] He had been there before with his master, a short time prior to his translation.
Set on the great pot and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.] It was in a time of dearth, and all might now stand in need of refreshment; and it appears that the prophet was led to put forth the power he had from God to make a plentiful provision for those who were present. The father of the celebrated Dr. Young, author of the Night Thoughts, preaching a charity sermon for the benefit of the sons of the clergy, took the above words for his text; nor could they be said to be inappropriate.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 4:38. There was a dearth in the land…
2Ki 4:38. There was a dearth in the land — The same that we read of chap. 2Ki 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 lived together in society, and, after their lectures, were wont to eat together with their master; who now ordered his servant to prepare some food for them, which was very plain and common, such as the gardens and the fields would produce.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain There was a dearth in the land - Rather,…
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 1Ki 20:35 note. They were sitting before him as scholars before their master, hearing his instructions.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Galgal, where he had been often before. --- Dwelt.…
Galgal, where he had been often before. --- Dwelt. Hebrew, "sat," like disciples attending to the instructions of their master, Acts xxii. 3. (Calmet) --- To one, &c. Hebrew and Septuagint, "to his servant," Giezi. (Menochius) --- Eliseus provided for the temporal as well as for the spiritual wants of his followers. (Haydock) --- The famine had been sent by God, to punish the idolatry of the people, chap. viii. 1. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (Kg2 4:38-41)
PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (Kg2 4:38-41)
there was a dearth in the land--(see on Kg2 8:1).
Read full note →
the sons of the prophets were sitting before him--When receiving instruction, the scholars sat under their masters. This refers to their being domiciled under the same roof (compare Kg2 6:1).
Set on the great pot--As it is most likely that the Jewish would resemble the Egyptian "great pot," it is seen by the monumental paintings to have been a large goblet, with two long legs, which stood over the fire on the floor. The seethed pottage consisted of meat cut into small pieces, mixed with rice or meal and vegetables.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain THE POISONOUS POTTAGE HEALED, 2Ki_4:38-41.
THE POISONOUS POTTAGE HEALED, 2Ki_4:38-41.
This miracle of the healing of the poisonous pottage is a counterpart of that of the healing of the waters of Jericho. 2Ki_2:19-22. There the power of Elisha’s God works on the water; here, on the food of the prophets. The chief value of both miracles lies in the rich typical lessons they suggest concerning the coming in of Divine grace and power into the domain of man’s most common life and wants, to leaven and heal with gracious influences all the disturbances and bitternesses of earthly experience.
Read full note →
38. Came… Gilgal — Where was a school of the prophets. See note on 2Ki_2:1.
A dearth in the land — The seven years’ famine which Elisha had foretold. 2Ki_8:1. This is mentioned to show the necessity of their sending out into the fields to gather herbs for food.
Sitting before him — As disciples were wont to gather round their master to listen to the instructions which fell from his lips.
Set on the great pot — That is, put it over the fire. The great pot is mentioned as a well known, commonly used article among them.
Seethe pottage — Boil vegetables.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 38–41. Elisha at Gilgal heals the noxious Pottage (Not…
38–41. Elisha at Gilgal heals the noxious Pottage (Not in Chronicles)
38. Elisha came again to Gilgal] There are no notes of time in this narrative, or in the others, though we can see, here and there, that the events are not put together chronologically. (See below, on 2Ki_8:1.) Elisha had been at Gilgal with Elijah, but there is no need to suppose that ‘came again’ alludes to that visit. Gilgal (on which see note on 2Ki_2:1 above) was a centre of prophetic activity and it is probable that it was visited frequently both by Elijah and Elisha.
Read full note →
and there was a dearth in the land] The first noun has the article, and the clause might well be rendered ‘the famine was in the land’. The allusion will then be to the famine foretold in 2Ki_8:1. That some of the incidents related before that chapter occurred after the famine, see note on 2Ki_8:4.
the sons of the prophets were sitting before him] They would naturally gather round the great prophet, made famous by a large share of Elijah’s spirit, and catch at all he had to say. We can see from this story one aspect of the life in the colleges of the prophets. The members sat at the feet of some elder member, and learnt from him their duty and how to carry it out. (Cf. 2Ki_6:1, and note.) By Elisha’s teaching, which would be drawn from his own experience, they would gather faith and courage, seeing that God was working in their midst, and had not forsaken Israel in spite of their sins. Hence grew the hope of a thorough reformation in the breasts of these who must be regarded as the reformers of their time.
unto his servant] Probably some one of the sons of the prophets, appointed to wait on Elisha while he tarried at Gilgal.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (38) And Elisha came again.—Now Elisha had returned, commencing…
(38) And Elisha came again.—Now Elisha had returned, commencing a new narrative. The word “return” refers to the prophet’s annual visit. (Comp. 2Ki_4:25, and 2Ki_2:1, Notes.) The story is not put in chronological sequence with the foregoing.
And there was a dearth.—And the famine was.
Read full note →
The sons of the prophets were sitting before him.—As disciples before a master; probably in a common hall, which served for lecture, work, and dining-room. (Comp. 2Ki_6:1; Eze_8:1; Eze_14:1; Act_22:3.)
His servant.—Perhaps not Gehazi, but one of the sons of the prophets. So in 2Ki_4:43.
Seethe pottage.—Gen_25:29.
(38-44) Elisha among the sons of the prophets at Gilgal during the famine.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 38-41. 3. The healing of the unwholesome pottage.
Vers. 38-41. 3. The healing of the unwholesome pottage.
And Elisha came again to Gilgal; i.e. revisited Gilgal, where he had been previously with his master, (2Ki_2:1) either casually, or perhaps on one of his regular circuits (Keil) to visit the schools of the prophets. And there was a dearth in the land probably the dearth again mentioned in 2Ki_8:1 and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. Some translate "the sons of the prophets dwelt with him" (Vulgate, Luther, Bishop Hersley) but our version is probably correct. The LXX give ajkaqhnto; and Eze_8:1 Eze_16:1 Eze_33:31; with Zec_3:8, show that ynpl may have the meaning of "sitting in the presence of a person." And he said unto his servant, Set on the great poti.e. the one great pot that there would be in the houseand seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. Even in a famine there would be some vegetables produced on which life might be sustained.
Read full note →
Vers. 38-41.
Death in the pot: a sermon to young men.
These 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 were not skilled in the art of making the most of the vegetables which grew round about them, and were badly off for food. Elisha ordered his servant to put on the great pot, and make some pottage, or thick broth, for the hungry students. One of the young men went out to gather herbs for the purpose. There is a species of wild gourd or melon, called Cucumis prophetarum, which is common in the hill country, and which, when green, is sliced and boiled as a vegetable. But in the plains near Gilgal there is a plant extremely similar in appearance, but very different in its qualities. It was probably this the colocynthus, or squirting cucumber that is called the "wild gourd" in this chapter, and that the young men gathered and sliced down into the large pot of broth (see Thomson, "The Land and the Book"). When the pottage had been poured out, the young men began to eat of it, but, alarmed by its bitter taste, and probably suspecting then that poisonous herbs had been put into it, they cried out to Elisha, "O thou man of God, there is death in the pot! " From this incident we may show that, while there is many an enjoyment, many a course of conduct, as pleasant to the eye and apparently as safe as those poisonous herbs appeared to be, yet there is need for caution. "There is death in the pot." "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
I THIS MAY BE SAID OF FRAUDULENT PRACTICES. There is death in the pot." They nearly always begin in ways that seem perfectly safe and harmless. A man takes a little from his employer"s desk, intending to return it again. But in nine cases out of ten he never returns it. He has touched what is not his own. The brand of the thief is on his brow and the curse of the thief is on his life. A young man who had been well brought up went from home to enter a bank in a large city. It was noticed, when he returned home, that he was beginning to dress very extravagantly. Each time he returned, some fresh extravagance was noted. He had already begun to spend money faster than he made it, for his salary was but small He was a smart young man, and would soon have got on well in his business, for he was a general favorite. But in a foolish hour he began to abstract some of the bank money. Little by little it went on, until his defalcations were very considerable. At last he was discovered, dismissed in disgrace from the bank, and it was only the intervention of an influential friend of his family that prevented his arrest. He broke his mother"s heart, and brought down his father"s grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. Fraudulent practices may be very often traced to the habit of gambling or betting. This was testified once more quite recently in London by Mr. Vaughan, the Bow Street magistrate, on a charge which came before him.
There was a cashier in the receipt of a salary of a year, with prospects of advance. For eight or nine years he had filled his post creditably; but having got behind in his home expenses, he took a few shillings, and invested them in batting. As he was lucky, from taking shillings he proceeded to pounds; and having once started, he found that it was impossible for him to stop. He had always the hope of winning some day by a stroke of luck, and of thus being able to pay back again the sums which he had embezzled. But the "luck" never came, and he had at last to confess to his employers that he had defrauded them to the extent of "I wish," said Mr. Vaughan, "that the clerks in mercantile houses would come to this court, and see what I see, and hear what I hear. This is only one of a multitude of cases in which prisoners have confessed that their robberies are entirely due to betting, I regard it as a curse to the country." Beware of dishonesty in any form. "There is death in the pot." It means death to a man"s reputation, death to his worldly prospects, death to his peace of mind, for he must live in constant terror of discovery; and if he should escape discovery and judgment upon earth, how can he endure the thought of that day when the secrets of every life shall be disclosed, and when he shall stand condemned at the judgment-seat of God?
II THIS MAY BE SAID ALSO OF PRACTICES OF IMPURITY. There is death in the pot." Temptations to it abound on every side. A corrupt press sows broadcast its demoralizing stories, with its suggestive pictures. The theatre, with its brilliant lights and strains of sweetest music so often dedicated to the service of the devil lures men into the wayof the tempter, and into the den of the destroyer. It appears an innocent, harmless amusement. But "there is death in the pot." For one who comes unscathed and safe out of the theatre, there are scores who come out of it morally and spiritually the worse for its influence. Let men say what they like about the influence of the drama as a teacher of morals and there is nothing to be said against the drama in itself is there a single case of a man made better by going to the theatre? Where is he? Let him be produced. And even if one or two could be produced, what would they be as a testimony in favor of the theatre, compared to the testimony against it of the thousands it has ruined? "It might do good, but never did. Beware impurity in any form: Beware of impure books, impure songs, the impure jest, impure companions. "There is death in the pot." There is no sin that brings a more speedy or more terrible retribution in this life, than impurity of thought or deed. In a diseased body and a diseased mind it leaves its deadly marks. The impure man is a walking sepulcher. He is digging his own grave. Above all, he is destroying all hope of entering that pure and holy heaven where God is, and into which there shall in no wise enter anything that defileth.
III THIS MAY BE SAID ALSO OF HABITS OF INTEMPERANCE. There is death in the pot." We need not take an extreme position on the subject of alcohol any more than on any other subject. But it is right that, as intelligent beings, with a reason and a conscience, as Christian men and women with God"s Word to guide us, we should look facts in the face. Medical opinion is often resorted to by those who make too free in their use of alcohol. Let us hear the latest and best medical opinion on the subject. At the last meeting of the British Medical Association (Dublin, 1887), one of the most interesting papers was the report of a special committee which had been appointed by the association to inquire into the connection of disease with habits of intemperance. Here are some of the conclusions which the committee, after most careful investigation, arrived at:
(1) That habitual indulgence in alcohol beyond the most moderate amounts has a distinct tendency to shorten life, the shortening being on the average fairly proportional to the degree of indulgence;
(2) that the strictly temperate who have passed the age of twenty-five live on the average at least ten years longer than the intemperate." Is not this an important proof of our statement? "Habitual indulgence in alcohol beyond the most moderate amounts has a distinct tendency to shorten life." The man who drinks alcohol to any considerable extent is slowly killing himself. "There is death in the pot." If we turn from the assembly of doctors to the experience of everyday life, we get similar proofs. What terrible madness and infatuation drink causes! What fearful havoc it has made! What hopes it has blighted! What homes it has wrecked! What lives it has mined," There is death in the cup of intoxicating drink, as many a man has proved when it has been too late. But absence of wrong-doing will never make you fight. As Elisha cast the meal into the pot, wholesome and nourishing food in place of the deadly poison, so be it yours to fill your mind with the teaching of God"s Word, and your life with holy and useful deeds. The great Teacher is Jesus Christ. Ask him to enter into your life, to purify your heart and your desires. Ask him for time and for eternity to save your soul. C.H.I.
Vers. 38-44.
Ministries to man, good and bad.
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 are visited more or less in passing through this sublunary state.
I Here is the ministry of SEVERE TRIAL. "There was a dearth in the land." To be destitute of those provisions which are essential to the appeasement of hunger and the sustentation of life is undoubtedly one of the greatest trials. Such destitution is of two kinds the avoidable and the unavoidable. The former is common. Tens of thousands of people in this country, which so abounds with wealth, are, alas! subject to the trial of this destitution every day. But men bring this destitution on themselves. To the heartless cupidity of one class of men, and the indolence, extravagance, and intemperance of another, the poverty which is rampant in England today must be ascribed. The latter kind of destitution, viz. the inevitable, is that recorded in these verses; it arose out of the sterile condition into which the land was thrown. This was the destitution which now prevailed in Israel; it afflicted all, the good and the bad. In truth, Nature knows of no moral distinctions; she treats kings and paupers, the righteous and the wicked, alike.
II Here is the ministry of GROSS IGNORANCE. In order to allay the ravenous hunger of his pupils, Elisha said to his servant, "Set on the great pot, and seethe 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 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. And they could not eat thereof." Whatever were the herbs which the servants gathered it matters not; they were nauseous and pernicious. "The sons of the prophets," says Matthew Henry, "it would seem, were better skilled in divinity than philosophy, and read their Bibles more than their herbals." What they put into the pot tended to produce death rather than to strengthen life. Every day men are afflicted through the gross ignorance of themselves and others. Through ignorance men are everywhere putting "death in the pot," in a material sense. The cook, the doctor, the brewer, the distiller, how much death do they bring into the "pot" of human life! Through ignorance, too, men "pot" of life! Man"s ignorance of God and his claims on the soul, its nature, its laws, and the necessary conditions of true spiritual progress, is the minister of death.
III Here is the ministry of HUMAN KINDNESS. "And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of bread, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof." Whoever this man was (for no description is given of him save the place of his residence), he was a Heaven-inspired philanthropist. Mercy, the highest attribute of heaven, was in him, and he left his home and came forth to minister to the needs of his suffering race. Thank God for that kindness which has survived the Fall, and still lives in human hearts. The most precious ministry on earth is this: it feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, heals the diseased, wipes away the tears of human sorrow; it is, indeed, Christ in human flesh. For he was then in the world, though the world knew it not.
IV Here is the ministry of SUPERNATURAL POWER. Supernatural power through Elisha comes to the relief of these sufferers. The supernatural was manifested in two ways.
1. In counteracting the death-tendency of what was in the pot. "But he said, Then bring meal. And he east it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot." A supernatural power is required to counteract the pernicious in life. If the Almighty allowed evil to take its course freely and fully, death would run riot and reduce the whole race to extinction. The supernatural was manifested also:
2. In increasing the supplies of life. Elisha commanded his servant to distribute amongst his starving pupils the provisions which the man that came from Baal-shalisha had brought. To this the servant replied, "What, should I set this before a hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord." As the pot of oil increased in the pouring, so the provisions increased in the eating. It has been said of old of God, that he will abundantly bless the "provisions of his people, and satisfy the poor with bread." It is true that moral goodness, truth, and justice, skill, prudence, and diligence, have a tendency to increase everywhere the provisions of human life, and they are doing so every day. But in this case there seems to be the exertion of a power transcending the human. However this may be, that which we call the supernatural is nothing more than the natural. As Nature herself is immeasurably beyond our comprehension, transcends our conceptions, for us to speak of the supernatural implies the arrogation of an intelligence which we do not possess. D.T.
Vers. 38-41.
The deadly pottage.
Two other remarkable, though more briefly related, works of Elisha are narrated in the closing verses of this chapter. Both have to do with "the sons of the prophets" at Gilgal; both relate to a time of famine; and one is an Old Testament anticipation of a signal miracle of Christ. The first is the healing of the deadly pottage.
I THE PROPHETIC COLLEGE. We are transported to Gilgal, and gain a glimpse into the interior of the prophetic school.
1. Religious instruction. Elisha is there, and "the sons of the prophets" are "sitting before him," receiving his instructions. There is dearth of temporal provision, but none of spiritual. The usual exercises of instruction and devotion go on, as if plenty reigned.
2. Religious fellowship. The famine has not sufficed to break up the little community, but has drawn the members of it as trial should always do closer together. They have a common table. They "dwell together inunity". (Psa_133:1) Elisha, like a good captain, shares the hardships of his army. God"s people are sometimes brought into difficulty enough, but the effect should only be to strengthen the bonds of brotherly love.
3. Religious order. There are orderly arrangements. Elisha is not only preceptor, but director of the temporal affairs of the community. All obey him, as all appeal to him when trouble arises. The invisible Head of the community is Jehovah. On him they rely with confidence, when every other source of help fails.
II DEATH IN THE POT. The great pot is set on to seethe pottage in, and one goes out to gather herbs to eke out the scanty supply.
1. The poisonous gourd. Attracted by some wild creepers, the messenger gathers there from a lapful of gourds, which he mistakes for gourds of a similar appearance that are edible. The plants he had gathered were in reality poisonous. He brought them home, and they were shred into the pottage. We may learn two lessons.
(1) The danger of being deceived by appearances. Things often are not what they seem. The most plausible errors are those which bear a superficial resemblance to great truths. We need to have our "senses exercised to discern both good and evil". (Heb_5:14) To the true vine there correspond many wild vines; to the gourds that nourish and satisfy, many fair but poisonous imitations.
(2) The best intentions may lead to sad mistakes. The important point to be noticed here is that our intentions, however good, cannot prevent things from acting according to their real nature. The person who gathered the gourds thought them innocuous, but they produced their poisonous effects all the same. "Sincerity" does not exonerate us from the consequences of our actions; at least it cannot prevent these consequences following. Poisonous principles are as harmful in their influence when promulgated in ignorance, as when diffused with the fullest knowledge of their deadly character. "They knew it not" does not suffice to alter the nature of facts.
2. The timely discovery. The pottage was no sooner tasted than the peculiar flavor and felt effects discovered to those eating it that there was something, amiss. The cry was raised, "O thou man of God, there is death in the pot!
(1) One poisonous ingredient had destroyed the value of much wholesome food. It did not require that all the elements in the pottage should be unwholesome; it was enough that this one was. Through it the whole mixture was rendered deadly. It is not uncommon to defend a system by pointing to the numerous truths, which it contains. But one vital error blended with these truths may give the whole a fatal quality. The gospel itself may be adulterated with specious lies, which destroy its power for good.
(2) It is well when there is timely discovery of evil. It is better when, as here, those who have made the discovery resolve to partake no more of the poisoned dish. "They could not eat thereof." But many, in moral things, who know, who at least have been warned, that there is "death in the pot," go on eating of it. There is death in the intoxicating pot, yet many will not refrain.
III THE POTTAGE HEALED. Elisha had within himself a monition what to do. He said, "Bring meal." The meal was brought, and cast into the pottage, and the evil was at once cured. There seems no reason for using the meal except that it was customary to accompany these prophetic miracles with an outward symbolical act; and the meal, as a symbol of what was wholesome and nutritious in food, was as appropriate a medium as any to be used. We get this idea that the unwholesome is to be displaced by the wholesome. If the bane is to be destroyed, we must use as antidote that which is of opposite character. As a work of God"s power, the miracle was a pledge to the prophets of God"s ability and readiness to help them in every time of need. The simplest means can be made effectual if God blesses it. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was…
2Ki_4:38-44
And Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a dearth in the land.
Read full note →
Ministries to man, good and bad
Elisha had returned to Gilgal, the seat of a school of the prophets; he had come thither once more on his early 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.
I. Here is the ministry of severe trial. There was a dearth in the land. A destitution of those provisions essential to the appeasement of hunger and the sustentation of life is undoubtedly one of the greatest trials. Such destitution is of two kinds, the avoidable and the unavoidable. The former is common.. The latter kind of destitution, viz., the inevitable, is that recorded in these verses; it arose out of the sterile condition into which nature was thrown.
II. Here is the ministry of gross ignorance. The sons of the prophets, says Matthew Henry, it would seem were better skilled in divinity than philosophy, and read their Bibles more than their herbals. What they put into the pot tended to produce death rather than to strengthen life. Every day men are afflicted through the gross ignorance of themselves and others. The cook, the doctor, the brewer, the distiller, how much death do they bring into the pot of human life! Through ignorance, too, men are everywhere putting death in the pot in a spiritual sense. Mans ignorance of God and His claims on the soul, its nature, laws, and necessary conditions of true spiritual progress, is the minister of death.
III. Here is the ministry of human kindness. And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. Whoever this man was he was an heaven-inspired philanthropist. Mercy, the highest attribute of heaven, was in him, and he left his home and came forth to minister to the needs of his suffering race.
IV. Here is the ministry of supernatural power. Supernatural power through Elisha comes to the relief of these sufferers. The supernatural was manifested in two ways.
1. In counteracting the death tendency of what was in the pot. A supernatural power is required to counteract the pernicious in life. If the Almighty allowed evil to take its course free and full, death would run riot and reduce the whole race to extinction. The supernatural was manifested.
2. In increasing the supplies of life. Elisha commanded his servant to distribute amongst his starving pupils the provisions which the man that came from Baal-shalisha had brought. As the pot of oil increased in the pouring, so the provisions increased in the eating. It has been said of old of God that He will abundantly bless the provisions of His people, and satisfy the poor with bread. It is true that the tendency of moral goodness, truth, and justice, skill, prudence, and diligence, has a tendency to increase everywhere the provisions of human life, and it is doing so every day. (Homilist.)
The famine in Gilgal
There was a dearth at Gilgal. Palestine is about the most plentiful region in the world, although it now labours under the curse of the Turkish law and the malediction of God. There was death, there was famine at Gilgal. In the time of plenty, do you know that right on your heels there is coming a dearth, a famine Never a child of God ever passed from the earth without a dearth, without famine. You pencil the Sahara off--so many degrees longitude and so many latitude; and you say, north and south of that burning desert you have plenty, but in those regions you have drought. So, certainly, in every human life there is a Sahara to be traversed, during which your soul Will cry for bread. Caravans laden with provisions have plunged into the Sahara, and the camels have dropped and fallen, and the whole party has been lost in the desert. I never saw a life without a Sahara. Man, the caravans have come into your life. You have plenty of money, you have abounding health. The messenger that would come to you and say, Sahara ahead! you would greet with an incredulous Get away, but death is before you. Men have tried to deck the death-bed with rose-leaves, but they have never managed it; and you have to tramp through the dark desert of the Sahara of death. Have you got a Joseph to give you bread? What is to be your hope on the death-bed, when the hands are fallen nervelessly over the coverlet? When Dr. Raleigh lay dying of a disease that prevented him from taking food, he said, Never mind; Jesus is bringing to me the Bread of Life, and he passed away. (J. Robertson.)
Hard times
It is not likely the sons of the prophets fared sumptuously at any time. The provision for the maintenance of religion under the law had been diverted to the support of those who professed and taught the principles of idolatry; and little wonder it was that, when a season of famine occurred, they were reduced to great straits.
1. There is one lesson to be learned from this in common with many other passages of Scripture: Gods people are not exempted from the ordinary afflictive visitations of Providence. The sons of the prophets must feel the effects of the dearth as well as the grossest idolater in all the land: there is no promise of any such exemption held out to them. If we attend to the words of our blessed Lord we shall find that He never seeks to allure His followers by promising them days of ease, or seasons of the enjoyment of any temporal comfort. Rather are they warned that they are to expect nothing in this life but a narrow way and a strait gate, much opposition, plenty of obloquy; and well for them if they meet not even with harder fare,--well for them if they escape persecution whilst they live, and are suffered to end their days by aught but a death of violence like the Master they serve. But they are promised what will sustain them under all these inflictions, and make them more than conquerors, even the heirs of a glorious immortality.
2. And there are not a few records of very remarkable instances in which providential supplies have been brought to the people of God in distress. Take another instance somewhat similar, recorded by Samuel Clarke, and quoted by Flavel in the fourth volume of his works, at the 396th page. I do not profess to give the exact words of either author, but the substance of the incident is briefly this: Mr. John Fox, in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII, went to London, where he quickly spent the slender means with which his friends had supplied him or he had acquired by his own exertions, and began to be in great want. He was a faithful servant of God, but he was ready to perish for hunger, as many of the faithful have been. In this condition he sat one day in St. Pauls Church, every one seeming to shun such a spectacle of horror. But when he little expected but that his time had come, a person unknown to him thrust an untold supply of money into his hands, and bade him be of good cheer, for that he would ere long be placed in a position in which he might honourably earn his bread. Not long afterwards he was sent for by a person of rank and title, and entrusted with the charge of a noblemans children.
3. But a common calamity ought always to foster a common sentiment of benevolence. This was the case with Elisha. His means were very slender, but he would treat the sons of the prophets with the best he had to give; and his example is well worthy imitation. We need not at present advert to those ghastly records which tell us that human nature loses all its better instincts in circumstances of extreme distress, and which mention instances of mothers forgetting their little ones so far as to snatch from them the morsel so much required--thus suffering the maternal affection, one of the strongest, deepest, and purest of our nature, to be lost in a selfishness not only shocking but unavailing. There is not much to be learned from such extreme cases. It cannot be denied, it seems, that our better instincts may be suppressed, but as they will be sure to vindicate themselves as long as they remain, it ought to be our utmost endeavour to foster and preserve them by keeping them in constant exercise. (J. Murray.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 2Ki_4:38. Sons of the prophets were sitting before him—This…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
2Ki_4:38. Sons of the prophets were sitting before him—This means, not that they lived in common with Elisha, but sat as scholars before him for teaching. Seethe pottage—A kind of thick broth of rice or meal, vegetables, and meat.
Read full note →
2Ki_4:40. There is death in the pot—Probably the “wild gourds” (2Ki_4:39) were the fruit of the colocynth, exceedingly bitter, and causing severe cholic. Freely eaten, they might cause death. 2Ki_4:42-44. Barley loaves, supernaturally multiplied—A foreshadowing of Christ’s greater miracle of feeding the thousands. This man from Baal-shalisha brought the first fruits (Deu_18:4, &c.) to Elisha as being “the man of God,” rather than to the false priests of Baal who overran the land, but were judged by this man to be less worthy to act as Jehovah’s representatives and receive his religious offering than the prophet.—W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki_4:38-41
THE POISON OF SIN AND ITS CURE
THIS miracle of the healing of the poisonous pottage is a counterpart of that of the healing of the waters of Jericho (2Ki_2:19-22). There the power of Elisha’s God works on the water; here on the food of the prophets. The chief value of both miracles lies in the rich typical lessons they suggest concerning the coming in of Divine grace and power into the domain of man’s most common life and wants, to leaven and heal with gracious influences all the disturbances and bitternesses of earthly experience. The incident related in this paragraph is illustrative of the poison of sin and its cure. Observe—
I. That humanity is infected with the poison of sin. It penetrates all classes, and mingles with the ever-changing circumstances of human life. It is so subtle in its workings, and so deceptive in its appearance, as to escape detection till its effects are felt, as was the case with the wild gourds innocently gathered by a son of the prophets (2Ki_4:39). It weakens everything it taints. It is a foe to all stability. It is said that when Nicephorus Phocas had built a strong wall about his palace for his own security, in the night time he heard a voice crying to him, “O Emperor! though thou build thy wall as high as the clouds, yet if sin be within, it will overthrow all.” It is the custom of hunters in Africa, when they have killed a poisonous snake, to cut off its head, and carefully bury it in the ground, well knowing that if a naked foot trod on one of these fangs it would be fatally wounded; the venom is as deadly after the snake is dead. But sin is a venomous snake which no human hunter can slay; it insinuates itself everywhere, and everywhere spreads its deadly virus.
II. That the poison of sin is fatal in its effects. “There is death in the pot” (2Ki_4:40). Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death (Jas_1:15). The almond tree blossoms before the foliage appears. The splendour of its ruby flowers lures the winged insects of the air, but as they sip its poisoned chalices they fall dead in myriads at its root. So sin is like that tree, attracting human souls to drink in pleasure from its luscious flowers until they fall, deluded, in toxicated, dead. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom_5:12).
III. That the poison of sin is neutralized by the gracious provisions of the Gospel (2Ki_4:41). There was no virtue in the meal itself to dissipate the poison of the pottage; it was but the means by which the miraculous power wrought the cure. So in the restoration to moral health of sin-poisoned humanity, while means are used, and must be used, the healing, saving power is Divine. The gospel, divinely devised, divinely developed, and divinely applied, is the unfailing panacea for the world’s evil.
LESSONS:—
1. Sin is the great source of all human misery.
2. The remedy for human misery is Divinely provided.
3. God is not indifferent to the common daily wants of human life.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki_4:38. The pursuit of truth. I. Is carried on by earnest souls in the midst of national distress. “There was a dearth in the land.” II. Brings men into the presence of the great and good. “The sons of the prophets were sitting before him.” III. Contented with a modest supply of physical needs. “Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.”
—The prophets were poor, and glad of pottage. The saints are kept at hard commons, but have their keeping of free cost. The wicked have larger cakes, but pay sweetly.—Trapp.
—The sons of the prophets had to struggle with want and distress, but no want could hinder them from entering the community, or could induce them to separate. Life in common, in faith, in prayer, in the praise of God, was dearer to them than pleasant days, and enjoying the pleasure of sin. Where unity of spirit and true love call people together to a common meal, there is no need of great preparations and expensive wishes; they are readily satisfied with the simplest food.—Lange.
2Ki_4:39. Ignorance of simple things. I. Inexcusable, because within the reach of all. II. Yet, alas! too prevalent. III. May be the occasion of fatal consequences.
2Ki_4:40. The deadly power of sin. I. Mingles itself with the sweetest experiences of life. II. Causes many to turn with loathing even from their necessary food. III. Beyond all human power to conquer.
—It is often with spiritual good as it is with bodily good: it looks as if it were healthful and nourishing—i.e., the words are beautiful and attractive—and yet there is soul-poison in it, which is destructive, if we are not on our guard.
2Ki_4:41. What was there in the meal to counter ct the bad properties of the gourds? Nothing, necessarily.
The meal, like the salt cast into the foul waters of Jericho (2Ki_2:21), and the tree at Marah (Exo_15:25), was merely the suggestive symbol of the Divine powers of nourishment and healing which subsisted in Elisha’s God. It bore a similar relation to this miracle that Elisha’s stretching himself upon the body of the dead child did to the Divine power that raised the child to life. It was the earthly medium through which the spirit worked. All the bad properties of the pottage were miraculously taken away. So, say some of the older divines, the healthsome meal of sound Christian doctrine, entering into the mind and heart of the church, shall counteract and take away the poison of ill-born heresy.
—Eminent goodness. I. Is not lifted above the commonest wants of life. II. Sympathizes with the needy and the suffering. III. Is the medium of timely relief.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Among Tthe Sons of the Prophets
Among Tthe Sons of the Prophets
v. 38. And Elisha came again, at some other time, to Gilgal, in the hill country of Central Canaan. And there was a dearth in the land, a severe famine; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, receiving instruction from him as their teacher. And he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets, who evidently took their meals in common.
Read full note →
v. 39. And one, one of the pupils, went out into the field to gather herbs, any greens which might still be available, and found a wild vine, a plant on the order of a grape-vine, either a wild cucumber or the poisonous colocynth, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knew them not, they were not familiar with the plant and its dangerous properties.
v. 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! From the bitterness and the immediate evil effect they concluded that the food was poisonous and fatal. And they could not eat thereof.
v. 41. But he said, Then bring meal, this being merely an outward symbol or token of the miracle which was performed. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot, there was no longer any evil effect from eating the food it contained.
v. 42. And there came a man from Baal-shallsha, a district somewhat to the west of Gilgal, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, for these, by Law, belonged to the servants of Jehovah, twenty loaves of barley and full ears of corn in the husk thereof, roasted ears of grain, which he carried in a sack. And he, Elisha, said, Give unto the people that they may eat.
v. 43. And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? The quantity was not large enough to feed such a great number of people. He said again, Give the people that they may eat; for thus saith the Lord, He had revealed this fact to Elisha, They shall eat and shall leave thereof.
v. 44. So he set it before them, and they did eat, the quantity being increased in a miraculous manner in the course of the meal, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord, as in the case of the greater miracles of Christ, Mat 14:16; Mat 15:36; Joh 6:11-12. The Lord, according to His bountiful goodness, takes care of His children, for He is fully able to satisfy all their wants
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the sons of the prophets
the sons of the prophets
This is an idiom. It does not mean that they were actually the sons of prophets, but rather, that they were a group of prophets. See how you translated this phrase in 2 Kings 2:3. AT: "the group of men who were prophets" (See: Idiom)
Read full note →
stew
This is a dish that is usually made of meat and vegetables cooked in a pot with liquid.
wild gourds
These vegetables were growing wild, meaning someone had not planted them.
fill the fold of his robe
He lifted the bottom edge of his robe up to his waist to make a place to carry more gourds than he could carry with his hands only.
but did not know what kind they were
Since they did not know what kind of gourds they were they did not know whether or not they were safe to eat. The full meaning of this statement can be made clear. AT: "but did not know if they were good or bad to eat" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
famine
prophet
fire
vine
robe
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:38 Like Bethel (2:3) and Jericho (2:5, 15), Gilgal…
4:38 Like Bethel (2:3) and Jericho (2:5, 15), Gilgal was the center for a group of prophets (2:1). Elisha was the leader of these groups, and thus sat at the head of the table for meals.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.