Section Sixteen

Elisha - a Birth and a

Healing

The fourth chapter of 2 Kings starts with 2 stories. In the first, the well-known prophet Elisha is central to a miracle that allows a woman to pay off debts and prevent her sons from being sold off to pay the debts. Next, there is a story about Elisha and a woman in a town called Shunem. • A wealthy woman makes a space in her house to accommodate Elisha • Elisha sends his servant to ask the woman what she wants in order to give her something for her hospitality • She asks for nothing, but Elisha’s servant reports that she has no son and her husband is old • Elisha promises the woman that she will have a baby by about the same time next year • She doesn’t think it possible, and ask Elisha not to say misleading things • She does have the son, but one day the son complains to his father about his head • The father sends the son back to his mother and the son dies when with his mother • The mother lays the boy down in the room she made for Elisha • The woman seeks out Elisha and accuses him of getting her hopes up falsely. Elisha travels to see the boy, lies on him and the son is returned to life