2 Kings 4:1-7

2 Kings 4:1 to 2 Kings 6:23. Stories about Elisha as a Wonder-Worker. The miracles of Elisha fill a considerable part of the early Chapter s of 2 K. They are mostly beneficent in character, and this prophet was evidently more in touch with the people than his stern predecessor. There is no reason to confine these tales to the reign of Jehoram, because the death of that king is recorded later in the book. The king of Israel is not mentioned by name, and was evidently on good terms with the prophet, which could hardly be expected of Jehoram. Probably some of the occurrences, especially in the Syrian wars, belong to the age of Jehu's dynasty. The biography of Elisha in 2 K. consists of 2 Kings 2:1; 2 Kings 4:1 to 2 Kings 6:23; 2 Kings 8:1; 2 Kings 13:14. In 2 Kings 6:24 to 2 Kings 7:20 and 2 Kings 9:1 to 2 Kings 10:31 Elisha is the leading prophet, but the source seems to be mainly some chronicle of the northern kingdom.

2 Kings 4:1. Multiplication of the Widow's Oil to Pay a Debt. This is like Elijah's miracle at Zarephath (1 Kings 18:8 ff.): The oil is sold, and the children of the prophet's widow are saved from being sold as slaves. The prophetic communities were not monastic in the sense of being celibate; such an idea was repugnant to the ancient Hebrew. Isaiah's wife is called the prophetess (Isaiah 8:3). Perhaps both Elijah and Elisha were unmarried, but there can be no proof of this.