2 Kings 4:9

4:9 She said to her husband, “Look, I’m sure ¹  that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet. ² 

2 Kings 4:12

4:12 He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” ³  So he did so and she came to him. ⁴ 

2 Kings 4:14

4:14 So he asked Gehazi, ⁵  “What can I do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

2 Kings 4:16-17

4:16 He said, “About this time next year ⁶  you will be holding a son.” She said, “No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!” 4:17 The woman did conceive, and at the specified time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

2 Kings 4:22-23

4:22 She called to her husband, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can go see the prophet quickly and then return.” 4:23 He said, “Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon ⁷  or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.” ⁸ 

2 Kings 4:26

4:26 Now, run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you well? Are your husband and the boy well?’” She told Gehazi, ⁹  “Everything’s fine.”

2 Kings 4:36

4:36 Elisha ¹⁰  called to Gehazi and said, “Get the Shunammite woman.” So he did so ¹¹  and she came to him. He said to her, “Take your son.”

2 Kings 5:3

5:3 She told her mistress, “If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! ¹²  Then he would cure him of his skin disease.”

2 Kings 8:2

8:2 So the woman did as the prophet said. ¹³  She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

2 Kings 9:10

9:10 Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.’” ¹⁴  Then he opened the door and ran away.

2 Kings 9:30

9:30 Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, ¹⁵  fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window.

2 Kings 11:1

Athaliah is Eliminated

11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she was determined to destroy the entire royal line. ¹⁶ 

2 Kings 11:16

11:16 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. ¹⁷  There she was executed.

2 Kings 19:21

19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: ¹⁸ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ¹⁹ 

despises you, she makes fun of you;

Daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ²⁰ 

2 Kings 22:15

22:15 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me:

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¹ tn Heb “I know.”

² tn Heb “holy man of God.”

³ tn Heb “Call for this Shunammite woman.”

⁴ tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood before him.”

⁵ tn Heb “and he said.”

⁶ tn Heb “at this appointed time, at the time [when it is] reviving.” For a discussion of the second phrase see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.

⁷ sn The new moon was a time of sacrifice and special feasts (Num 28:14; 1 Sam 20:5). Apparently it was a convenient time to visit a prophet. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.

⁸ tn Heb “peace.”

⁹ tn Heb “she said.” The narrator streamlines the story at this point, omitting any reference to Gehazi running to meet her and asking her the questions.

¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Heb “and he called for her.”

¹² map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

¹³ tn Heb “and the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God.”

¹⁴ sn Note how the young prophet greatly expands the message Elisha had given to him. In addition to lengthening the introductory formula (by adding “the God of Israel”) and the official declaration that accompanies the act of anointing (by adding “the Lord’s people”), he goes on to tell how Jehu will become king (by a revolt against Ahab’s dynasty), makes it clear that Jehu will be an instrument of divine vengeance, and predicts the utter annihilation of Ahab’s family and the violent death of Jezebel.

¹⁵ tn Heb “she fixed her eyes with antimony.” Antimony (פּוּךְ, pukh) was used as a cosmetic. The narrator portrays her as a prostitute (see Jer 4:30), a role she has played in the spiritual realm (see the note at v. 22).

¹⁶ tn Heb “she arose and she destroyed all the royal offspring.” The verb קוּם (qum) “arise,” is here used in an auxiliary sense to indicate that she embarked on a campaign to destroy the royal offspring. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 125.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went the way of the entrance of the horses [into] the house of the king.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

¹⁹ sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.

²⁰ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.