Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 4:32
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, [and] laid upon his bed.
32. upon his bed ] i.e. Elisha’s bed, in the chamber which was set apart for the prophet and in which the mother had left her child.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 32. Behold, the child was dead] The prophet then saw that the body and spirit of the child were separated.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And when Elisha was come into the house,…. Of the Shunamite, and into the chamber built for him:
behold, the child was dead, and laid upon the bed; upon his bed, and where he found it really dead.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
32. The child was dead This statement, as well as that of 2Ki 4:20, clearly forbids the supposition that the child had merely fainted, or fallen into a trance. He was really, not merely apparently, dead.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
While I desire the Reader to remark with me the graciousness of God, in thus teaching the early church by such miracles the blessed doctrines of the resurrection; and more particularly, as all of them referred to the Person of the Lord Jesus; I beg the Reader at the same time very particularly to keep in view the striking difference between the miracles of Jesus, and those of his servants, which acted in his name, and by his authority. Elisha prayed unto the Lord: Jesus commanded the dead to rise. The servant acted in the Lord’s name Jesus in his own. What prophet, what servant of Jehovah, ever said as Jesus did; I am the resurrection and the life. And who but God himself could, in confirmation of this blessed truth, have commanded the dead, like Lazarus, to have come forth? Oh! glorious Lord Jesus; Joh_11:25; Joh_11:43-44 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 4:32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, [and] laid upon his bed.
Ver. 32. And laid upon his bed. ] See on ver. 21.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 4:32-37
2Ki 4:32-37
ELISHA RAISED THE CHILD FROM THE DEAD
“And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. And he went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto Jehovah. And he went up and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned and walked in the house once to and fro; and went up and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she came in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.”
This amazing wonder is one of a very limited number of such miracles recorded in the entire Bible. There are only three such miracles in the O.T.: (1) this one; (2) the raising of the son of the widow of Sarepta (1Ki 17:17-23) by Elijah; and (3) the resurrection of the man who was being buried, and who, when the burial party was threatened by marauders, was hastily cast into the tomb of Elisha and was restored to life by his contact with the bones of that prophet (2Ki 13:20-21).
In the N.T., we have the following cases: (1) the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mat 9:18 ff); (2) the raising of the son of the widow of Nain (Luk 7:12-18); and (3) the raising of Lazarus (John 11), all by the Lord Jesus Christ; also (4) the raising of Dorcas by the apostle Peter (Act 9:36-41); (5) the raising of Eutychus by the apostle Paul (Act 20:10-12); (6) the resurrection of the saints who came out of their graves after the resurrection of Christ (Mat 27:53); and (7) the Marvel of All Ages – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! (Recorded in all of the Gospels).
We are amazed that some scholars have concluded from this narrative that Elisha did not receive the double portion of the spirit of Elijah as he had requested, basing that notion upon the gradual response of the dead child here as contrasted with the quicker response when Elijah raised the son of the widow of Sarepta. We reject such a view, because two miracles of resurrection are accredited to Elisha, one occurring even after his burial, whereas Elijah raised the dead only once.
E.M. Zerr:
2Ki 4:32-33 : We should understand that the twain were Elisha and the dead child. Why he wished no one else in the room we know not. Peter did a similar thing in the case of Dorcas. (Act 9:10.) It is one of those things that belong to the Lord and not to be revealed to us. See Deu 29:29.
2Ki 4:34. When Paul restored the life of the young man at Troas (Act 20:10), he did so by embracing him, after which his life was in him. In the case of Elisha and the child, he made contact between their bodies, after which the flesh of the child waxed warm. The life was then returned to the body, although there was no activity as yet. The mere fact of contact by a living body with a dead one would not restore life, else it could still be done. But it was the Lord’s way of doing the work this time. And once more, the reader is asked to see comments at Ch. 2:8.
2Ki 4:35. Returned, and walked, etc. This does not mean that he had left the house. The first word is defined in part by Strong, “to retreat.” It means that Elisha retreated from the child so as to make his to-and-fro movement in the house. Moffatt’s translation says, “rising up, he walked to and fro.” After this, he contacted the child again, but not to restore his life. When warmth comes into a body that has been cold and dead, it is evidence of life. Just why it was desired to carry out the peculiar actions of this verse we are not told. We know it was not to restore life.
2Ki 4:36. Me up thy son indicates that the child was not large, also that he might still be somewhat weak from the ordeal he had gone through. Elisha could have overcome even that, had it been the divine will. The Lord has always dealt on the principle of leaving it to man to do what he could. Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, but commanded the people to feed her (Mar 5:43), and he raised Lazarus to life, but told the sisters to remove the graveclothes. (Joh 11:44.)
2Ki 4:37. Gratitude prompted the mother to do this act of homage. Bowed herself to the ground. This room was on the wall and therefore had no literal ground in it. The key is in the word to, which has the meaning of toward the ground. The main thought is, the woman was so thankful and humble that she took a prostrate attitude of body before the prophet, bowing downward or toward the ground. A person could be said to do that if he were in the top story of a skyscraper.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the child: 1Ki 17:17, Luk 8:52, Luk 8:53, Joh 11:17
Reciprocal: 1Ki 17:19 – into a loft 2Ki 4:4 – thou shalt shut Mat 9:25 – the people Mat 10:41 – that receiveth a prophet Luk 7:15 – General Joh 5:21 – as Act 9:40 – and prayed