Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 4:4
And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
4. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door ] R.V. more literally, And thou shalt go in and shut, &c. There was to be no display made in connexion with the miracle. For this cause as well as to avoid interruption, the door was shut. The language of the prophet puts the faith of the widow to the test, for it was hard to conceive that one vessel, much less a great number, could be filled from her anointing pot. But as the wife of a prophet, who had been a servant of the Lord, she had learnt whence help could be sought, when every other source had failed.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Shut the door upon thee; partly, that none may hinder thee from minding thy work of filling and removing the vessels, which will require attention and diligence; partly, that thou alone mayest enjoy the benefit of it; partly, lest any of thy creditors should break in upon thee, and seize upon thy borrowed vessels before they are filled; partly, that thy mind being freed from distraction, may be wholly employed in prayer and praising of God; and partly, that it may be manifest that this is the work of God alone.
Pour out; out of the pot, in which God multiplied the oil from time to time.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And when thou art come in,…. Into her house:
thou shall shut the door upon thee, and upon thy sons; that they might be alone in the house while the miracle was working; that they might not be interrupted in what they were to do, by the creditor coming in upon them, or by neighbours, who would be for getting the oil from them in the vessels they had lent them: and that the miracle might appear the plainer, no oil being brought into the house by any:
and shalt pour out into all these vessels; out of the single pot of oil into all they borrowed:
and thou shalt set aside that which is full; by itself, and fill the rest of the empty ones.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(4) And when . . . thou shalt shut.And go in and shut the door. The object was to avoid disturbance from without; perhaps, also, because publicity was undesirable in the case of such a miracle. (Comp. our Lords injunction of secrecy on those whom He healed, and His exclusion of the people, in Luk. 8:51; Luk. 8:54.)
Thou shalt set aside.By the help of thy sons (2Ki. 4:5-6).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons So as not to draw a crowd of curious spectators round, or make a vain and needless display of the miracle. Some miracles God works in secret for a chosen few.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Ki 4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
Ver. 4. Thou shalt shut the door upon thee. ] It was time to shut the door, saith a reverend man, when many greater vessels must be supplied from one little one. But why must the door be shut? (1.) That she might be the more free to pray; Mat 6:6 (2.) That she might manifest her own faith, and not be hindered by the unbelief of others; see Mar 6:5-6 (3.) That it might not be thought that the oil was by anybody secretly conveyed into the house to them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
thou shalt shut: 2Ki 4:32, 2Ki 4:33, 1Ki 17:19, 1Ki 17:20, Isa 26:20, Mat 6:6, Mar 5:40, Act 9:40
and shalt pour: Mar 6:37-44, Mar 8:5-9, Joh 2:7-9, Joh 6:11, Eph 3:20
Reciprocal: Gen 7:16 – the Mar 7:33 – he took Luk 8:51 – he suffered
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 4:4-6. Thou shalt shut the door upon thee, and upon thy sons That none might come in to disturb or interrupt her in what site was doing; that she and her sons might not seem proudly to boast of this miraculous supply; and that they might have opportunity for prayer and praise on this, extraordinary occasion. And shalt pour out Of the pot of oil which she had. Thou shalt set aside that which is full Which one of her sons was employed to do, and the other to bring her the empty vessels. Bring me yet a vessel Doubtless they were all amazed to find their pot, like a fountain of living water, always flowing, and yet always full. They saw not the bubbling spring that supplied it, but believed it to be in Him, in whom all our springs are. The oil stayed When there was no vessel to receive it; to teach us that we should not waste any of Gods good creatures, and that God would not work miracles unnecessarily. This most signal miracle is like that which Elijah had wrought for the widow of Zarephath. How it was effected it is to no purpose to inquire, seeing it was the product of almighty power, of the operation of which, in its full extent, we cannot possibly have any conception. One important lesson we may learn from it; which is, that we are never straitened in God, in his power, or bounty, or the riches of his grace: all our straitness is in ourselves: it is our faith that fails, not his promise: he gives above what we ask: were there more vessels, there is enough in God to fill them; enough for all, enough for each.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into {e} all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
(e) The Prophet declares by this to her, that God never fails to provide for his servants, their wives and children, it they trust in him.