Verse Lens · Expanded explanation

2 Kings 4:8 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 8. And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “A Shunammite provides a room and receives a son.”

A room on the roof and a son she refused to request

This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 4:8–17. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

  • 2 Kings 4:8–17

Read 2 Kings 4:8 with 4:8–17. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: A prominent Shunammite woman repeatedly feeds Elisha, builds him a small room, declines court advocacy, and receives an unexpected promise of a son.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Within “A Shunammite provides a room and receives a son,” 2 Kings 4:8 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Kings 4:1–7 establishes this prior movement: A prophet's widow faces a creditor taking her sons; borrowed vessels fill with oil, whose sale pays the debt and supports the household. 2 Kings 4:8–17 responds to the pressure, need, word, or action already established; that evidenced relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.

Read 2 Kings 4:8–17 together

Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 4:8–17 forms one scene or regnal notice: A prominent Shunammite woman repeatedly feeds Elisha, builds him a small room, declines court advocacy, and receives an unexpected promise of a son.

Verse 8. And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

Verse 9. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

Verse 10. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

Verse 11. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

Verse 12. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

Verse 13. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

Verse 14. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

Verse 15. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

Verse 16. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.

Verse 17. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

Follow the Context

  1. A prominent Shunammite woman repeatedly feeds Elisha, builds him a small room, declines court advocacy, and receives an unexpected promise of a son.
  2. The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “A Shunammite provides a room and receives a son” before the next narrated movement.

What This Verse Is Not Saying

2 Kings 4:8 does not permit the wording “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Hospitality does not purchase fertility, a child, or access to power, and a woman's worth is not measured by motherhood.

What Remains True

Faithful interpretation protects the dignity, agency, safety, grief, and material needs of people whom leadership-centered readings can overlook. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: A prominent Shunammite woman repeatedly feeds Elisha, builds him a small room, declines court advocacy, and receives an unexpected promise of a son. In 2 Kings 4:8, the concrete line “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.

Teach It Back

In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 4:8's role in 4:8–17. Paraphrase “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.

Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.

Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read 2 Kings 4:8–17 — A Shunammite provides a room and receives a son
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? probable

Where care is needed

The woman's status term, Gehazi's proposal, and the annunciation pattern are debated; her own caution and material agency must not disappear.

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: 2 Kings 4:8–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 4:8–17

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 631–633, translation and translator notes for 4:8–17

Open source ↗
Open the complete thought-unit research record
Open a verse without taking it out of context.

Try 2 Kings 17:13, Second Kings 17:13, or 2 Kgs 17:13.

Choose book, chapter, and verse