2 Kings 4:9-10

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  4:10 Let’s make a small private upper room ³  and furnish it with ⁴  a bed, table, chair, and lamp. When he visits us, he can stay there.”

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 ⁵  or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.” ⁶ 

2 Kings 4:1

Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

4:1 Now a wife of one of the prophets ⁷  appealed ⁸  to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. ⁹  Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.”

2 Kings 3:1-7

Moab Fights with Israel

3:1 In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahab’s son Jehoram became king over Israel in Samaria; ¹⁰  he ruled for twelve years. 3:2 He did evil in the sight of ¹¹  the Lord, but not to the same degree as his father and mother. He did remove the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3:3 Yet he persisted in ¹²  the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin; he did not turn from them. ¹³ 

3:4 Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. ¹⁴  He would send as tribute ¹⁵  to the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 3:5 When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 3:6 At that time King Jehoram left Samaria and assembled all Israel for war. 3:7 He sent ¹⁶  this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?” Jehoshaphat ¹⁷  replied, “I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal.” ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “I know.”

² tn Heb “holy man of God.”

³ tn Heb “a small upper room of a wall”; according to HALOT 832 s.v. עֲלִיָּה, this refers to “a fully walled upper room.”

⁴ tn Heb “and let’s put there for him.”

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “peace.”

⁷ tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”

⁸ tn Or “cried out.”

⁹ tn Heb “your servant feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

¹⁰ map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

¹¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

¹² tn Heb “held tight,” or “clung to.”

¹³ tc The Hebrew text has the singular, “it.” Some ancient witnesses read the plural, which seems preferable since the antecedent (“sins”) is plural. Another option is to emend the plural “sins” to a singular. One ancient Greek witness has the singular “sin.”

¹⁴ tn For a discussion of the meaning of term (נֹקֵד, noqed), see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 43.

¹⁵ tn The vav + perfect here indicates customary action contemporary with the situation described in the preceding main clause. See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.

¹⁶ tn Heb “went and sent.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoshaphat) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ tn Heb “I will go up – like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”