Bible Strands
2 Kings 4:2
“How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elisha addresses the widow of a prophet’s son immediately after she reports a creditor threatening to enslave her children. He prompts her to inventory her household before issuing his next instruction.
The words — The interrogative מָה (mah, “what?”) and the imperative הַגִּ֣ידִי (ha.Gi.di, “tell”) frame the exchange, while יֶּשׁ־ (yesh-, “is there”) restricts the scope to existing possessions. The phrasing forces a concrete accounting rather than an abstract plea.
The thread — The motif of divine provision through minimal resources appears when the widow of Zarephath reports her remaining flour and oil in 1 Kings 17:12. The pattern of asking for a parting request surfaces in 2 Kings 2:9, and the theme of God elevating the poor resurfaces in James 2:5.
Why it lands — The text demands a practical assessment of available resources before any intervention occurs. It requires the reader to stop requesting solutions that bypass the reality of what is already in hand.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 17:12 But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
- James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- 2 Kings 2:9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
- Matthew 15:34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
- John 6:5 When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?”
- Acts 3:6 But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
- 2 Kings 6:26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
- 2 Corinthians 6:10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.