Bible Strands
2 Kings 4:24
Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Shunammite woman speaks to her servant after her husband questions her sudden journey to the prophet. She issues the command immediately following her dismissal of his concerns about the day being a New Moon or Sabbath.
The words — The verb נְהַג (ne.Hag) means "lead on" or "drive onward," paired with וָ/לֵ֑ךְ (va./Lekh) "and go," forming a continuous motion command. This phrasing emphasizes unbroken forward movement rather than a mere departure.
The thread — Similar commands to saddle or lead animals appear in Exodus 4:20, 1 Samuel 25:19, and 1 Kings 13:13. These passages share a pattern of urgent, unannounced travel directed by a woman or prophet to fulfill a specific mission.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize the woman’s decisive obedience over ritual calendar or social expectation. It presents immediate action as the necessary response to an unexplained divine prompt.
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
Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
Cross-references
- Exodus 4:20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
- 1 Samuel 25:19 and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
- 1 Kings 13:13 So the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” Then they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it
- 1 Kings 13:23 And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him.