Bible Strands
2 Kings 4:27
When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Shunammite woman arrives at the mountain where Elisha is staying and clings to his feet while Gehazi attempts to remove her. Elisha intervenes, telling Gehazi to let her be because her soul is in deep distress and God has not revealed the cause to him.
The words — The Hebrew verb תַּחֲזֵק (ta.cha.Zek) literally means “she took hold,” describing the woman’s physical grip on Elisha’s feet. The phrase אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים (ish ha'Elo.Him) translates directly to “the man of God,” identifying Elisha’s prophetic office rather than his personal name.
The thread — The motif of God concealing a situation from a prophet appears in Genesis 18:17, where Yahweh questions whether to hide His plans from Abraham. The description of a soul in deep distress parallels Hannah’s bitter anguish in 1 Samuel 1:10.
Why it lands — The text records a physical act of desperation and a prophetic acknowledgment of limits, requiring the reader to recognize that divine silence does not equal divine absence. It asks the reader to accept that human suffering may precede revelation and that spiritual authority operates within the boundaries of what God chooses to disclose.
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 when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
Cross-references
- Genesis 18:17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
- 2 Samuel 7:3 And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”
- 1 Samuel 1:10 In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.
- 2 Kings 4:25 So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman.
- 2 Kings 6:12 But one of his servants replied, “No one, my lord the king. For Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
- Job 10:1 “I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- Proverbs 14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy.
- Proverbs 18:14 The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?
- Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
- Matthew 15:23 But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”