Bible Strands
2 Kings 4:29
So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boy’s face.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elisha issues an urgent command to Gehazi after the Shunammite woman questions whether she requested a son and insists on following him. The order occurs immediately before Gehazi departs to restore the dead boy.
The words — The Hebrew חֲגֹר (cha.Gor) means "gird up" or "tie up your garment," and מִשְׁעַנְתִּי (mish.'an.T/i) translates to "my staff." These terms denote physical preparation and the specific object Elisha delegates.
The thread — This delegation of a prophetic staff parallels Moses raising his staff to divide the sea (Exodus 14:16) and Elijah girding his loins to run ahead of Ahab (1 Kings 18:46). Elisha later uses Elijah's cloak to part the Jordan similarly (2 Kings 2:14).
Why it lands — The text demands immediate, undistracted obedience to a prophetic command. It requires the reader to prioritize urgent divine instruction over social custom and personal hesitation.
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 he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 2:14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.
- Exodus 14:16 And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
- 1 Kings 18:46 And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
- 2 Kings 9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
- Luke 10:4 Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road.
- Exodus 4:17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”
- Exodus 7:19 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”
- Acts 19:12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
- 2 Kings 2:8 And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
- Acts 3:16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given him this complete healing in your presence.