2 Kings 4:2 - Exposition

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Elisha acknowledges at once the call upon him to do something for the woman. This is, no doubt, in part, because she is a widow. Widows were, in the Law, especially commended to the attention and care of the faithful. As Bahr says, "It is a well-known feature of the Mosaic Law, one which is distinctly prominent, that it often and urgently commands to succor the widows and the fatherless, and to care for them ( Exodus 22:22-24 ; Deuteronomy 14:29 ; Deuteronomy 24:17 , Deuteronomy 24:19 ; Deuteronomy 26:12 ; Deuteronomy 27:19 ). They are mentioned as representatives of the forsaken, the oppressed, and the necessitous as a class ( Isaiah 10:2 ; Jeremiah 6:6 ; Jeremiah 22:3 ; Zechariah 7:10 ; Matthew 3:5 ; Baruch 6:37). It is especially emphasized and praised in Jehovah, that he is the Father and Judge ( i.e. Protector of the rights) of the widows and the fatherless ( Deuteronomy 10:18 ; Psalms 68:5 ; Psalms 146:9 ; Isaiah 9:17 , etc.). Neglect and contempt of them are counted among the heaviest offences ( Psalms 94:6 ; Job 22:9 ; Ezekiel 22:7 ); just as, on the other hand, compassion and care for them is a sign of the true fear of God, and of true piety. ( Job 29:12 ; Job 31:16 ; Tobit 1:7; James 1:27 ). Elisha could also gather from the tone of the woman's address that she, like her late husband, was God-fearing. Tell me, what hast thou in the house? Hast thou anything, that is, which thou canst soil, and so pay the debt? And she said, Thins handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil ; literally, save an anointing of oil ; i.e. so much oil as will suffice for one anointing of my person.