Melachim II Perek 4

• A widow implored Elisha to help redeem her two children whom Yehoram, king of Yisrael, had taken by force to collect a debt.

Note: Rashi, Radak and Metsudos explain that the widow’s husband was Ovadyah, who had borrowed money to sustain the 100 true prophets whom he had hidden in a cave, to save them from Izevel, King Achav’s wife. Ovadyah had borrowed money from Yehoram, the son of Izevel and Achav, before he became king. When Yehoram became King, he tried to collect the unpaid debt from the widow.

• Elisha instructed the woman to borrow as many containers as she could from neighbors, and a miracle would occur. Her small jug of oil would fill up all of the containers.

• After the miracle occurred, Elisha instructed the woman to sell the containers of oil to pay off her debt, and that she and her children would live off the rest of the money earned for the rest of her life.

• Isha Shunamis (Rashi, Radak: she was the sister of Avishag Hashunamis who had been responsible for warming up King Dovid at the end of his life.) built Elisha a room for study and she would provide him with meals whenever he was in town.

• Elisha told Gaichazi, his attendant, to tell Isha Shunamis that she could request anything that she wanted.

• Gaichazi told Elisha that the woman was childless.

• Elisha blessed the woman that she would have a child.

• When the boy grew older, his head was hurting him one day in the field, and he died. Isha Shunamis placed the dead boy in Elisha’s room.

• She then traveled to Elisha, who was on Har Carmel, and told him what had happened.

• Elisha told Gaichazi to take Elisha’s staff and go ahead of them. He should wave the staff over the boy’s head and see if he comes back to life.

• Gaichazi did as ordered, but the boy did not come back to life.

• Elisha personally entered the room, he prayed to Hashem, he lay on top of the boy, and placed his face, eyes and hands on top of the boy. He then walked around the room once in each direction, and then stretched over the boy again.

• The boy returned to life.

• Elisha then traveled to a place where the prophets’ food supply was contaminated.

• Elisha prepared a stew for them and then did a miracle, decontaminating the food by pouring flour into the pot of stew.

• A man from another city came carrying food for the prophets but there wasn’t enough food for all.

• Elisha told everyone to eat and there would miraculously be enough food for everyone.