Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son
After the child grows, he is struck in the field, carried to his mother, and dies on her lap. She lays him on Elisha’s bed and leaves at once to find the man of God.
A18nd the child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the harvesters. 19“My head! My head!” he complained to his father. 20After the servant had picked him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door and went out. 22And the woman called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may go quickly to the man of God and return.” 23“Why would you go to him today?” he replied. “It is not a New Moon or a Sabbath.” 24Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”
Verse 18The child grows, and one day he goes out to his father among the harvesters.
It begins the sequence that leads from promise into danger.
Verse 19He cries out to his father that his head hurts.
It signals the child’s sudden affliction.
Verse 20A servant carries him to his mother, and after sitting on her lap until noon, he dies.
It brings the crisis to its stark center.
Verse 21She carries him up, lays him on the bed of the man of God, shuts the door, and goes out.
It places the dead child in Elisha’s space and prepares her appeal.
Verse 22She asks her husband for a servant and a donkey so she may go quickly to the man of God and return.
It shows her immediate resolve.
Verse 23Her husband asks why she is going since it is neither New Moon nor Sabbath.
It briefly marks the unusual urgency of her journey.
Verse 24She saddles the donkey and tells her servant to press on without slowing unless she says so.
It drives the narrative toward Elisha with urgency.
At Mount Carmel the woman reaches Elisha and speaks from her bitterness about the son she never asked for. Elisha sends Gehazi ahead with his staff, but she refuses to leave without Elisha, and the first attempt brings no response.
25So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. 26When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman. Please run out now to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’” 27When 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.” 28Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” 29So 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.” 30And the mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. 31Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”
Verse 25She sets out and comes to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
It completes her determined journey.
Verse 26Seeing her from a distance, Elisha sends Gehazi to ask whether she, her husband, and her child are well.
It shows Elisha recognizing her distress before hearing it.
Verse 27When she reaches Elisha, she clings to his feet, and Elisha tells Gehazi to leave her because her distress is deep and hidden from him by the LORD.
It reveals the depth of her grief and Elisha’s limited knowledge.
Verse 28She asks whether she had asked for a son and reminds Elisha that she had said not to deceive her.
It gives voice to her pain in terms of the earlier promise.
Verse 29Elisha orders Gehazi to go quickly with his staff and lay it on the boy’s face.
It launches the first attempt to address the crisis.
Verse 30The boy’s mother swears she will not leave Elisha, so he rises and follows her.
It binds Elisha personally to the situation.
Verse 31Gehazi reaches the house first and lays the staff on the boy’s face, but there is no sound or response, and he reports that the boy has not awakened.
It shows that the staff alone does not restore the child.
Elisha enters the room, prays, and stretches himself over the dead boy until warmth and breath return. He then calls the mother, who comes, bows, and takes up her living son.
32When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed. 33So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm. 35Elisha turned away and paced back and forth across the room. Then he got on the bed and stretched himself out over the boy again, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she came. 37She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
Verse 32When Elisha arrives, he finds the boy lying dead on his bed.
It confronts Elisha directly with the unchanged situation.
Verse 33Elisha goes in, closes the door behind them, and prays to the LORD.
It centers the coming act in prayer and privacy.
Verse 34He lies over the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand, and the child’s body grows warm.
It begins the restoration in a physical, deliberate act.
Verse 35After pacing the room, Elisha stretches himself over the boy again, and the child sneezes seven times and opens his eyes.
It completes the return of life.
Verse 36Elisha calls for Gehazi to summon the Shunammite woman, and she comes in.
It prepares the mother to receive what has been restored.
Verse 37She falls at Elisha’s feet, bows to the ground, then picks up her son and goes out.
It closes the scene with gratitude and restored motherhood.
A quiet block diagram: each row is one authored paragraph movement, with verse numbers kept visible for scanning and deeper work.
- vv. 18-24
After the child grows, he is struck in the field, carried to his mother, and dies on her lap. She lays him on Elisha’s bed and leaves at once to find the man of God.
This paragraph moves the promised son from ordinary life into sudden death and urgent pursuit. - vv. 25-31
At Mount Carmel the woman reaches Elisha and speaks from her bitterness about the son she never asked for. Elisha sends Gehazi ahead with his staff, but she refuses to leave without Elisha, and the first attempt brings no response.
This paragraph joins the mother’s complaint to the failure of a mediated solution. - vv. 32-37
Elisha enters the room, prays, and stretches himself over the dead boy until warmth and breath return. He then calls the mother, who comes, bows, and takes up her living son.
This paragraph resolves the crisis through prayerful action and restores the child to his mother.