The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:12 Explained

2 Kings 4:12

KJV: And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

YLT: and he saith unto Gehazi his young man, 'Call for this Shunammite;' and he calleth for her, and she standeth before him.

Darby: And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And he called her, and she stood before him.

ASV: And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said  to Gehazi  his servant,  Call  this Shunammite.  And when he had called  her, she stood  before  him. 

What does 2 Kings 4:12 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 4:8-24 - Entertaining A Prophet
The real man needs a very small supply of outward comfort, because his life is hid in God. It does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses, but in faith, love, and hope. What a noble testimony it would be to our character, if people who saw us going to and fro became convinced that "this is an holy man of God," 2 Kings 4:9!
Sunstroke in the tropics is a frequent cause of death, Psalms 121:6. When a child is taken sick, it is the mother who is the best comforter; but there are limits to a mother's power to help. This woman of Shunem must be referred to in Hebrews 11:35. She was so sure of the life-restoring prayers of the great prophet that she did not feel it necessary to tell her husband what had befallen. Why should she grieve him, when the child would soon be given back to them! In noble confidence she dared to say that all would be well, and God did not disappoint nor fail. Shunem was fifteen miles from Carmel, and there was not an inch of the road which was not covered by the mother's splendid faith that God would make all-grace abound toward her. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 4

1  Elisha multiplies the widow's oil
8  He obtains a son for the good Shunammite
18  He restores her son when dead
38  At Gilgal he heals the deadly pottage
42  He satisfies a hundred men with twenty loaves

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 4:12 mean?

And he said to Gehazi his servant Call woman Shunammitess This and when he had called her and she stood before him
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־ גֵּחֲזִ֣י נַעֲר֔וֹ קְרָ֖א לַשּׁוּנַמִּ֣ית הַזֹּ֑את וַיִּקְרָא־ לָ֔הּ וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֖ד לְפָנָֽיו

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
גֵּחֲזִ֣י  Gehazi 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֵּיחֲזִי  
Sense: the servant of Elisha.
נַעֲר֔וֹ  his  servant 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.
קְרָ֖א  Call 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
לַשּׁוּנַמִּ֣ית  woman  Shunammitess 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שׁוּנַמִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Shunem.
הַזֹּ֑את  This 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
וַיִּקְרָא־  and  when  he  had  called 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
לָ֔הּ  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֖ד  and  she  stood 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
לְפָנָֽיו  before  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.