The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:39 Explained

2 Kings 4:39

KJV: And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

YLT: And one goeth out unto the field to gather herbs, and findeth a vine of the field, and gathereth of it gourds of the field -- the fulness of his garment -- and cometh in and splitteth them into the pot of pottage, for they knew them not;

Darby: Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it his lap full of wild colocynths, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they did not know them.

ASV: And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knew them not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And one  went out  into the field  to gather  herbs,  and found  a wild  vine,  and gathered  thereof wild  gourds  his lap  full,  and came  and shred  [them] into the pot  of pottage:  for they knew  [them] not. 

What does 2 Kings 4:39 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 4:38-44 - "who Giveth Food To All Flesh"
This miracle, it has been justly remarked, is a faint foreshadowing of our Lord's marvelous feeding of thousands with even scantier materials. As Elijah was a type of John the Baptist; so Elisha was, in many respects, a type of our Lord. In his peaceful, human life, his mild and gentle character, his constant circuits, his many miracles of mercy, he resembles, more than any other prophet, the Messiah.
We have also, in this miracle, the great province of the Gospel to counteract the ancient curse of a forfeited Paradise and meet the hunger of the soul. The grace of God will turn an evil into a blessing and multiply a little to feed a multitude. See Mark 16:18; Psalms 132:15. Can there be any doubt that to faith and prayer resources are open which are closed to all else? If nature contained all we need, ready to our hand, of what use would prayer be? The very injunctions to prayer and the success of those who have prayed, prove that God has forces available, which can operate in behalf of those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose. [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 4:39 mean?

So went out one into the field to gather herbs and found a vine wild and gathered from it gourds wild full a lapful and came and sliced [them] the pot of stew though not they did know [what they were]
וַיֵּצֵ֨א אֶחָ֣ד אֶל־ הַשָּׂדֶה֮ לְלַקֵּ֣ט אֹרֹת֒ וַיִּמְצָא֙ גֶּ֣פֶן שָׂדֶ֔ה וַיְלַקֵּ֥ט מִמֶּ֛נּוּ פַּקֻּעֹ֥ת שָׂדֶ֖ה מְלֹ֣א בִגְד֑וֹ וַיָּבֹ֗א וַיְפַלַּ֛ח סִ֥יר הַנָּזִ֖יד כִּֽי־ לֹ֥א יָדָֽעוּ

וַיֵּצֵ֨א  So  went  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
אֶחָ֣ד  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַשָּׂדֶה֮  the  field 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
לְלַקֵּ֣ט  to  gather 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: לָקַט  
Sense: to pick up, gather, glean, gather up.
אֹרֹת֒  herbs 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אֹורָה 
Sense: light.
וַיִּמְצָא֙  and  found 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
גֶּ֣פֶן  a  vine 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: גֶּפֶן  
Sense: vine, vine tree.
שָׂדֶ֔ה  wild 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
וַיְלַקֵּ֥ט  and  gathered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: לָקַט  
Sense: to pick up, gather, glean, gather up.
מִמֶּ֛נּוּ  from  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
פַּקֻּעֹ֥ת  gourds 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: פַּקֻּעֹת  
Sense: gourds.
שָׂדֶ֖ה  wild 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
מְלֹ֣א  full 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מְלֹא  
Sense: fullness, that which fills.
בִגְד֑וֹ  a  lapful 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֶּגֶד 
Sense: treachery, deceit.
וַיָּבֹ֗א  and  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וַיְפַלַּ֛ח  and  sliced  [them] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּלַח  
Sense: to cleave, slice.
סִ֥יר  the  pot 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: סִיר 
Sense: pot.
הַנָּזִ֖יד  of  stew 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָזִיד  
Sense: boiled food, soup, pottage, thing sodden or boiled.
כִּֽי־  though 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
יָדָֽעוּ  they  did  know  [what  they  were] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.

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