The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:9 Explained

2 Kings 4:9

KJV: And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

YLT: and she saith unto her husband, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have known that a holy man of God he is, passing over by us continually;

Darby: And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually.

ASV: And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passeth by us continually.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And she said  unto her husband,  Behold now, I perceive  that this [is] an holy  man  of God,  which passeth  by us continually. 

What does 2 Kings 4:9 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 4:9 mean?

And she said to her husband Look now I know that a man of God holy he [is] who passes by us regularly
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־ אִישָׁ֔הּ הִנֵּה־ נָ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי כִּ֛י אִ֥ישׁ אֱלֹהִ֖ים קָד֣וֹשׁ ה֑וּא עֹבֵ֥ר עָלֵ֖ינוּ תָּמִֽיד

וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙  And  she  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אִישָׁ֔הּ  her  husband 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הִנֵּה־  Look 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
נָ֣א  now 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
יָדַ֔עְתִּי  I  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
כִּ֛י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אִ֥ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אֱלֹהִ֖ים  of  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
קָד֣וֹשׁ  holy 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: קָדֹושׁ  
Sense: sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart.
ה֑וּא  he  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
עֹבֵ֥ר  who  passes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
עָלֵ֖ינוּ  by  us 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
תָּמִֽיד  regularly 
Parse: Adverb
Root: תָּמִיד  
Sense: continuity, perpetuity, to stretch.