2 Kings 4:2

2 Elisha said, "I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Nothing," she said. "Well, I do have a little oil."

2 Kings 4:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 4:2

And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee?
&c.] Or can I do, being poor himself, and unable to relieve her out of his substance, and not knowing where to get anything for her; and so what could she expect from him? signifying, that he pitied her case, but all that he could do was to give her his best advice, and pray for her:

tell me what thou hast in thy house?
that she could part with and dispose of, in order to pay her debt; and satisfy her creditor:

and she said, thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a
pot of oil;
that is, nothing of any value; she might have some things, some sort of household goods, though perhaps she had parted with most of them in her poverty; this was the most valuable thing she had.

2 Kings 4:2 In-Context

1 One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to God. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves."

2 Elisha said, "I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Nothing," she said. "Well, I do have a little oil."

3 "Here's what you do," said Elisha. "Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few - all you can get.

4 Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside."

5 She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them.