The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:42 Explained

2 Kings 4:42

KJV: And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

YLT: And a man hath come from Baal-Shalishah, and bringeth in to the man of God bread of first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in its husk, and he saith, 'Give to the people, and they eat.'

Darby: And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat.

ASV: And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And there came  a man  from Baalshalisha,  and brought  the man  of God  bread  of the firstfruits,  twenty  loaves  of barley,  and full ears of corn  in the husk  thereof. And he said,  Give  unto the people,  that they may eat. 

What does 2 Kings 4:42 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 4:42 mean?

And a man came from Baal Shalisha and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits twenty loaves of barley bread and newly ripened grain in his knapsack and he said Give [it] to the people that they may eat
וְאִ֨ישׁ בָּ֜א מִבַּ֣עַל שָׁלִ֗שָׁה וַיָּבֵא֩ לְאִ֨ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֜ים לֶ֤חֶם בִּכּוּרִים֙ עֶשְׂרִֽים־ לֶ֣חֶם שְׂעֹרִ֔ים וְכַרְמֶ֖ל בְּצִקְלֹנ֑וֹ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר תֵּ֥ן לָעָ֖ם וְיֹאכֵֽלוּ

וְאִ֨ישׁ  And  a  man 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
בָּ֜א  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
שָׁלִ֗שָׁה  Baal  Shalisha 
Parse: Preposition, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בַּעַל שָׁלִשָׁה  
Sense: a place in Ephraim near Gilgal.
וַיָּבֵא֩  and  brought 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לְאִ֨ישׁ  the  man 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הָאֱלֹהִ֜ים  of  God 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
לֶ֤חֶם  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
בִּכּוּרִים֙  of  the  firstfruits 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בִּכּוּרִים  
Sense: first-fruits.
עֶשְׂרִֽים־  twenty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: עֶשְׂרִים  
Sense: twenty, twentieth.
לֶ֣חֶם  loaves 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
שְׂעֹרִ֔ים  of  barley  bread 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: שְׂעֹרָה  
Sense: barley.
וְכַרְמֶ֖ל  and  newly  ripened  grain 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כַּרְמֶל 
Sense: plantation, garden-land, orchard, fruit orchard.
בְּצִקְלֹנ֑וֹ  in  his  knapsack 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: צִקָּלֹון  
Sense: sack, bag.
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר  and  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
תֵּ֥ן  Give  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לָעָ֖ם  to  the  people 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וְיֹאכֵֽלוּ  that  they  may  eat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.