The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:20 Explained

2 Kings 4:20

KJV: And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

YLT: and he beareth him, and bringeth him in unto his mother, and he sitteth on her knees till the noon, and dieth.

Darby: And he carried him, and brought him to his mother; and he sat on her knees till noon, and died.

ASV: And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when he had taken  him, and brought  him to his mother,  he sat  on her knees  till noon,  and [then] died. 

What does 2 Kings 4:20 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 4:20 mean?

And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother and he sat on her knees till noon and [then] died
וַיִּשָּׂאֵ֔הוּ וַיְבִיאֵ֖הוּ אֶל־ אִמּ֑וֹ וַיֵּ֧שֶׁב עַל־ בִּרְכֶּ֛יהָ עַד־ הַֽצָּהֳרַ֖יִם וַיָּמֹֽת

וַיִּשָּׂאֵ֔הוּ  And  when  he  had  taken  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
וַיְבִיאֵ֖הוּ  and  brought  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אִמּ֑וֹ  his  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.
וַיֵּ֧שֶׁב  and  he  sat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בִּרְכֶּ֛יהָ  her  knees 
Parse: Noun, fdc, third person feminine singular
Root: בֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: knee.
עַד־  till 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
הַֽצָּהֳרַ֖יִם  noon 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: צֹהַר 
Sense: noon, midday.
וַיָּמֹֽת  and  [then]  died 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.