The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:40 Explained

2 Kings 4:40

KJV: So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

YLT: and they pour out for the men to eat, and it cometh to pass at their eating of the pottage, that they have cried out, and say, 'Death is in the pot, O man of God!' and they have not been able to eat.

Darby: And they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat it.

ASV: So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So they poured out  for the men  to eat.  And it came to pass, as they were eating  of the pottage,  that they cried out,  and said,  O [thou] man  of God,  [there is] death  in the pot.  And they could  not eat  [thereof]. 

What does 2 Kings 4:40 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 4:40 mean?

And they served it to men to eat And it came to pass as they were eating the stew that they cried out and said [there is] death in the pot Man of God and not they could eat [it]
וַיִּֽצְק֥וּ לַאֲנָשִׁ֖ים לֶאֱכ֑וֹל וַ֠יְהִי כְּאָכְלָ֨ם מֵהַנָּזִ֜יד וְהֵ֣מָּה צָעָ֗קוּ וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ מָ֤וֶת בַּסִּיר֙ אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים וְלֹ֥א יָכְל֖וּ לֶאֱכֹֽל

וַיִּֽצְק֥וּ  And  they  served  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָצַק  
Sense: to pour, flow, cast, pour out.
לַאֲנָשִׁ֖ים  to  men 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
לֶאֱכ֑וֹל  to  eat 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וַ֠יְהִי  And  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כְּאָכְלָ֨ם  as  they  were  eating 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
מֵהַנָּזִ֜יד  the  stew 
Parse: Preposition-m, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָזִיד  
Sense: boiled food, soup, pottage, thing sodden or boiled.
וְהֵ֣מָּה  that  they 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
צָעָ֗קוּ  cried  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: צָעַק  
Sense: to cry, cry out, call, cry for help.
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
מָ֤וֶת  [there  is]  death 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
בַּסִּיר֙  in  the  pot 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: סִיר 
Sense: pot.
אִ֣ישׁ  Man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים  of  God 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וְלֹ֥א  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָכְל֖וּ  they  could 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָכֹל  
Sense: to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able.
לֶאֱכֹֽל  eat  [it] 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.