The Meaning of 2 Kings 4:41 Explained

2 Kings 4:41

KJV: But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

YLT: And he saith, 'Then bring ye meal;' and he casteth into the pot, and saith, 'Pour out for the people, and they eat;' and there was no evil thing in the pot.

Darby: And he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

ASV: But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But he said,  Then bring  meal.  And he cast  [it] into the pot;  and he said,  Pour out  for the people,  that they may eat.  And there was no harm  in the pot. 

What does 2 Kings 4:41 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 4:41 mean?

So he said and bring some flour And he put [it] into the pot and said Serve [it] to the people that they may eat And nothing there was harm harmful in the pot -
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ וּקְחוּ־ קֶ֔מַח וַיַּשְׁלֵ֖ךְ אֶל־ הַסִּ֑יר וַיֹּ֗אמֶר צַ֤ק לָעָם֙ וְיֹאכֵ֔לוּ וְלֹ֥א הָיָ֛ה דָּבָ֥ר רָ֖ע בַּסִּֽיר ס

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙  So  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
וּקְחוּ־  and  bring 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
קֶ֔מַח  some  flour 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֶמַח  
Sense: flour, meal, meal flour.
וַיַּשְׁלֵ֖ךְ  And  he  put  [it] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַךְ  
Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַסִּ֑יר  the  pot 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: סִיר 
Sense: pot.
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
צַ֤ק  Serve  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָצַק  
Sense: to pour, flow, cast, pour out.
לָעָם֙  to  the  people 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וְיֹאכֵ֔לוּ  that  they  may  eat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וְלֹ֥א  And  nothing 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
הָיָ֛ה  there  was 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
דָּבָ֥ר  harm 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
רָ֖ע  harmful 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
בַּסִּֽיר  in  the  pot 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: סִיר 
Sense: pot.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation