The Shunammite Woman
A wealthy woman of Shunem recognized Elisha as a holy man of God and persuaded her husband to build a small furnished room on their roof so the prophet would have a place to stay whenever he passed through. In gratitude, Elisha promised her a son, despite her husband's old age, and the promised child was born the following year exactly as foretold. Years later the boy died suddenly of a severe headache in the field, and the woman, refusing to accept his death as final, rode urgently to find Elisha, insisting he come at once. Elisha returned with her, prayed over the child, and stretched himself out on him twice until the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes - restored fully to life. Her hospitality, faith, and persistence make her one of the Old Testament's most vivid examples of quiet, practical devotion rewarded with extraordinary miracles.
Biography
- Children
- an unnamed son, raised from the dead by Elisha
- Era
- Divided Kingdom
- Nationality
- Israelite
Family
Did You Know?
Her reward for hospitality was a son she never asked for - she protested 'do not deceive thine handmaid,' having buried the hope already.
Her answer while carrying a dead child - 'It is well' - became the seed of the hymn 'It Is Well with My Soul' written by a grieving father millennia later.
In 2 Kings 8 she returns: seven years abroad during famine, and the king restores her land at the exact moment Gehazi is recounting her son's resurrection - providence timed to the sentence.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
The Shunammite's Hospitality
2 Kings 4:8-10
Her practical generosity toward Elisha, expecting nothing in return, sets up one of the most touching miracle accounts in the Elisha narratives.
8nd it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
Elisha Raises Her Son
2 Kings 4:32-37
Her refusal to give up on her son, and Elisha's persistent prayer, together bring about a resurrection that echoes Elijah's earlier miracle.
32nd when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.