2 Kings 4:43

2Ki 4:43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave [thereof].

Ver. 43. And his servitor.] Gehazi, who was no stranger to his master’s miracles, but continued a Pettifidian, or small faith.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 4:43. What! should I set this before a hundred men? — Just as the apostles said to the Lord Jesus, when he intended to feed a far greater number with less food. He said again, Give unto the people, &c. — Do as I order you, and make no objections. For thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof — As the multitude left of the loaves and fishes which Christ caused to be set before them. The similitude between several of the miracles of Elijah and Elisha, and those of the Lord Jesus, is very striking, and may be considered as a proof that they all acted by the power of one and the same Spirit. The miracles of the Son of God, however, were both far more in number, and far greater, than those which were performed by these his servants.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is not the quantity of bread that satisfieth, but the blessing that God giveth.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

SATISFIES A HUNDRED MEN WITH TWENTY LOAVES. (Kg2 4:42-44)

They shall eat, and shall leave thereof--This was not a miracle of Elisha, but only a prediction of one by the word of the Lord. Thus it differed widely from those of Christ (Mat 15:37; Mar 8:8; Luk 9:17; Joh 6:12).

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 5

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 43. Thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.] It was God, not the prophet, who fed one hundred men with these twenty loaves, &c. This is something like our Lord's feeding the multitude miraculously. Indeed, there are many things in this chapter similar to facts in our Lord's history: and this prophet might be more aptly considered a type of our Lord, than most of the other persons in the Scriptures who have been thus honoured.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(43) Servitor.—Minister, or attendant.

What, should I set this before an hundred men?—Or, How am I to set? &c. (Comp. Mat_14:33.)

He said again.—And he said.

They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.—Heb., eating and leaving! an exclamatory mode of speech, natural in hurried and vehement utterance.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

43. And his servitor [R.V. servant] said] The word is not the usual one for ‘servant’ which has occurred above in this chapter; but it is rendered elsewhere by ‘minister’ or ‘servant’ (see Exo_24:13; Exo_33:11), and nowhere but here ‘servitor’. As the word is used, in the passages referred to, of Joshua, the minister of Moses, it seems likely that Gehazi, the special attendant on Elisha, is here meant.

before an hundred men] Probably the number of the prophetic college at Gilgal. We have seen above (2Ki_2:7) that these communities had many members, not all perhaps resident regularly, but likely to gather in full force when Elisha was visiting their society.

He said again] R.V. But he said. There is nothing in the text to warrant the ‘again’.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And his servitor said,.... His servant Gehazi very probably:

what, should I set this before one hundred men? for so many, it seems, the sons of the prophets were in this place; and these loaves being very small, no more, it is thought by some, than one man could eat, and the ears of corn but few, the servant suggests they would be nothing comparatively to such a company of men:

he said again, give the people, that they may eat; he insisted upon it that his orders should be obeyed:

for thus saith the Lord, they shall eat, and shall leave thereof; it was suggested to him by a spirit of prophecy, there would be enough for them, and to spare.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

This miracle was a faint foreshadowing of our Lord’s far more marvelous feeding of thousands with even scantier materials. The resemblance is not only in the broad fact, but in various minute particulars, such as the distribution through the hands of others; the material, bread; the surprised question of the servant; and the evidence of superfluity in the fragments that were left (see the marginal references). As Elijah was a type of the Baptist, so Elisha was in many respects a type of our Blessed Lord. In his peaceful, non-ascetic life, in his mild and gentle character, in his constant circuits, in his many miracles of mercy, in the healing virtue which abode in his bodily frame 2Ki 13:21, he resembled, more than any other prophet, the Messiah, of whom all prophets were more or less shadows and figures.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Men. The disciples of Christ found the like difficulty, John vi. 9. (Menochius) --- God multiplied the provisions for these 100 men, (Calmet) living in the community at Galgal. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

43. His servitor — His minister; attendant. Probably Gehazi.

This before a hundred men — Do you expect me to feed a hundred with these few loaves, which are barely sufficient for us? Compare Luk_9:13; Joh_6:9. Here was not only an expression of surprise, but it was prompted by a Judas-like feeling of covetousness on the part of Gehazi, who would keep all for himself.

They shall eat, and shall leave — This word of the Lord shows that the miracle was not wrought by the prophet, but by a Divine power far beyond him and above him. But by this miracle God honoured him, and strengthened the faith of the people. Here, says Wordsworth, “is a specimen of the work of Christ in apostolic Churches, receiving the alms of the faithful at God’s altar, and seeking for true riches by bestowing those offerings, blessed by God with increase, to the benefit of his people.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? The servant felt that the quantity was quite insufficient, and thought it absurd to invite a hundred men to sit down to a meal, which would not satisfy a fifth of the number; but Elisha repeated his command. He said again, Give the people, that they may eat. This time, however, he added an explanation of the proceeding: for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. God had supernaturally intimated to him that the quantity of food would prove ample for the hundred men; they would show that they had had enough by leaving some of it. And the result was as predicted.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

“How will I present this.” Each bread.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.