Endnote 2 – The Shunammite Woman

It is interesting to note that T. R. Hobbs (2 Kings, Word Biblical Commentary 13 [Waco, TX: Word Books, 1985], p. 42) strengthens the narrator’s point, and diminishes the woman’s standing, by rendering the Hebrew of these verses as follows: “No sir! You, a man of God, would not lie to your maidservant! But she did conceive, and did bear a son…just as Elisha had told her,” In English, we must stress the helping verbs, which do not occur in the Hebrew (she did conceive, and did bear a son), and the contrastive “but” translates an all-purpose conjunction which may only mean “and.” Hobbs’ English version, then, heightens our wonder at Elisha’s power, while calling attention to the woman’s incredulity and powerlessness. Despite her disbelief, she conceived and bore a son.