Elisha and the Son of the Shunamite/2

Elisha and the Son of the Shunamite

Exegetical Approaches

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Flaw in Elisha

Overstepped Prophetic Authority

Elisha overstepped his prophetic authority by declaring that he could bring life to the world.

Sources:R"M Sabato,¹ R"Y Ariel,² Prof. Simon, Y. Amit,³ Dr. Gili Zivan,

Lack of Empathy

Elisha's treatment of the Shunamite and unsolicited promise of a son portrayed a lack of sensitivity to his barren hostess.

Sources:Y. Amit, R"M Lichtenstein

Flaw in the Shunamite

The Shunamite did not sufficiently appreciate the miracle bestowed upon her, and did not recognize that the supernatural birth of her son brought with it the responsibility of raising him to greatness.

Sources:R"E Samet

No Flaw

The death of the son of the Shunamite was not related to any sin, but was rather was the result of natural causes.

¹ R"M Sabato, "סיפור השונמית", Megadim 15 (1992):45-52.

² R"Y Ariel, "האשה השונמית ומבחנו של הנס - 'חיבוק דוב' ספרותי", Megadim 15 (1992):89-93.

³ Y. Amit, "אלישע והאישה הגדולה משונם — נביא במבחן," Zmanim: A Historical Quarterly 77 (2002):4-11. Amit combines this approach with the following one which also sees  a lack of sensitivity in Elish'a treatment of the Shunamite.