Elisha and the Son of the Shunamite/2

Elisha and the Son of the Shunamite

Exegetical Approaches

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Flaw in Elisha

Elisha was at fault for the death of the Shunamite's son.  This approach divides regarding the nature of his sin:

Overstepped Prophetic Authority

Elisha overstepped his prophetic authority by declaring that he could bring life.  Giving life should be in Hashem's hands alone.

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

Prophetic authority

The Shunamites' title: אִשָּׁה גְדוֹלָה

Geichazi's suggestion

Indirect speech

The Shunamite's reaction: אַל תְּכַזֵּב בְּשִׁפְחָתֶךָ

Son's death

וַה' הֶעְלִים מִמֶּנִּי וְלֹא הִגִּיד לִי

Geichazi's failure

Elish'a actions

Biblical parallels

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

The Shunamites' title: אִשָּׁה גְדוֹלָה –

R. Samet notes that, unlike other childless women in Tanakh, the Shunamite is not introduced to the reader as barren, but rather as an important woman. He suggests that this implies that the woman's barren status must not have bothered her greatly,⁴ and that she instead filled her days by taking care of her estate and involving herself with acts of hospitality.⁵ 

No request for a son – According to Samet, the Shunamite does not ask for her son, because it was simply not high on her list of priorities.  It is for this same reason that Elisha did not think of granting her a son when looking how to compensate her.  Had the Shunamite been yearning for a child, he would probably have taken notice of the fact by himself and not needed Geichazi to enlighten him.

אַל תְּכַזֵּב בְּשִׁפְחָתֶךָ – The Shunamite's reaction reflects her lack of yearning for a child, not her fear of being disappointed.  After years of being a woman of stature, running her family's affairs, she is not prepared to become a mother instead.

Evaluation of Shunamite

Biblical parallels – R"E

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.

⁴ She is not identified by the text as barren, because that is not how she identified herself.

⁵ R. Samet judges the Shunamite negatively for this attitude, suggesting that she should have more strongly felt the loss of motherhood.  This, however, is an unfair evaluation. A woman who is able to overcomes her distress at her barren status and find other sources of meaning in life should be lauded, not criticized.