What Does 2 Kings 8:4 Mean?
And the king spoke with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Recount to me, please, all the great things that Elisha has done.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.THE KEY
The king’s “tell me” comes from a Hebrew root that also means “count”: he asks for Elisha’s works to be recounted one by one.
THE MEANING
A question that asks for the whole account makes room for work that might otherwise remain unseen. Naming the deeds brings them into view one by one, instead of leaving their scale as a vague impression.
THE ROOT
סַפְּרָה־נָּא
sapperah-na
GROWS FROM
ספר
Count, reckon, recount, tell.
“Recount to me” in this verse is sapperah-na. The Hebrew verb belongs to a root that carries both counting and recounting. The king’s request has the feel of gathering the deeds into an account, one by one, so their full scope can be seen.
ALSO GROWS
sāpar: Count or recount.
סָפַר
The shared root makes telling the works sound like a careful tally, not a vague report.
sēfer: Book or written record.
סֵפֶר
A recounting can become a record that holds what might otherwise be forgotten.
mispar: Number or count.
מִסְפָּר
This branch makes the root’s counting sense explicit: the king asks for all the works to be named.
הַגְּדֹלוֹת
haggədōlōt
GROWS FROM
גדל
Grow, become great, increase.
“great things” in this verse is haggədōlōt. The word translated “great” comes from a root of growing or becoming great. The deeds are not merely given a label; their scale has grown visible enough to be recounted.
ALSO GROWS
gādōl: Great or large.
גָּדוֹל
This is the adjective behind the “great things” the king wants to hear about.
gādal: Grow or become great.
גָּדַל
It shows the root’s movement: greatness is associated with growing in scale.
migdal: Tower.
מִגְדָּל
A tower rises into view, echoing how the works stand out as visible and substantial.
THE PATTERN
Works remain present and recognizable when they are recounted to others.
So that you may recount in the ears of your son and of your son's son what I have done in Egypt, and my signs which I have set among them, and you will perceive that I am the LORD.We will not hide them from their children, recounting to the generation that follows the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonders that he has done.And when they had arrived and gathered the assembly together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of trust to the nations.THE THREAD
We will not hide them from their children, recounting to the generation that follows the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonders that he has done.The Hebrew translated “shewing” is נְסַפֵּר (nəsappēr, “we recount”), from ספר (s-p-r, “count, recount”), the same root as the king’s “tell me.” The shared root links the king’s request for a full tally with the recounting that keeps works visible to the next generation.
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