Elisha and the Widow's Oil

A woman came to Elisha crying for help. Her husband had died, and he had belonged to the company of the prophets. She said he had feared the Lord, but now a creditor was coming to take her two children as slaves because of the debt.

Elisha asked what he should do for her and what she had at home. She answered that she had nothing in the house except a pot of oil. Elisha told her to borrow empty containers from all her neighbours, and not to borrow only a few.

Then Elisha told her to go inside, shut the door behind herself and her sons, and pour oil into all the containers, setting the full ones aside. She did as he said. Inside the house, her sons brought the containers to her, and she poured.

When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons, 'Bring me another container.' He answered that there was not another one. Then the oil stopped flowing.

The woman came back and told the man of God. He told her to sell the oil, pay her debt, and live with her sons on what was left. What seemed very small had become enough to meet her need.