Early in Elijah’s career a Sidonian widow is sustained during a famine through a supply of oil; Elisha is involved with something similar (4:1–7), except this time the widow of a deceased Israelite prophet is the beneficiary. Here, one guesses the oil is limited so as to facilitate trust in the prophetic word without fostering complacency, even as it delivers her from the immediate threat of her creditors—and thus the woman is not childless. Elisha’s care for the widow sets the tone for the rest of the chapter, as another female character features in the next episode (4:8–37). The two women are in different straits: the widow was in debt and stood to lose her offspring, while the next woman is married and affluent,…