at
Nain, which is the site of the miracle The
raising of the son of the widow of Zarephath, by the Old Testament prophet
Elijah (
1 Kings 17), is seen by
Fred Craddock as the model for this miracle, as there are several parallels in the details, especially some verbal parallels. The
raising of the son of the woman of Shunem (
2 Kings 4) by
Elisha is also similar, including the reaction of the people. In particular, the location of Nain is very close to
Shunem, identified with modern
Sulam.
Sinclair Ferguson calls attention to this as an example of a repeated pattern in the history of
redemption. He concludes that the pattern repetition: "comes to its fullness in the person of Jesus Christ, the great prophet who heals not merely through delegated authority from God, but on his own authority, without rituals or prayers, but with a simple word of power. Here is the great God and Saviour of Israel in the flesh"... The woman in the story had lost both her husband and her only son, so that there was no one left to support her. As she could not have inherited the land, the loss of her only son would have left her dependent on the charity of more distant relatives and neighbours. Both this account and the preceding one of the healing of the Centurion's servant () serve as a precursor to Jesus' assurance to the imprisoned John the Baptist that He is truly, 'the one who is to come' (), since, 'the dead are raised.' (). ==See also==