מלכים ב, פרק ד׳, פסוק כ״ד

In a state of emotional turmoil and deep bitterness, the Shunammite woman urgently sets out to find the prophet at Mount Carmel. Her first step in preparing for the journey is tying the saddle to her donkey [מצודת דוד]. There are different views on how this was done. One perspective suggests she directed her servant to saddle the animal for her [רלב"ג]. Another view emphasizes her urgency, noting that she saddled the donkey herself to leave as quickly as possible. This approach adds an interesting detail about her companion: the servant boy must have been quite young. Had he been older, religious laws regarding seclusion would have prevented her from traveling alone with him through the fields [מלבי"ם].

Once prepared, she instructs her servant to lead the donkey and move forward swiftly, without any hesitation [רש"י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. She then gives a specific order regarding the pace of the journey, essentially telling him not to delay their progress [רש"י, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון] or stop to rest along the way [ביאור שטיינזלץ] unless she gives the word. The exact meaning of this instruction depends on whether she was walking or riding.

The primary approach among commentators is that her profound sadness drove her to walk the entire distance on foot. In this scenario, she tells the servant to keep moving the donkey forward and not to wait for her to climb on, unless she becomes too tired and specifically asks to ride [מלבי"ם, רלב"ג, רד"ק, חומת אנך, אברבנאל]. A different perspective suggests she was already seated on the donkey. According to this view, she orders the boy to urge the animal forward to increase their speed. She insists that he should not slow down the pace or stop for her comfort unless she explicitly tells him to do so [רד"ק, צאינה וראינה].