2 Kings 5 · WEB
Naaman Healed of Leprosy; Gehazi's Greed
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Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
2The Syrians had gone out in bands and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little girl, and she waited on Naaman's wife.
3She said to her mistress, "I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy."
4Someone went in and told his lord, saying, "The girl who is from the land of Israel said this."
5The king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand pieces of gold and ten changes of clothing.
6He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, "Now when this letter has come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy."
7When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks a quarrel against me."
8When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
9So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean."
11But Naaman was angry and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place and heal the leper.'
12Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.
13His servants came near and spoke to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, 'Wash and be clean?'"
14Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him. He said, "Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take a gift from your servant."
16But he said, "As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none." He urged him to take it; but he refused.
17Naaman said, "If not, then, please let your servant be given two mule loads of earth; for your servant will no more offer burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh.
18In this thing may Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon — when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh pardon your servant in this thing."
19He said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him some distance.
20But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God said, "Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian by not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him and take something from him."
21So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is all well?"
22He said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.'"
23Naaman said, "Be pleased to take two talents." He urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants; and they carried them before Gehazi.
24When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and stored them in the house. He let the men go, and they departed.
25But he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, "Where did you come from, Gehazi?" He said, "Your servant didn't go anywhere."
26He said to him, "Wasn't my heart there when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, male servants and female servants?
27Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your offspring forever." He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.
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Summary
Naaman, a powerful Syrian general with leprosy, is directed by a captive Israelite servant girl to the prophet Elisha. After initial offense at Elisha's simple command to wash in the Jordan seven times, Naaman's servants persuade him to obey, and he is miraculously healed. He returns professing faith in Israel's God alone and asks to take home two mule-loads of Israelite soil. Elisha's servant Gehazi, however, secretly runs after Naaman to collect payment Elisha refused, and is struck with Naaman's leprosy as divine punishment for his greed and deceit.
Themes
- Healing and salvation available to Gentiles who humble themselves
- The grace of God extended beyond the borders of Israel
- The danger of greed and using God's gifts for personal profit
- Obedience in simple things as the path to God's blessing
Key verses
- 2 Kgs 5:13 — “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, 'Wash and be clean?'”
- 2 Kgs 5:15 — “Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.”
- 2 Kgs 5:27 — “Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your offspring forever.”
Context & background
Syria (Aram) was a powerful rival kingdom to Israel's northeast, centered in Damascus (modern Damascus, Syria). The Jordan River flows southward through the Jordan Valley and into the Dead Sea; Naaman's contempt for it compared to Damascus' rivers (the Barada/Abanah and the Awaj/Pharpar, still flowing through modern Damascus) reflects military pride. Jesus later cited this story in Luke 4:27 to make the point that God's grace goes beyond Israel to Gentiles. The request for two mule-loads of Israelite soil reflects an ancient belief that a god could only be properly worshiped on the soil of his own land — Naaman's theology was developing but not yet fully formed. Leprosy in the ancient world was both a medical condition and a social death sentence.
Cross-references
- 1 Kgs 17:1-16 — Elijah's ministry to the widow of Zarephath, another Gentile blessed through a prophet
- Acts 10:34-35 — Peter declares God accepts people of every nation who fear him
- Eph 2:11-13 — Gentiles once far off are brought near through Christ
- John 9:7 — Jesus tells the blind man to "go, wash" — echoing Elisha's command to Naaman
- Luke 4:27 — Jesus cites Naaman as an example of God's grace toward Gentiles, provoking the synagogue in Nazareth