2 Kings 5

This chapter is one of the accounts of Elisha's miracles continuing from chapter 4 of 2 Kings. In it, a commander of the army of Aram, a Gentile from outside Israel, is healed.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 Naaman, commander of the army of Aram, who has leprosy, hears from a young servant girl taken captive from Israel. He goes to the king of Israel bearing a letter from the king of Aram, along with ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. The king of Israel tears his clothes, believing that the king of Aram is seeking a quarrel with him.
• Verses 8–14 Elisha sends for Naaman, then sends a messenger to tell him to wash seven times in the Jordan. Naaman is angered, but at the urging of his servants he does as he was told. His flesh then becomes clean, like the flesh of a little child.
• Verses 15–19 Naaman confesses that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. Elisha refuses his gifts. Naaman asks for two mules' burden of earth and asks to be pardoned for bowing down in the house of Rimmon. Elisha replies, "Go in peace."
• Verses 20–27 Elisha's servant Gehazi obtains two talents of silver and two changes of raiment by deceit and hides them. He then lies to Elisha as well and is struck with leprosy, becoming as white as snow.

Key Verses

• 2 Kings 5:14 "dipped himself seven times in Jordan … and he was clean" — the scene in which Naaman's body is restored after he does as the prophet said.
• 2 Kings 5:15 "now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel" — a Gentile's confession of God.
• 2 Kings 5:26 "Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments … ?" — Elisha's rebuke of Gehazi's covetousness.

People and Places

• Naaman: Commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a mighty man of valor but suffered from leprosy.
• The young servant girl: A girl taken captive from Israel who served Naaman's wife. Her name is not given.
• The king of Aram and the king of Israel: The text does not name either king.
• Gehazi: Elisha's servant.
• Aram: A kingdom located northeast of Israel. Naaman says that Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, are better than the Jordan River.
• Samaria: The place where, according to the servant girl, the prophet could be found.

Points for Reflection

• The Hebrew word translated "leprosy" (rendered in Korean Bibles as mundungbyeong or, in the New Korean Revised Version, nabyeong) refers broadly to a range of skin diseases. For this reason, some hold that it cannot be definitively identified with modern Hansen's disease.
• Interpretations of "Go in peace" in verse 19 differ. Some read it as permission to bow down in the house of Rimmon, while others read it as a farewell that passes no judgment on the matter.
• Since the patristic era, some interpreters have read the washing in the Jordan as a type of baptism, that is, a foreshadowing of it. Others hold that the primary meaning of the text is obedience to the word of God.
• Jewish tradition, including Josephus, records that Naaman was the man who shot Ahab with an arrow. This account does not appear in the biblical text.
• In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus says that of the many lepers in the time of Elisha, only Naaman was cleansed (Luke 4:27).

In the Korean Church

• Sunday schools frequently teach the story of the young servant girl and Naaman.
• Preachers use this chapter as a text when addressing obedience, laying aside pride, and Gehazi's covetousness.