V. ELISHA HEALS NAAMAN THE SYRIAN’S LEPROSY, AND PUNISHES GEHAZI THEREWITH. (1) NOW. — The construction implies a break between this narrative and the preceding. Whether the events related belong to the time of Jehoram or of the dynasty of Jehu is not clear. Evidently it was a time of peace betwee... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SYRIANS. — Heb., _Aram_, the word rendered “Syria” in 2 Kings 5:1. BY COMPANIES. — Or, _in troops_, referring to a marauding incursion made at some time prior to the events here recorded. BROUGHT AWAY CAPTIVE... A LITTLE MAID. — Comp. the reference in Joel 3:6 to the Phœnician traffic in Jewis... [ Continue Reading ]
WOULD GOD. — _O that! ’Ahalê_ here; in Psalms 119:5, _’Ahalay_. The word seems to follow the analogy of _’ashrê_, “O the bliss of!” (Psalms 1:1). It perhaps means “O the delight of!” the root _’ahal_ being assumed equivalent to the Arabic _halâ_, Syriac _halî_, “dulcis fuit.” FOR HE WOULD RECOVER HI... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ONE WENT IN. — _And he_ (_i.e._, Naaman) _went in: scil_., into the palace. Some MSS.: “and she went in and told.” THUS AND THUS. — To avoid repetition of her actual words.... [ Continue Reading ]
GO TO, GO. — _Depart thou_ (thither), _enter_ (the land of Israel). A LETTER. — Written, probably, in that old Aramean script of which we have examples on Assyrian seals of the eighth century B.C., and which closely resembled the old Phœnician and Hebrew characters, as well as that of the Moabite s... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW. — Heb., _And now_, continuing an omitted passage. Only the principal sentence of the letter is given. The message pre-supposes a not altogether hostile relation between the two kings; and the words of the next verse, “He seeketh a quarrel against me,” point to the time of comparative lull which... [ Continue Reading ]
HE RENT HIS CLOTHES. — As if he had heard blasphemy. (Comp. Matthew 26:65.) AM I GOD, TO KILL AND TO MAKE ALIVE? — Deuteronomy 32:39, “I kill, and I make alive;” 1 Samuel 2:6, “The Lord killeth, and maketh alive.” Leprosy was a kind of living death. (Comp. Numbers 12:12, Heb., “Let her not become a... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE IS A PROPHET. — With stress on _there is_ (_yçsh_): _scil_., as his message pre-supposes. WHEN ELISHA... HAD HEARD. — He was in Samaria at the time (2 Kings 5:3), and would hear of the coming of the great Syrian captain and of the king’s alarm. Why did not Jehoram think at once of Elisha? Kin... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH HIS HORSES AND WITH HIS CHARIOT. — _Chariots_. (See on 2 Kings 2:11; and comp. 2 Kings 5:15, _infra_.) The proper term for a single chariot is used in 2 Kings 5:21. The magnificence of his retinue is suggested. STOOD. — _Stopped._ The text hardly conveys, as Bähr thinks, the idea that Elisha’s... [ Continue Reading ]
ELISHA SENT A MESSENGER. — Avoiding personal contact with a leper. (Comp. 2 Kings 5:15, where Naaman, when restored, goes in and stands before the prophet.) Perhaps reverence held back those who consulted a great prophet from entering his presence (comp. 2 Kings 4:12); and therefore, Naaman stopped... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT (and) NAAMAN WAS WROTH. — Because, as his words show, he thought he was mocked by the prophet. I THOUGHT. — _I said to myself._ STRIKE HIS HAND. — Rather, _wave his hand towards the place_. (Comp. Isaiah 10:15; Isaiah 11:15.) He would not _touch_ the unclean place. RECOVER THE LEPER. — Or, _t... [ Continue Reading ]
ABANA. — So Hebrew text; Hebrew margin, _Amana_; and so many MSS., Complut., LXX., Targum, Syriac. (Comp. Amana, Song of Solomon 4:8, as name of a peak of the Lebanon, which is common in the Assyrian inscriptions also.) The river is identified with the present _Burâda_, or _Barady_ (“the cold”), whi... [ Continue Reading ]
CAME NEAR. — Comp. Genesis 18:23. MY FATHER. — A title implying at once respect and affection. (Comp. 1 Samuel 24:11; 2 Kings 6:21.) Perhaps, however, the word is a corruption of _’im_ (“if”), which is otherwise not expressed in the Hebrew. GREAT THING. — Emphatic in the Hebrew. WOULDEST THOU NOT... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN WENT HE DOWN. — _And he went down: scil_., from Samaria to the Jordan bed. The Syriac and Arabic, and some Hebrew MSS., read “and he departed;” probably an error of transcription. SEVEN TIMES. — “Because _seven_ was significant of the Divine covenant with Israel, and the cure depended on that c... [ Continue Reading ]
COMPANY. — Heb., camp, host. Naaman’s following consisted of “horses and chariots” (2 Kings 5:9). CAME. — Went in: into Elisha’s house. Gratitude overcame awe and dread. BEHOLD, NOW. — Behold, I pray thee. The “now” belongs to “behold,” not to “I know.” I KNOW THAT... IN ISRAEL. — Naaman, like mo... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT. — And (both times). I WILL RECEIVE NONE. — Theodoret compares our Lord’s “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). (Comp. Acts 8:20.) Such may have been Elisha’s feeling. His refusal, strongly contrasting with the conduct of ordinary prophets, Israelite and heathen (comp. 1 Samuel... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL THERE NOT THEN. — Rather, _If not, let there be given, I pray thee_. LXX., Καὶ εἰ μή. TWO MULES’ BURDEN OF EARTH? — Literally, _a load of a yoke of mules’_ (in) _earth._ It was natural for Naaman, with his local idea of divinity, to make this request. He wished to worship the God of Israel, s... [ Continue Reading ]
_(_18_)_ IN THIS THING. — _Touching this thing_ (but in at the end of the verse). The LXX. and Syriac read, “and touching this thing,” an improvement in the connection. TO WORSHIP. — To bow down (the same verb occurs thrice in the verse). THE HOUSE OF RIMMON. — The Assyrian Rammânu (from _ramâmu_,... [ Continue Reading ]
A LITTLE WAY. — Heb., a _kibrâh_ of ground (Genesis 35:16). It seems to mean “a length of ground,” “a certain distance,” without defining exactly how far. Had it been a parasang, as the Syriac renders, Gehazi could not have overtaken the company so easily.... [ Continue Reading ]
SAID — _i.e.,_ thought. THIS SYRIAN. — He justifies his purpose on the principle of “spoiling the Egyptians.” BUT, AS THE LORD LIVETH, I WILL RUN. — Rather, _by the life of Jehovah, but I will run_. (Comp. Note on 2 Kings 4:30.)... [ Continue Reading ]
HE LIGHTED DOWN FROM THE CHARIOT TO MEET HIM. — An Oriental mark of respect. Literally, fell from off the chariot: an expression denoting haste (Genesis 24:64). The LXX. has “he turned,” which implies an ellipsis of “and descended.” IS ALL WELL? — Naaman feared something might have befallen the pro... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN NOW. — Or, _this moment,_ just. MOUNT EPHRAIM. — _The hill-country of Ephraim,or highlands of Ephraim,_ where Gilgal and Bethel were situate. CHANGES OF GARMENTS. — The same phrase as in 2 Kings 5:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
BE CONTENT. — Be willing, consent to take. The Vatican LXX. omits; the Alexandrian renders αὐτοῦ, owing to a transposition of the Hebrew letters (hălô’ for _hô’êl_). BOUND. — Deuteronomy 14:25. BAGS. — Only here and in Isaiah 3:22, where it means “purses.” LAID THEM UPON TWO. — Gave them to two o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TOWER. — Heb., the ’_ôphel_, the mound, on which the prophet’s house may have stood. There would be no window in the exterior wall from which Gehazi and his companions might have been observed approaching. Perhaps, however, a fortified hill, forming part of the system of defences surrounding Sam... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT HE. — And he himself (after putting away his ill-gotten gains). WENT IN. — Into his master’s chamber. Gehazi was already in the house. STOOD BEFORE. — Came forward to (2 Chronicles 6:12). THY SERVANT WENT NO WHITHER. — Literally, _Thy servant went not away hither nor thither. _... [ Continue Reading ]
WENT NOT MINE HEART... MEET THEE? — Rather, Nor did my heart (i.e., consciousness) go away, when a man turned (and alighted) from his chariot to meet thee. The prophet, in severe irony, adopts Gehazi’s own phrase: Maurer, “Non abierat animus meus;” “I was there in spirit, and witnessed everything.”... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL CLEAVE. — Or, cleave! i.e., let it cleave. The prophetic sentence is naturally expressed as an imperative. A LEPER AS WHITE AS SNOW. — Comp. Exodus 4:6 Numbers 12:10. A sudden outbreak of leprosy may follow upon extreme fright or mortification (_Michaelis_). UNTO THY SEED FOR EVER. — Like ot... [ Continue Reading ]