The Bible Commentaries and Others: Naaman

Naaman

NAAMAN (PERSON) [Heb na˓ăman (נַעֲמַן)]. The name of two men in the OT; it is derived from the stative verb n˓m, “to be pleasant.” Other names, such as Naamah and Naomi, share the same origin.

1. A member of the tribal families of Benjamin (Gen 46:21; Num 26:40; 1 Chr 8:4, 7). In one genealogy (Gen 46:21) he is listed as the son of Benjamin, and in another (1 Chr 8:4, 7) as the son of Bela, son of Benjamin. The differences between the genealogies ought to be seen in light of an intention to stress belonging rather than strict heredity (Aufrecht 1988). Outside these three texts, nothing is known of Naaman. From the perspective of genre, Gen 46:21 and 1 Chr 8:4, 7 are part of formal genealogies which received their final form in the postexilic period (Wilson 1977: 188). The first of these appears to be an expression of Gen 35:22b–23 (Johnson 1969: 21). On the other hand Num 26:40 is part of a census list, which, although postexilic in its present form, is based on an early military census of the monarchical period (Mendenhall 1958).

2. Commander-in-chief of the army of Aram-Damascus in the mid 9th century b.c.e., who became a leper and who visited the prophet Elisha for healing (2 Kgs 5:1–27). The biblical story tells of a powerful foreign soldier who had achieved fame on the battlefield, and who was trusted by his king (2 Kgs 5:1). He was, however, a leper. A young Israelite slave girl, captured in one of the Syrian raids on Israel, began the process of healing by telling her mistress, Naaman’s wife, that there was a prophet of great power in Israel. Initially, Naaman tried to gain access to the prophet Elisha through normal diplomatic channels (vv 4–7), but a serious misunderstanding by the Israelite king of the Syrian king’s intentions almost started a war. Finally, the general found Elisha, but when told, through an intermediary, that all he had to do was bathe himself seven times in the Jordan he was furious (vv 8–12). His servant constrained him to obey the prophet and eventually he was healed (vv 13–14). Naaman’s gratitude was great and he tried, unsuccessfully, to offer the prophet a gift. The gift was refused, but Naaman himself returned home with some earth from Israel as a symbol of a newfound faith in Yahweh, the God of Israel. When he, as the trusted aide to the king of Syria, entered the temple of the Syrian god, Rimmon, he would remember Yahweh and Israel (vv 15–19). The story ends with an attempt by Gehazi to trick Naaman out of some of his baggage, and the transfer of Naaman’s leprosy to Gehazi as punishment (vv 20–27).

The story is remarkable in many ways. Externally, such a visit of a high-ranking officer of Aram-Damascus to Israel is most unusual against the background of the almost continual conflict between the two countries. The reign of Ahab was a time of warfare with only minor intervals of peace (1 Kgs 20:1–34; 22:1–40). Following Ahab’s death Israelite territories on the E side of the Jordan were put in jeopardy (2 Kgs 1:1; 3:1–27), and from this time until the death of Elisha some fifty years later war was the norm rather than the exception (2 Kgs 6:8–7:20; 8:2–9:27; 12:17–18; 13:3–9, 24–25). During this period there were short times of peace, and from the stories of Elisha (2 Kgs 8:7–15) there is an account of a close relationship between the prophet and the king of Aram-Damascus, Ben Hadad. Whether this cordiality extended to the diplomatic level is not clear, but it should be noted that the two sides were not averse to burying their differences in the face of a common enemy. Ahab had fought with a coalition of western kings, including Damascus, against the Assyrians at Qarqar in 853 b.c.e. (ANET, 278–79), and in 734 b.c.e. Israel and Damascus teamed up against Ahaz of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 16:5–9). So, while the visit is highly unusual, it need not have been impossible.

Exactly when the visit took place is impossible to say. In the order of the Elisha stories it comes soon after the death of Ahab and the rebellion of Naaman, that is, after 850 b.c.e., and before Elisha’s visit to Damascus (2 Kgs 8:7–15), which must have taken place before 843 b.c.e. But the stories of Elisha are not necessarily in chronological order. Note that Gehazi reappears in chap. 8 with no hint of his leprosy or disfavor with Elisha.

Internally, the story is a fascinating example of Hebrew narrative art. Of all the stories associated with the prophet, and which obviously originated from the supporters of the prophet, this one has the most highly developed plot and contains the largest number of characters (Hobbs 2 Kings WBC, 58–69). The movement from problem (Naaman’s condition) to resolution of that problem (the healing) is not direct, but twists and turns down many paths until the denouement. The story also contains what can only be called a comedy of manners, almost bordering on a farce. It is the servants, the slave girl (2 Kgs 5:2–3) and the servants of Naaman (vv 13–14), who aid the process of healing, whereas the important characters, such as the kings, misunderstand the situation and almost start a war.

The nature of Naaman’s leprosy is not exactly clear, although it can be assumed from v 27 that it was a disease of the skin. It was therefore not “Hansen’s disease” (Cochrane 1963; Pilch 1985) (see also LEPROSY), and not something for which Naaman, unlike Uzziah (2 Kgs 15:5), was forced into quarantine.

In the present collection of Elisha stories, 2 Kings 5 provides a perfect counterpart to 2 Kings 1, and a near parallel to 2 Kings 8 In contrast to the Israelite king, Ahaziah, who sought healing from a foreign god, Baal-zebub of Ekron, a foreign dignitary and a foreign king seek help in their sickness from the God of Israel and his prophet. This contrast between the behavior of Israel and the behavior of foreign nations becomes a common theme in the prophetic tradition (Jer 2:10–11). It is to this incident, among others, that Jesus referred in justification of his gentile mission (Luke 4:27).

Bibliography

Aufrecht, W. 1988. Genealogy and History in Ancient Israel. Pp. 205–35 in Ascribe to the Lord, ed. L. E. Eslinger and G. Taylor. Sheffield.

Cochrane, R. G. 1963. Biblical Leprosy. London.

Cochrane, R. G., and Davey, T. F. 1964. Leprosy in Theory and Practice. 2d ed. Bristol.

Johnson, M. D. 1969. The Purpose of Biblical Genealogies. SNTSMS 8. Cambridge.

Mendenhall, G. E. 1958. The Census Lists in Numbers 1 and 26. JBL 77: 52–66.

Pilch, J. J. 1981. Biblical Leprosy and Body Symbolism. BTB 11: 108–13.

Wilson, R. R. 1975. The Old Testament Genealogies in Recent Research. JBL 94: 169–89.

———. 1977. Genealogy and History in the Biblical World. YNER 7. New Haven.

T. R. Hobbs

Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (4:968). New York: Doubleday.

NAAMAN Naaman was a Syrian military commander during the reign of Ben-hadad. When afflicted with leprosy he was urged by a Hebrew slave girl in his Damascus household to seek help of God’s prophet, Elisha (2 Kings 5). When he arrived at the house of Elisha Naaman was instructed by the prophet to go to the river Jordan and there dip in its waters seven times (v. 10). Naaman was offended at what seemed summary treatment and at the notion that the tepid Jordan had cleansing powers: “Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage” (v. 12). His servants, however, prevailed upon him to do the prophet’s bidding. When he did, “his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (v. 14).

St. Ambrose comments that “being forthwith cleansed, he understood that it is not of the waters but of grace that a man is cleansed” (De mysteriis, 3.17). Both St. Irenaeus (Fragments, 34) and Tertullian (Adv. Marc. 9, 10) see the narrative as typifying the efficacy of baptism. A brief commentary in the Glossa Ordinaria characterizes Naaman as a figure for the conversion of the Gentiles, whose strength has been eroded by “the leprosy of an idolatrous faith” but who when cleansed by the gospel have their strength recovered to a higher purpose (PL 113.613-14). In the minimal haggadic discussion of the narrative, Naaman’s leprosy is seen as a punishment for his pride (Num. Rab. 7.5); the story is important in demonstrating the great humility Naaman showed before the prophet (Haserot 35; cf. Sanh. 10.29b). (Another, unrelated Jewish tradition, recorded by Josephus among others, credits Naaman with killing the ungodly King Ahab by “drawing his bow at a venture” [1 Kings 22:34].) For Matthew Poole the prophet’s instruction to dip in the Jordan was partly intended “to try Naaman’s Faith and Obedience” (Annotations, sup. 2 Kings 5:10).

The story attracts little attention in literature until the 19th cent., when the narrative became popular in evangelical preaching such as that of Charles Spurgeon. Though Lamb’s allusion, “The Cam and the Isis are to him better than all the waters of Damascus.” is learned (“Oxford in the Vacation”), most later references tend to echo the homiletic tradition. Trollope writes in Barchester Towers:

Then his faith was against him: he required to believe so much; panted so eagerly to give signs of his belief; deemed it so insufficient to wash himself simply in the waters of Jordan; that some great deed, such as that of forsaking everything for a true church, had for him allurements almost past withstanding. (Chap. 20)

In Butler’s The Way of All Flesh the narrator, attending Theobald’s old church, “felt as Naaman must have felt on certain occasions when he had to accompany his master on his return after having been cured of his leprosy,” and Christina “was sure that she had grown in grace since she had left off eating things strangled and blood—this was as the washing in Jordan as against Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus” (chap. 21).

See also ahab; elisha.

David W. Baker

Jeffrey, D. L. (1992). A Dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.

Naaman — pleasantness, a Syrian, the commander of the armies of Benhadad II. in the time of Joram, king of Israel. He was afflicted with leprosy; and when the little Hebrew slave-girl that waited on his wife told her of a prophet in Samaria who could cure her master, he obtained a letter from Benhadad and proceeded with it to Joram. The king of Israel suspected in this some evil design against him, and rent his clothes. Elisha the prophet hearing of this, sent for Naaman, and the strange interview which took place is recorded in 2 Kings 5. The narrative contains all that is known of the Syrian commander. He was cured of his leprosy by dipping himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of Elisha. His cure is alluded to by our Lord (Luke 4:27).

Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

NAAMAN

1. Grandson of Benjamin and son of Bela, who gave his name to the Naamite clan (Gn 46:21; Nm 26:38–40; 1 Chr 8:4, 7).

2. Commanding general of the Aramean army during the reign of Ben-hadad, king of Syria (2 Kgs 5). He was held in honor by the king, evidently for his character as well as for military achievements, “but he had leprosy.” This did not exclude him from society, as it would have done in Israel (cf. Lv 13–14), but the possibility of a cure suggested by a captive Israelite girl sent Naaman, with Ben-hadad’s approval and gifts, to the court of his highly suspicious neighboring monarch (unnamed, but probably Jehoram). Elisha the prophet intervened and prescribed an unlikely mode of healing. The reluctant Naaman followed through because of the good sense of his servants, who said, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?” Naaman confessed that the one true God is in Israel, and he returned home with two mule-loads of earth, perhaps on the assumption that this was a God who could be worshiped only on his own ground (cf. Ex 20:24). In Luke 4:27 Jesus reminds his synagogue listeners of how Naaman, a non-Israelite, was the only one of his time to be cleansed of leprosy.

Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (928). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

NA´AMAN (nāʹa-man; “pleasantness”).

1. One of the family of Benjamin who came down to Egypt with Jacob (as read in Gen. 46:21) or, more correctly, born in Egypt. According to the LXX version of that passage, he was the son of Bela, which is the parentage assigned to him in Num. 26:40. In the enumeration of the sons of Benjamin, he is said to be the son of Bela and head of the family of the Naamites. He is also reckoned among the sons of Bela (1 Chron. 8:3–4), after 1876 b.c.

2. “The Syrian” was commander of the armies of Ben-hadad II (Josephus Ant. 8.15.5), king of Damascene Syria. He is described in 2 Kings 5:1 as “a great man with his master, and highly respected, … a valiant warrior.” He was, however, a leper; and when a captive Hebrew girl spoke of a prophet in Samaria who could cure her master of leprosy, Ben-hadad furnished him with a letter to King Joram. But when the king read the letter to the effect that Naaman had been sent to him to be cured, he tore his clothes, suspecting that the object was a quarrel. Elisha the prophet, hearing of this, sent for Naaman, who came to his house, not being permitted as a leper to enter. Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean.” Naaman was indignant at the apparent incivility and would doubtless have returned to Syria without a cure but for the entreaties of his servants. He bathed in the Jordan and was cleansed of his leprosy. Returning to Elisha, he acknowledged that Jehovah was above all gods, and he declared his intention of worshiping Him alone. He asked permission to take home two mules’ loads of earth, probably to set up in Damascus an altar to Jehovah. He desired to bestow valuable gifts upon Elisha, but the prophet refused to accept anything. His servant, Gehazi, coveting some of the riches proffered his master, hastened after Naaman and asked, in his master’s name, for a portion. Naaman granted him more than he had asked (5:2–23), about 848 b.c.

“Naaman’s appearance throughout the occurrence is most characteristic and consistent. He is every inch a soldier, ready at once to resent what he considers a slight cast either on himself or the natural glories of his country, and blazing out in a moment into sudden ‘rage,’ but calmed as speedily by a few good-humored and sensible words from his dependents, and after the cure has been effected evincing a thankful and simple heart, whose gratitude knows no bounds, and will listen to no refusal” (McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia, s.v.).

The expression “because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram” (v. 1) seems to point to services such as were incidentally to serve the divine purposes toward Israel and may on this account have been ascribed to Jehovah.

Naaman’s request to be allowed to take away two mules’ loads of earth is not easy to understand. The natural explanation is that, with a feeling akin to that which prompted the Pisan invaders to take away the earth of Aceldama for the Campo Santo at Pisa, the grateful convert to Jehovah wished to take away some of the earth of His country to form an altar. But in the narrative there is no mention of an altar.

bibliography: C. E. Macartney, The Wisest Fool (1949), pp. 169–79.

Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.

NAAMAN (Heb. na‘amān, ‘pleasant’). A common N Syrian name during the mid-2nd millennium as shown by texts from *Ugarit.

1. A dependant of Benjamin; forefather of the Naamite clan (Gn. 46:21; Nu. 26:40; 1 Ch. 8:4, 7).

2. A military commander of the Syrian army during the reign of *Ben-hadad I (2 Ki. 5). Although afflicted with leprosy, he still held his high position (v. 1). At the suggestion of an Israelite prisoner of war, he took a letter from his king, along with gifts, to the king of Israel, probably *Jehoram. He was referred to *Elisha who offered him a cure by bathing in the River Jordan, which Naaman indignantly refused until prevailed upon by his servants (vv. 8–14). Upon being cleansed, he took two mule-loads of earth, which he saw as a necessity for worshipping Yahweh, the one true god (vv. 15–17). Although a Yahwist, Naaman still needed to worship at the temple of *Rimmon, probably because of social obligation.

Jewish legend, recorded in Josephus (Ant. 8.414) but unsubstantiated, identifies Naaman as the one who killed *Ahab by drawing ‘his bow at a venture’ (1 Ki. 22:34). He is also briefly mentioned in Lk. 4:27. d.w.b.

Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (796). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Naaman (nayʹuh-muhn). 1 A son (Gen. 46:21) or grandson (Num. 26:40) of Benjamin; the ancestor of the Naamites. 2 A leper cured by the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5). Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria or Aram (Damascus) in the time of Elisha. Having learned of the reputation of the Samarian holy man from a captured Israelite girl who waited on his wife, Naaman resolved to go to Israel to seek a cure for his leprosy. He obtained permission from his king, who gave him a letter for the king of Israel asking that Naaman be healed. The letter, however, alarmed the Israelite king. Knowing that he lacked the power to heal Naaman, he suspected that the Aramaean king was trying to provoke a quarrel. Eventually, however, Elisha heard of the king’s concern and summoned Naaman to his house. When he arrived, he sent instructions that he should dip himself in the Jordan seven times. At first Naaman, who had expected the prophet to heal him in person, was angry and disappointed, retorting that Damascus had its own rivers, the Abana and Pharpar, that were better than any in Israel. Finally, however, his servants persuaded him to follow Elisha’s instructions. He washed in the Jordan and was healed, whereupon he returned to Elisha and vowed to sacrifice to no god but Yahweh from that time on, requesting a load of the local soil so that he could worship the Israelite god in Damascus. Although Elisha explicitly refused any reward from Naaman, his servant Gehazi pursued the departing Aramaean and deceitfully procured a gift in his master’s name. Elisha, however, was aware of his servant’s deceit and proclaimed that Naaman’s leprosy would be transferred to Gehazi and his descendants forever.

The healing of Naaman’s leprosy is mentioned in Luke 4:27 in the context of a controversy between Jesus and the people of Nazareth. Jesus, who is regarded with suspicion because he has done great things in Capernaum but not in his home town, cites ‘Naaman the Syrian’ as an example of a foreigner who received divine help even when lepers in Israel did not. P.K.M.

Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (676). San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Naaman (Heb. na˓ămān)

1. A son of Benjamin (Gen. 46:21).

2. A son of Bela, the son of Benjamin, eponymous ancestor of the Naamanites (Num. 26:40; 1 Chr. 8:4).

3. A son of Ehud, the great-grandson of Benjamin (1 Chr. 8:7).

4. The commander of the Aramean army who was cured of his leprosy by bathing in the Jordan (2 Kgs. 5). An Israelite maidservant told Naaman’s wife that a prophet from Samaria, Elisha, could heal Naaman of his leprosy. Informed of this in a letter from the king of Aram, the king of Israel interpreted it as a pretext for conflict between Aram and Israel. Through the intervention of Elisha Naaman nevertheless came to Israel, but he was cured only after his servants compelled him to follow Elisha’s instructions to bathe in the Jordan. Naaman then confessed his allegiance to the Lord and departed. Telling Naaman the prophet had changed his mind, Elisha’s servant Gehazi deceptively obtained gifts of silver and clothing from Naaman. Upon being confronted by Elisha, Gehazi was thereupon struck by the leprosy of which Naaman was cured.

The narrative demonstrates that although Israel was the locus of the Lord’s activity, the Gentiles also participated in the Lord’s beneficence: in spite of his objections to the contrary, Naaman could be cleansed only in the Jordan (2 Kgs. 5:11–14); he confessed that there was no God in the whole world except in Israel (v. 15); and he wished to return to Aram with Israelite earth, for he would sacrifice only to the Lord in the future (v. 17). Jesus’ recalls the story in Luke 4:27 to emphasize that God’s beneficence extends beyond Israel to the Gentiles.

John E. Harvey

Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (936). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.