Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 5:9
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
9. with his horses and with his chariot ] R.V. chariots. For though the Hebrew word is singular, the sense is ‘chariotry’, i.e., a number of chariots. In attendance on so great a man as Naaman there would be many persons on horseback and in carriages, and the display would seem such as to draw even the prophet forth to behold.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 9. Came with his horses and with his chariot] In very great pomp and state. Closely inspected, this was preposterous enough; a leper sitting in state, and affecting it!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Waiting for Elishas coming to him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
So Naaman came with his horses, and with his chariot,…. In his chariot drawn by horses; or “with horsemen and chariots”, a great retinue, both for his own grandeur, and for the honour of the prophet, and to make him the more respectable by him:
and stood at the door of the house of Elisha; who now dwelt at Gilgal, as is probable, see 2Ki 4:38, hither Naaman was directed, and here he stopped; and having sent a messenger to Elisha to acquaint him who he was, and what was his business, he stayed waiting for an answer.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Cure of Naaman’s Leprosy. | B. C. 894. |
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 12 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. 13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
We have here the cure of Naaman’s leprosy.
I. The short and plain direction which the prophet gave him, with assurance of success. Naaman designed to do honour to Elisha when he came in his chariot, and with all his retinue, to Elisha’s door, v. 9. Those that showed little respect to prophets at other times were very complaisant to them when they needed them. He attended at Elisha’s door as a beggar for an alms. Those that would be cleansed from the spiritual leprosy must wait at Wisdom’s gate, and watch at the posts of her doors. Naaman expected to have his compliment returned, but Elisha gave him his answer without any formality, would not go to the door to him, lest he should seem too much pleased with the honour done him, but sent a messenger to him, saying, Go wash in Jordan seven times, and promising him that if he did so his disease should be cured. The promise was express: Thou shalt be clean. The method prescribed was plain: Go wash in Jordan. This was not intended as any means of the cure; for, though cold bathing is recommended by many as a very wholesome thing, yet some think that in the case of a leprosy it was rather hurtful. But it was intended as a sign of the cure, and a trial of his obedience. Those that will be helped of God must do as they are bidden. But why did Elisha send a messenger to him with these directions? 1. Because he had retired, at this time, for devotion, was intent upon his prayers for the cure, and would not be diverted; or, 2. Because he knew Naaman to be a proud man, and he would let him know that before the great God all men stand upon the same level.
II. Naaman’s disgust at the method prescribed, because it was not what he expected. Two things disgusted him:–
1. That Elisha, as he thought, put a slight upon his person, in sending him orders by a servant, and not coming to him himself, v. 11. Being big with the expectation of a cure, he had been fancying how this cure would be wrought, and the scheme he had laid was this: “He will surely come out to me, that is the least he can do to me, a peer of Syria, to me that have come to him in all this state, to me that have so often been victorious over Israel. He will stand, and call on the name of his God, and name me in his prayer, and then he will wave his hand over the place, and so effect the cure.” And, because the thing was not done just thus, he fell into a passion, forgetting, (1.) That he was a leper, and the law of Moses, which Elisha would religiously observe, shut lepers out from society–a leper, and therefore he ought not to insist upon the punctilios of honor. Note, Many have hearts unhumbled under humbling providences; see Num. xii. 14. (2.) That he was a petitioner, suing for a favour which he could not demand; and beggars must not be choosers, patients must not prescribe to their physicians. See in Naaman the folly of pride. A cure will not content him unless he be cured with ceremony, with a great deal of pomp and parade; he scorns to be healed, unless he be humoured.
2. That Elisha, as he thought, put a slight upon his country. He took it hard that he must be sent to wash in Jordan, a river of Israel, when he thought Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel. How magnificently does he speak of these two rivers that watered Damascus, which soon after fell into one, called by geographers Chrysoroas–the golden stream! How scornfully does he speak of all the waters of Israel, though God had called the land of Israel the glory of all lands, and particularly for its brooks of water! Deut. viii. 7. So common it is for God and man to differ in their judgments. How slightly does he speak of the prophet’s directions! May I not wash in them and be clean? He might wash in them and be clean from dirt, but not wash in them and be clean from leprosy. He was angry that the prophet bade him wash and be clean; he thought that the prophet must do all and was not pleased that he was bidden to do any thing,–or he thought this too cheap, too plain, too common a thing for so great a man to be cured by,–or he did not believe it would at all effect the cure, or, if it would, what medicinal virtue was there in Jordan more than in the rivers of Damascus? But he did not consider, (1.) That Jordan belonged to Israel’s God, from whom he was to expect the cure, and not from the gods of Damascus; it watered the Lord’s land, the holy land, and, in a miraculous cure, relation to God was much more considerable than the depth of the channel or the beauty of the stream. (2.) That Jordan had more than once before this obeyed the commands of omnipotence. It had of old yielded a passage to Israel, and of late to Elijah and Elisha, and therefore was fitter for such a purpose than those rivers which had only observed the common law of their creation, and had never been thus distinguished; but, above all, (3.) Jordan was the river appointed, and, if he expected a cure from the divine power, he ought to acquiesce in the divine will, without asking why or wherefore. Note, It is common for those that are wise in their own conceit to look with contempt on the dictates and prescriptions of divine wisdom and to prefer their own fancies before them; those that are for establishing their own righteousness will not submit to the righteousness of God, Rom. x. 3. Naaman talked himself into such a heat (as passionate men usually do) that he turned away from the prophet’s door in a rage, ready to swear he would never have any thing more to say to Elisha; and who then would be the loser? Note, Those that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercies. Jonah ii. 8. Proud men are the worst enemies to themselves and forego their own redemption.
III. The modest advice which his servants gave him, to observe the prophet’s prescriptions, with a tacit reproof of his resentments, v. 13. Though at other times they kept their distance, and now saw him in a passion, yet, knowing him to be a man that would hear reason at any time, and from any body (a good character of great men, and a very rare one), they drew near, and made bold to argue the matter a little with him. They had conceived a great opinion of the prophet (having, perhaps, heard more of him from the common people, whom they had conversed with, than Naaman had heard from the king and courtiers, whom he had conversed with), and therefore begged of him to consider: “If the prophet had bidden thee to do some great thing, had ordered thee into a tedious course of physic, or to submit to some painful operation, blistering, or cupping, or salivating, Wouldst thou not have done it? No doubt thou wouldst. And wilt thou not submit to so easy a method as this, Wash and be clean?” Observe, 1. His own servants gave him this reproof and counsel, which was no more disparagement to him than that he had intelligence of one that could cure him from his wife’s maid, v. 3. Note, It is a great mercy to have those about us that will be free with us, and faithfully tell us of our faults and follies, though they be our inferiors. Masters must be willing to hear reason from their servants, Job 31:13; Job 31:14. As we should be deaf to the counsel of the ungodly, though given by the greatest and most venerable names, so we should have our ear open to good advice, though brought us by those who are much below us: no matter who speaks, if the thing be well said. 2. The reproof was very modest and respectful. They call him Father; for servants must honour and obey their masters with a kind of filial affection. In giving reproof or counsel we must make it appear that it comes from love and true honour, and that we intend, not reproach, but reformation. 3. It was very rational and considerate. If the rude and unthinking servants had stirred up their master’s angry resentment, and offered to avenge his quarrel upon the prophet, who (he thought) affronted him, how mischievous would the consequences have been! Fire from heaven, probably, upon them all! But they, to our great surprise, took the prophet’s part. Elisha, though it is likely he perceived that what he had said had put Naaman out of humour, did not care to pacify him: it was at his peril if he persisted in his wrath. But his servants were made use of by Providence to reduce him to temper. They reasoned with him, (1.) From his earnest desire of a cure: Wouldst thou not do any thing? Note, When diseased sinners come to this, that they are content to do any thing, to submit to any thing, to part with any thing, for a cure, then, and not till then, there begin to be some hopes of them. Then they will take Christ on his own terms when they are made willing to have Christ upon any terms. (2.) From the easiness of the method prescribed: “It is but, Wash and be clean. It is but trying; the experiment is cheap and easy, it can do no hurt, but may do good.” Note, the methods prescribed for the healing of the leprosy of sin are so plain that we are utterly inexcusable if we do not observe them. It is but, “Believe, and be saved”–“Repent, and be pardoned”–“Wash, and be clean.”
IV. The cure effected, in the use of the means prescribed, v. 14. Naaman, upon second thoughts, yielded to make the experiment, yet, it should seem, with no great faith and resolution; for, whereas the prophet bade him wash in Jordan seven times, he did but dip himself so many times, as lightly as he could. However God was pleased so far to honour himself and his word as to make that effectual. His flesh came again, like the flesh of a child. to his great surprise and joy. This men get by yielding to the will of God, by attending to his institutions. His being cleansed by washing put an honour on the law for cleansing lepers. God will magnify his word above all his name.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(9) With his horses and with his chariot.Chariots. (See on 2Ki. 2:11-12; and comp. 2Ki. 5:15, infra.) The proper term for a single chariot is used in 2Ki. 5:21. The magnificence of his retinue is suggested.
Stood.Stopped. The text hardly conveys, as Bhr thinks, the idea that Elishas house in Samaria was a poor hovel, which the great man would not deign to enter, but waited for the prophet to come forth to him. The prophet had a messenger (2Ki. 5:10) at his command.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Came with his horses and chariot In great pomp and state. And he expected that Elisha would show respect for the evidences of royal favour with which he was accompanied.
The house of Elisha The prophet seems to have had a residence of his own in the city of Samaria. Compare 2Ki 6:32.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Ki 5:9. And stood at the door of the house of Elisha Elisha’s not appearing to receive the Syrian general, is ascribed by some to the retired course of life which the prophets led; but then, why did he see him and enter into conversation with him, when he returned from his cure? We should rather think that it was not unbecoming the prophet upon this occasion to take some state upon him, and to support the character and dignity of a prophet of the most high God; especially since this might be a means to raise the honour of his religion and ministry, and to give Naaman a more just idea of his miraculous cure, when he found that it was neither by the prayer nor presence of the prophet, but by the divine power and goodness, that it was effected. In conformity to the law, which requires that lepers, in order to their cleansing, should be sprinkled seven times, Lev 14:7; Lev 14:57 the prophet ordered Naaman to dip himself as often in Jordan, 2Ki 5:10. But Jordan, as the Syrian rightly argued, had no more virtue in it than other rivers; nor could cold water of any kind be a proper means of curing this distemper; nay, rather it was contrary to the disease. But the prophet’s design in it was, doubtless, to render the miracle more conspicuous, and fully to convince Naaman of the divinity of the God of Israel.
REFLECTIONS.We have here,
1. Naaman, in all his pomp and splendor, an humble suitor at the prophet’s door: and he receives an answer plain and satisfactory, which required only his obedience, and ensured his cure. Note; They who are found waiting upon God, may expect from him an answer of peace.
2. Naaman’s pride could not bear either the reception that he met with, or the prescription ordered him; and in a rage he departs. He had promised himself deep respect, some immediate application to his disease, and prayer over him for his cure; and was indignant when, instead of seeing the prophet himself, he only received a message by a servant; and such a message, so foolish in his eyes, so useless! were not the waters of Syria as good as Jordan; and need he have come so far to wash, when he might have the nobler rivers of Abana and Pharphar at home? Note; (1.) A proud spirit interprets the least suspected slight into a heinous affront. (2.) The self-righteous heart, like Naaman, wise in its own conceits, with pride refuses to apply the simple balm of a Saviour’s blood, and fancies that something beside is necessary to its cure. (3.) They who turn away from God’s methods of grace reject their own mercies.
3. His servants, when his first rage was subsided, presume, with submission, to reason with him on the case. If he would have submitted to the most expensive or most painful methods that might have been prescribed, how much more ought he to yield to one so cheap and so easy? Note; (1.) Men in a passion are deaf to the plainest arguments: when they cool, reason will be heard. (2.) A good servant will rather hazard the displeasure of his master, than see him wound himself by his folly; but if he would succeed, he must wait the proper time, and add the respect and deference which may engage attention. (3.) None ought to be above being told of their faults. (4.) The plainness and freedom of the way of salvation, will render those who reject it the more inexcusable.
4. Naaman heard the wise advice, and, convinced of the reasonableness of the trial, descends to the river, where the experiment exceeds his expectation. His leprosy departed, and his flesh became soft, fair, and plump as the flesh of a little child. Can the waters of Jordan thus cleanse the leprous Syrian, and shall not the fountain of a Saviour’s blood much more certainly cleanse the leprous sinner, who in faith descends to wash his spotted soul in this all-purifying stream?
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Reader! do not fail to observe how Naaman came. His gifts were in his hand, and he himself, no doubt, gorgeously dressed, to cover his leprous body. And could he hope that an enemy to Israel, the God of Israel would regard him? Behold in this man, an emblem of the coming of every unawakened sinner! He comes to purchase his salvation. He comes in his best robes, his best chariot, his gifts to hide his sinful soul. Alas! all these most be put off, and the sinner come down from all high flights of fancied goodness, before a cure can be obtained for the leprosy of the soul.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
Ver. 9. And stood at the door. ] Where the prophet held him; not out of pride, – as that Pope did the emperor whom he made to wait three days at his gate in the depth of winter ere he would admit him, – but humility rather: that God might have the whole glory of all the cure. Hereby also Naaman’s pride was pulled down, and he the better prepared for such a miraculous mercy.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
door = entrance.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Ki 3:12, 2Ki 6:32, Isa 60:14, Act 16:29, Act 16:30, Act 16:37-39
Reciprocal: 1Ki 10:2 – a very great train Act 8:31 – And he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 5:9-10. Naaman stood at the door of the house of Elisha Waiting for Elishas coming to him. And Elisha sent a messenger, &c. Which he did partly to try and exercise Naamans faith and obedience; partly for the honour of his religion and ministry, that it might appear he sought not his own glory and profit, but only Gods honour and the good of men; and partly for the manifestation of the almighty power of God, which could cure such a desperate disease by such slight means.