2 Kings 5:1-27

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:7

And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes ,.... As one in great distress, being thrown into perplexity of mind by it, not knowing what to do; or, as some think, at the blasphemy he supposed to be in it, requiring that of him which only God could do: and said, am I God, to kill and to make alive ; or have the power of life and death, which only belongs to the Supreme Being: that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:8

And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes ,.... And upon what account: that he sent to the king, saying, wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes ? and thereby expressed so much concern and distress: let him come now to me : meaning Naaman the Syrian leper: and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel ; able in the name of the Lord to work miracles, which he should be sensible of and acknowledge, to the glory of the God of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:9

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 2 Kings 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:10

And Elisha sent a messenger unto him ,.... Or returned an answer by Naaman's messenger; he did not go out to him, choosing to be retired, as he commonly did; and being perhaps employed in prayer for the cure; and it may be also to show his contempt of or little regard he had to worldly grandeur and honour, as well as to mortify the pride of Naaman: saying, go and wash in Jordan seven times ; so, according to the law of the cleansing the leper, he was to be sprinkled seven times, and on... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:11

But Naaman was wroth with him ,.... On more accounts than one: and went away ; not to Jordan, but from the prophet's house, with an intention to return to his own country: behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me this he said within himself, making no doubt of it but that he would show him so much respect and civility as to come out of his house to him, and converse with him, or invite him into it and not doing this was one thing made him wroth: and stand; he supposed that he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:12

Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ?.... Abana is, in the marginal reading, called Amana, and so the Targum; perhaps from the Mount Amana, from whence it sprung, a mountain in Syria F7 Tacit. Annal. l. 2. c. 83. , mentioned with Lebanon, Song of Solomon 4:8 . This river is thought to be the Chrysorrhoas of Pliny F8 Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 18. , and other writers; there are no traces of its name, or of the following, to be met with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:13

And his servant came near, and spake unto him, and said, my father ,.... Or my lord, as the Targum; this being not a familiar and affectionate expression, but a term of honour, reverence, and submission: if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it ? something that was hard and difficult to done, or painful to bear, to go through some severe operation, or disagreeable course of physic: how much rather then when he saith to thee, wash, and be clean ?... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:14

Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God ,.... He listened to the reasoning of his servant, and his passion subsided, and did as the prophet ordered him: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child ; clear and fresh, soft and tender as an infant, quite new flesh: and he was clean ; from the leprosy, and all the filthy symptoms of it. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:15

And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company ,.... To give him thanks for the advice he had given him, and by him to give thanks to God for the cure he had received; for he was sensible it was from the Lord, his words show: and came and stood before him ; for being admitted into the prophet's house, instead of the prophet standing before him, as he before expected, he now stood before the prophet in veneration of him, and sensible of his obligation to him: behold, now I... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 5:16

But he said, as the Lord liveth, before whom I stand ,.... Whose minister and prophet he was, and by whom he swears: I will receive none : to let him know that this cure was not to be attributed to him, but the Lord only; and that what concern he had in it was not for the sake of money, but for the glory of the God of Israel: and he urged him to take it, but he refused it ; Naaman was very pressing upon him to receive a gift from him, but he could not be prevailed upon to accept it. read more

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