2 Kings 5 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter continues the section of the book that describes the miracles and prophecies of Elisha. It describes how through him, Yahweh healed the Aramean military commander Naaman of leprosy.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

In his letter, why did the king of Aram ask the king of Israel to cure Naaman’s leprosy?

When Naaman learned from a captured Israelite girl that there was a miracle-working prophet in Samaria, he told the king of Aram about this. The Aramean king then wrote a letter to the king of Israel that said (5:6), “I have sent to you Naaman my servant, and you shall remove him from his leprosy” (that is, “you shall cure his leprosy”). The Aramean king most likely meant that the Israelite king was to use his power and influence to get the prophet to cure Naaman. This was a customary way for people to speak about kings at this time. (Compare the way the author says in this book and in 1 Kings that a king “built” a city or a building, meaning that he had his workers do that.) However, the king of Israel misunderstood what the king of Aram meant, probably because there were already hostile relations between their kingdoms and so he was prepared to suspect that the Aramean king was trying to create an occasion for a fight with him (5:7).