Jehoram of Israel [III]

Gehazi and Elisha

Thus far we have examined the miracles with which Elisha began his solo ministry in the vein of Elijah, the Shunemmite Episodes, and the miracles which he performed during the seven-year famine. The author of 2 Kings doesn’t place them in chronological order but in thematic order; here I have attempted to place them in the former rather than the latter, and now we come the ‘Aramean Episodes.’ Aram continued to be a thorn in Israel’s side; since the repelling of the Assyrians at Qarqar, the fragile ‘friendship’ that Ahab had forged with Aram crumbled, and the two countries were again locked in a state of war. For most of Jehoram’s reign, this ‘state of war’ was confined to tit-for-tat border raids, but the tail-end of Jehoram’s reign would see two major battles (during the last of which the king would be gravely injured). There are five ‘Aramean Episodes’: Elisha and the healing of the Aramean general Naaman, Yahweh’s ‘blinding’ of an Aramean raiding party, the Aramean siege of Samaria, Elisha’s anointing of the usurper Hazael, and the (second) Battle of Ramoth-Gilead. We begin with the first.

Naaman of Aram was the commander of Ben-hadad II’s armies, and Ben-hadad had a great admiration for him, because through him Yahweh had given Aram many victories. Naaman, a pagan general, was but the tool of Yahweh – Aram’s victories were given by Yahweh in His own scheme of things beyond Israel. The message is clear that Yahweh is in control even of the pagans. Naaman was likely the top Aramean general serving under Ben-hadad; it’s probable that he’d held this position for a while and had led campaigns against Jehoram’s father Ahab. Though he was a great warrior, he suffered from ‘leprosy.’ The Hebrew word used in this passage for Naaman’s ailment can be used to describe a variety of skin diseases; indeed, the term is better translated as ‘lesions’ or ‘scaly skin.’ Mesopotamian culture viewed such diseases as unclean conditions that were punishments from the gods; though Naaman was honored in Aram’s military, he would’ve suffered social exclusion at home. The appearance and odor of skin diseases could resemble rotting skin on a corpse and were thus associated with death. His condition doesn’t seem to be contagious, and scholars have speculated that it may have been psoriasis, eczema, favus or seborrheic dermatitis, and maybe even a fungal infection (it’s doubtful that it was the highly-contagious clinical leprosy known as Hansen’s Disease, since this ailment is unattested in the ancient Near East until the days of Alexander the Great around 330 BC). Some time during Jehoram’s reign, the diseased Naaman led Aramean riders on a raid of northern Israel. They took many captives, among them a young girl whom Naaman gave to his wife as a maid. The girl seemed to like Naaman despite her imprisoned status; the text indicates that Naaman was neither capricious nor malicious, and he may have shown the girl much kindness by incorporating her into his household rather than letting more ‘virulent’ raiders do with her as they pleased. Whatever the reason, the girl was sympathetic towards Naaman, and she told his wife that she wished the general would visit ‘the prophet in Samaria’ because the prophet would heal him of his skin disease. Naaman’s wife told her husband of the girl’s words, and Naaman was intrigued: it was well-known that Elijah, a prophet of Yahweh, had been powerful, and it’s likely that he’d heard reports of the miraculous comings and goings of a new prophet in Israel. Naaman approached his king and requested permission to seek out this prophet; Ben-hadad gave him leave to visit the prophet and handed him a letter of introduction to present to Jehoram of Israel. 

Naaman left Aram with an entourage of horses and chariots laden down with 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. Lavish gifts and royal letters of introduction were common practice in the ancient Near East, and the exorbitant wealth of Naaman’s gift – which we can assume came from his household rather than from the royal treasury – underscores Naaman’s wealth and prestige (it’s likely most of this wealth came from raids into Israel). Ben-hadad’s royal letter said: ‘With this letter, I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.’ Stripped of diplomatic niceties, it was basically a command for the military general to be healed. When Naaman and his entourage entered Samaria under a flag of truce and presented the letter to the Israelite king, it came as quite the affront: the two nations were, after all, in a state of war. Why should Jehoram strive to heal the Aramean warrior who had actively fought against Israel’s interests? Ben-hadad had stomached his pride in writing the letter (such was his lofty measure of his general), and Jehoram couldn’t help but take offense: upon reading the letter, he tore his clothes (this could be a sign of grief, sorrow, or – most likely given these circumstances – agitation; it would’ve indicated a national crisis or tragedy). Due to the constant distrust between Aram and Israel, Jehoram assumed that Ben-hadad was trying to start a war. ‘Am I God,’ Jehoram lamented, ‘that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy?!’ News spread of Naaman’s visit, and Elisha sent a message to the king, saying, ‘Why are you so upset? Send him my way, and he’ll learn there’s a true prophet in Israel.’

Naaman balks at Elisha's simple instructions

Jehoram was more than happy to get Naaman and his Aramean entourage out of Israel. Naaman headed towards Elisha’s house (assumedly in Samaria), and Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman instructing him to ‘Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you’ll be healed of your disease.’ Naaman was angry and put-off by the fact that Elisha hadn’t met him face-to-face; Naaman, after all, was a top general feared far and wide, and he had every right to meet the prophet in person! He also chafed against the ridiculous instructions; if Elisha were so powerful, he should’ve been able to ‘wave his hand’ (likely a reference to invocations and incantations) and call on Yahweh to heal him. As it were, Elisha prescribed a common ritual in the ancient Near East: in Mesopotamian namburbi rituals, one would achieve protective purification by dipping seven times in a river facing upstream and seven times facing downstream; the flowing water would carry one’s impurities to the netherworld. Naaman could scarcely believe he’d traveled all the way to Israel to be instructed to do something he could’ve just done at home. ‘Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana, and the Pharphar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I just wash in them and be healed?’ Abanah and Pharphar were fresh, clear, and beautiful – and thus much better suited to purification than the muddied waters of the Jordan! If his leprous disease were to be washed away, wouldn’t the crystal-clear waters of his homeland be better suited to the task? 

Naaman is healed in the Jordan River

Enraged and put-off, Naaman ordered his entourage to do an about-face to head back to Aram. His officers tried to curtail him. ‘If this prophet had told you to do something difficult,’ they asked, ‘wouldn’t you have done it? So why not obey him when he gives you something easy to do?’ Naaman cooled off, turned his chariot eastward, and made his way through the rapidly descending valleys to the muddied banks of the Jordan River. He did as the prophet’s messenger instructed – and his skin disease was healed so that his flesh looked like that of a young child! That he was ‘washed and cleansed’ in the Jordan was a visible sign that it was Yahweh, the God of Israel, who healed him; and Elisha, who hadn’t been present, wanted to ensure that Naaman didn’t attribute the healing to Israel’s prophet: as it was unusual for rituals to be performed absent the presence of a specialist, it was crystal-clear that his healing came from Israel’s God rather than Israel’s prophetic practitioner.

Naaman, elated at being healed, was determined to give the customary gifts to the prophet for his healing, and yearning to learn more about the God of Israel, hurried to find Elisha. When they finally met face-to-face, Naaman said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.’ Because of his healing, Naaman became a monotheist – quite the turn, considering that many of Yahweh’s devoted followers in both Judah and Israel hadn’t quite tottered into the monotheist camp (they viewed Yahweh as the chief of gods, even as the ‘God of Gods,’ but still acknowledged the existence of other gods). Naaman offered up his gift for healing, but Elisha refused to accept it despite the general’s pleading. Naaman acquiesced but asked that he load up two of his mules with earth from Israel to take back to Aram, for ‘from now on I’ll never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any god except Yahweh.’ Ancient Near Eastern mythology identified a nation’s god with the soil of the country where he (or she) was worshiped; Naaman intended to build an appropriate altar to Yahweh. He also asked that Yahweh pardon him one thing: when Naaman’s master (Ben-hadad II) went into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship, he leaned on Naaman’s arm for support so that when the king went to bow before his god, Naaman was bowing, too. Elisha told him to ‘go in peace,’ indicating that Yahweh would pardon him. The god Rimmon was likely Ramman, ‘the thunderer,’ a storm-god noted in Assyrian inscriptions and a key deity in the Aramean pantheon. Archaeological excavations in Damascus have been limited due to the city’s growth and urban sprawl, so the Temple of Rammon dating to this time hasn’t been found; however, a basalt standing stone from this period was grafted into the substructure of the Umayyad mosque, suggesting that the mosque was built over the site of this Aramean temple. The corruption of Ramman’s name to Rimmon may be an intentional misspelling of the deity’s name to belittle him (a common practice in the Bible); ‘Rammon’ referred to ‘the thunderer,’ but ‘Rimmon’ means ‘pomegranate’! 

Gehazi, watching Naaman’s entourage turn back for Aram without giving any of the customary gifts, brooded: he saw it as the height of folly that Elisha had refused the general’s gifts. Gehazi figured he was entitled to some of it, being Elisha’s apprentice and (he assumed) eventual successor, so he hurried to catch up with the Aramean party. Gehazi lied to Naaman, telling him that Elisha sent him, and he concocted a story: two young prophets from the tribal area of Ephraim had just arrived and Elisha wanted to provision them. He told Naaman that seventy-five pounds of silver and two sets of clothing would work. The ‘two sets of clothing’ was added to further the deception; it was really the silver Gehazi was after. A talent of silver was roughly equal to three centuries of a laborer’s wages so that Gehazi’s request would be like someone making $35,000 a year receiving ten million dollars. Naaman, ever grateful of the healing of the disease that had scoured him for life, insisted on doubling the gift; Gehazi pretended to decline the more generous offer, but this was nothing more than cultural niceties. Gehazi eventually accepted the double portion that would more than set him up for life. Naaman dispatched two of his servants to accompany Gehazi and his loot back to Elisha, and they set off – but when they reached ‘the citadel’ (the acropolis of the city, perhaps Samaria) Gehazi dismissed the servants: he couldn’t let them be seen inside the city, for it would arouse suspicion. Gehazi hid the gifts inside his house, anxiously anticipating a life of luxury and leisure.

Gehazi 'inherits' Naaman's skin disease

He returned to Elisha, who confronted him: ‘Where have you been?’ Gehazi lied, saying he hadn’t gone anywhere. Elisha chastised him: ‘Don’t you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you?’ Gehazi could only gulp as Elisha proved this by recounting Gehazi’s inner thoughts back to him: he planned on buying olive groves and a vineyard, sheep and oxen. He intended to make a name for himself, to live a life of self-indulgent luxury, and to be one of the elites of Israel. Such an action, Elisha knew, would bring the prophetic office into contempt with unbelievers and, worse, undermine the credibility of Elisha’s ministry. Gehazi was doing no less than turning his prophetic ministry into an opportunity for personal advancement – and for this sin he would pay the price. Gehazi wanted what belonged to Naaman, so he would get it. Because of Gehazi’s greed and trickery, he and his descendants would forever suffer Naaman’s skin disease – and as soon as Gehazi left Elisha’s room, his skin became like snow (likely referring not to the color of his skin but to its flakiness). This ‘leprosy’ wasn’t life-threatening; it was a social disease that made him a societal outcast. If he ever married and had children, they would carry Gehazi’s punishment down the line. The fate of Gehazi’s stolen goods isn’t mentioned, but one can imagine Gehazi reaping the ‘fruit’ of his trickery but unable to enjoy it for the scowls, jeers, and exclusion he suffered the rest of his life.