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Naaman was the commander of the army of the
king of Syria (called in those days Aram).
He was highly respected, courageous, a
national hero. His name, Naaman, means
pleasant or gracious. However, he was
a leper. A leper was considered
unclean, disfigured, loathsome. |
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A young girl whom he had captured from his
many battles with the Israelites who was
enslaved in his household took pity on him.
She told her mistress, Naaman's wife, "If
only my master were with the prophet who is
in Samaria! For he would heal him of
his leprosy." |
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Copyright
2014 by Gila Yudkin |
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Map of southern Galilee
and Samaria |
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Naaman asked permission from his boss, the
king, to travel to Samaria to meet the
prophet. Naaman took ten talents of
silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten
changes of clothing including a tuxedo and
his fancy running shoes. The Syrian
king gave him a letter of introduction to
the king of Israel, believing that the
unnamed prophet was in the employ of the
king of Israel. |
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Photo: Gila
Yudkin |
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Ancient city of Samaria as
it looks in 2014 |
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When the king of Israel opened the letter,
he was alarmed, knowing that he definitely
did not have the power to heal leprosy.
He thought that this was a ruse so that
later he would be blamed by the Syrians for
not healing their commander. Realizing
he was in deep trouble, the Israelite king
tore his clothes. (Today he would
probably summon his media advisors.) |
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When Elisha heard that the
king of Israel had ripped his clothes, he
twittered the king saying, "Send the leper
to me. Then he will know there is a prophet
in Israel." |
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And so it was that Naaman raced with his
horses and chariot (if it were today, he
would definitely be driving a Smart,
like me)
right to Elisha's doorstep. Elisha,
not wanting to touch the unclean leper, sent
a messenger out to Naaman telling him to go
wash in the River Jordan seven times to be
cleansed. |
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This was too easy, thought Naaman, insulted
that Elisha had not personally come out to
lay hands on him and call on the name of his
god. Furthermore, why go to the Jordan
when the rivers outside Damascus were just
as chilly and cold, deep and wide, as the
old spiritual goes. Naaman was in a
fury. |
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Photo: Gila
Yudkin |
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The River Jordan (which is
not deep and wide!) opposite Jericho |
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But his servants soothed him and persuaded
him to go down to the Jordan. Naaman
immersed himself seven times and sure
enough, he was cleansed. His flesh was
restored like the smooth baby skin of a
little child. He returned to Samaria
to offer Elisha a handsome reward including
the tux and Nike sneakers. |
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But Elisha would have none of that. It
was his turn to be insulted. Elisha
proclaimed, "As the Lord lives, before whom
I stand, I will take nothing!" |
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Naaman asked for two mule-loads of earth
from Samaria to take back to Damascus and
furthermore asked for forgiveness when he
bowed down to the pagan gods of the Syrians.
Elisha bid him farewell, "Lech l'shalom"
he called out. ("Go in peace") |
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The surprise ending, a study in sneakiness
and greed, we'll save for our visit to
Samaria. (Just as a hint, it involves
Elisha's servant Gehazi.) As we stand
on the mound of the ancient city of Samaria,
we'll look down to the road where Naaman
jumped off his sparkling polished chariot to
greet Elisha's servant. (If you can't
wait for our tour, you can read Second Kings
5 for the finale.) |
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Photo: Gila
Yudkin |
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Naaman could have met
Elisha's servant Gehazi on the road below in
the valley |
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Samaria is a great place to visit.
Right before we tour
Ahab's ivory palace
(which I dub the White House), we retell the
story of Syrian General Naaman's meeting
with Elisha, Prophet of Israel. It's a
tale of pride, humility, disbelief and
faith. In Jesus' day, nearly nine
hundred years later, the stirring story was
still reverberating among the Jews. |
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Copyright 2014 Gila Yudkin. Permission
needed for any reuse. |
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Gila
Yudkin is a Connecticut Yankee
guiding for over three decades in King
David's court. Last April she visited
Samaria for the first time since the year
2000. ("It's the same just
dustier!") In Samaria Gila loves
weaving the stories of Ahab, Elijah, and
Jezebel ("boo!"). Elisha, Naaman, and Gehazi
as she makes the ancient stones speak.
You will see biblical events just dance off
the pages of scripture, right before your
eyes. |
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Photo: Gila
Yudkin |
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Gila on the Roman street of Sebastia in April 2014 |
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"Let's head to
Herod's Hilltop Haunt in
Samaria" is illustrated with 2014
photos of Samaria including the ruins of
Ahab's ivory palace which Gila dubs the
"White House." |
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It's in the synagogue in Nazareth where
Jesus spoke about the cleansing of the leper
Naaman after he has read from the Scroll of
Isaiah. Read more about the impact of the
discovery of
the oldest scroll of Isaiah. |
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