2 Kings 5:1
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 Kings 5:1 in other translations
| BSB | Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. |
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| WEB | Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria; he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. |
| ASV | Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Jehovah had given victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. |
| YLT | And Naaman, head of the host of the king of Aram, was a great man before his lord, and accepted of face, for by him had Jehovah given salvation to Aram, and the man was mighty in valour--leprous. |
| DARBY | And Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man before his master, and honourable, for by him Jehovah had given deliverance to Syria; and he was a mighty man of valour, but a leper. |
| BBE | Now Naaman, chief of the army of the king of Aram, was a man of high position with his master, and greatly respected, because by him the Lord had given salvation to Aram; but he was a leper. |
| Webster | Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance to Syria: he was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. |
What does 2 Kings 5:1 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Introduction
The history of Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, a leper; who was informed by a little Israelitish captive maid that a prophet of the Lord, in Samaria, could cure him, 2Kgs 5:1-4. The king of Syria sends him, with a letter and rich presents, to the king of Israel, that he should recover him of his leprosy, 2Kgs 5:5, 2Kgs 5:6. On receiving the letter, the king of Israel is greatly distressed, supposing that the Syrian king designed to seek a quarrel with him; in desiring him to cleanse a leper, when it was well known that none could cure that disorder but God, 2Kgs 5:7. Elisha, hearing this, orders Naaman to be sent to him, 2Kgs 5:8. He comes to Elisha's house in great state, 2Kgs 5:9. And the prophet sends a messenger to him, ordering him to wash in Jordan seven times, and he should be made clean, 2Kgs 5:10. Naaman is displeased that he is received with so little ceremony, and departs in a rage, 2Kgs 5:11, 2Kgs 5:12. His servants reason with him; he is persuaded, goes to Jordan, washes, and is made clean, 2Kgs 5:13, 2Kgs 5:14. He returns to Elisha; acknowledges the true God; and offers him a present, which the prophet refuses, 2Kgs 5:15, 2Kgs 5:16. He asks directions, promises never to sacrifice to any other god, and is dismissed, 2Kgs 5:17-19. Gehazi runs after him, pretends he is sent by his master for a talent of silver and two changes of raiment; which he receives, brings home, and hides, 2Kgs 5:20-24. Elisha questions him; convicts him of his wickedness; pronounces a curse of leprosy upon him, with which he is immediately afflicted; and departs from his master a leper, as white as snow, 2Kgs 5:25-27. Verse 1 Naaman, captain of the host - Of Naaman we know nothing more than is related here. Jarchi and some others say that he was the man who drew the bow at a venture, as we term it, and slew Ahab: see 1Kgs 22:34 (note), and the notes there. He is not mentioned by Josephus, nor has he any reference to this history; which is very strange, as it exists in the Chaldee, Septuagint, and Syriac. King of Syria - The Hebrew is מלך ארם melech Aram, king of Aram; which is followed by the Chaldee and Arabic. The Syriac has Adom; but as the Syriac dolath is the same element as the Syriac rish, differing only in the position of the diacritic point, it may have been originally Aram. The Septuagint and Vulgate have Syria, and this is a common meaning of the term in Scripture. If the king of Syria be meant, it must be Ben-hadad; and the contemporary king of Israel was Jehoram. A great man - He was held in the highest esteem. And honorable - Had the peculiar favor and confidence of his master; and was promoted to the highest trusts. Had given deliverance unto Syria - That is, as the rabbins state, by his slaying Ahab, king of Israel; in consequence of which the Syrians got the victory. A mighty man in valor - He was a giant, and very strong, according to the Arabic. He had, in a word, all the qualifications of an able general. But he was a leper - Here was a heavy tax upon his grandeur; he was afflicted with a disorder the most loathsome and the most humiliating that could possibly disgrace a human being. God often, in the course of his providence, permits great defects to be associated with great eminence, that he may hide pride from man; and cause him to think soberly of himself and his acquirements.Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 5:1-8
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
2 Kings 5:1 in the original Hebrew
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for 2 Kings 5:1
- Luke 4:27
And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
- Romans 15:18
For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
- Proverbs 21:31
The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.
- Numbers 12:10-12
And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
- Esther 9:4
For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
- Esther 10:3
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
- Deuteronomy 2:37
Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.
- Leviticus 13:2-3
When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
- Exodus 11:3
And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.
- Isaiah 10:5-6
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
- 2 Chronicles 26:19-23
Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write. …
- 2 Kings 4:8
And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8 Elisha, sending him to Jordan cures him.
15 He refusing Naaman's gifts grants him some of the earth.
20 Gehazi, abusing his master's name unto Naaman, is smitten with leprosy.
A.M. 3110. B.C. 894. Naaman.
Lu 4:27
a great.
4:8; Ex 11:3; Es 9:4; 10:3
with. Heb. before. honourable. or, gracious. Heb. liftedup, or accepted in countenance. by him.
Pr 21:31; Isa 10:5,6; Jer 27:5,6; De 2:37; Joh 19:11; Ro 15:18
deliverance. or, victory. a leper.
27; 7:3; Le 13:2,3,44-46; Nu 12:10-12; 2Sa 3:29; 2Ch 26:19-23
2Co 12:7
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- 2 Kings 5:1
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
- 2 Kings 5:2
And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
2 Kings 5:1 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | NAAMÁN, general del ejército del rey de Siria, era gran varón delante de su señor, y en alta estima, porque por medio de él había dado Jehová salvamento á la Siria. Era este hombre valeroso en extremo, pero leproso. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Or Naaman, chef de l’armée du roi de Syrie, était un grand homme devant son seigneur, et considéré, car par lui l’ Éternel avait délivré les Syriens; et cet homme était fort et vaillant, mais lépreux. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und Naaman, der Heeroberste des Königs von Syrien, war ein großer Mann vor seinem Herrn und angesehen; denn durch ihn hatte Jehova den Syrern Sieg gegeben; und der Mann war ein Kriegsheld, aber aussätzig. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Naaman princeps militiæ regis Syriæ erat vir magnus apud dominum suum, et honoratus: per illum enim dedit Dominus salutem Syriæ: erat autem vir fortis et dives, sed leprosus. |