2 Kings 5:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Kings 5:12
Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
a stream (including the sea · noun, common feminine plural construct
Damascus
דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂקda.Me.sek
H1834
Damascus · proper noun, a place name
better
טוֹב֩tOv
H2896
good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · adjective, masculine singular absolute
waters
מֵימֵ֣יmei.Mei
H4325
water · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
wash
אֶרְחַ֥ץ'er.Chatz
H7364
to lave (the whole or a part of a thing) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
clean
וְטָהָ֑רְתִּיve.ta.Ha.re.ti
H2891
to be pure (physical sound · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
turned
וַיִּ֖פֶןvai.Yi.fen
H6437
to turn · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
away
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
rage
בְּחֵמָֽהbe.che.Mah
H2534
heat · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Joshua 3:15-17 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (fo…
2 Kings 2:8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went o…
2 Kings 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had s…
2 Kings 5:17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offe…
Proverbs 14:17 He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
Proverbs 19:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
Ezekiel 47:1-8 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 5:9-14
We have here the cure of Naaman's leprosy.
I. The short and plain direction which the prophet gave him, with assurance of success. Naaman designed to do honour to Elisha when he came in his chariot, and with all his retinue, to Elisha's door, Kg2 5:9. Those that showed little respect to prophets at other times were very complaisant to them when they needed them. He attended at Elisha's door as a beggar for an alms. Those that would be cleansed from the spiritual leprosy must wait at Wisdom's gate, and watch at the posts of her doors. Naaman expected to have his compliment returned, but Elisha gave him his answer without any formality, would not go to the door to him, lest he should seem too…
Abana and Pharpar--the Barrady and one of its five tributaries--uncertain which. The waters of Damascus are still highly extolled by their inhabitants for their purity and coldness.
Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 5:12
Are not Abana and Pharpar - At present these rivers do not exist by these names; and where they are we know not; nor whether they were the Orontes and Chrysorroes. Mr. Maundrell, who traveled over all this ground, could find no vestige of the names Abana and Pharpar. The river Barrady he accurately describes: it has its source in Antilibanus; and, after having plentifully watered the city of Damascus and the gardens, dividing into three branches, (one of which goes through the city, and the two others are distributed among the gardens), it is lost in the marshy country about five or six leagues from Damascus. Two of these branches were doubtless called in the time of Elisha Abana, or Amana,…
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 (g), mentioned with Lebanon, Sol 4:8. This river is thought to be the Chrysorrhoas of Pliny (h), and other writers; there are no traces of its name, or of the following, to be met with now; the only river by Damascus is called Barrady, which supplies Damascus and its gardens, and makes them so fruitful and pleasant as they be; it pours down from the mountains, as Mr. Maundrell (i) describes it, and is divided into three streams, of which the middlemost and biggest r…
The Church Fathers
But that we may receive the right interpretation about this Jordan, so good to drink, so full of grace, it may be of use to compare the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian from his leprosy, and what is said of the rivers of religion of the enemies of Israel. It is recorded of Naaman that he came with horse and chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall come again unto thee, and thou shalt be cleansed." Then Naaman is angry; he does not see that our Jordan is the cleanser of those who are impure from leprosy, from that impurity, and their restorer to health; it is the Jordan that does this, and not the prophet; the office of the prophet is to direct to the healing agency. Naaman then says, not understanding the great mystery of the Jordan, "Behold, I said that he will certainly come out to me, and will call upon the name of the Lord his God, and lay his hand upon the place, and restore the leper." For to put his hand on the leprosy and cleanse it is a work belonging to our Lord Jesus only; for when the leper appealed to Him with faith, saying, "If Thou wilt Thou canst make me clean," He not only said, "I will, be thou clean," but in addition to the word He touched him, and he was cleansed from his leprosy. Naaman, then, is still in error, and does not see how far inferior other rivers are to the Jordan for the cure of the suffering; he extols the rivers of Damascus, Arbana, and Pharpha, saying, "Are not Arbana and Pharpha, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Shall I not wash in them and be clean?" For as none is good but one, God the Father, so among rivers none is good but the Jordan, nor able to cleanse from his leprosy him who with faith washes his soul in Jesus.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abana — Stony (Heb. marg. “Amanah,” perennial), the chief river of Damascus (2 Kings 5:12). Its modern name is Barada, the Chrysorrhoas, or “golden stream,” of the Greeks. It rises in a cleft of the…
Amana — Perennial. (1.) The Hebrew margin of 2 Kings 5:12 gives this as another reading of Abana (q.v.), a stream near Damascus. (2.) A mountain (Cant. 4:8), probably the southern summit of Anti-Libanus, at…
Elisha — God his salvation, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, who became the attendant and disciple of Elijah (1 Kings 19:16-19). His name first occurs in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his…
Gift — (1.) An gratuity (Prov. 19:6) to secure favour (18:16; 21:14), a thank-offering (Num. 18:11), or a dowry (Gen. 34:12). (2.) An oblation or proppitatory gift (2Sa 8:2, 6; 1Ch 18:2, 6; 2Ch 26:8; Ps.…
Naaman — Pleasantness, a Syrian, the commander of the armies of Benhadad II. in the time of Joram, king of Israel. He was afflicted with leprosy; and when the little Hebrew slave-girl that waited on his wife…
Pharpar — Swift, one of the rivers of Damascus (2 Kings 5:12). It has been identified with the ‘Awaj, “a small lively river.” The whole of the district watered by the ‘Awaj is called the Wady el-‘Ajam, i.e.,…
Rivers of Damascus — The Abana and Pharpar (2 Kings 5:12).
Abana · River of Damascus — River of Damascus
Elisha · .Heals Naaman the leper — .Heals Naaman the leper
Excuses · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Curing of Naaman from Leprosy. - Kg2 5:1. Naaman, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian king, who was a very great man before his lord, i.e., who held a high place in the service of his king and was greatly distinguished (פּנים נשׂא, cf. Isa 3:3; Isa 9:14), because God had given the Syrians salvation (victory) through him, was as a warrior afflicted with leprosy. The ו has not dropped out before מצרע, nor has the copula been omitted for the purpose of sharpening the antithesis (Thenius), for the appeal to Ewald, 354, a., proves nothing, since the passages quoted there are of a totally different kind; but חיל גּבּור is a second predicate: the man was as a brave warrior leprous. There is an all…
Rather than receiving Naaman, who came to buy his healing, Elisha left him standing at the door and communicated with him by messenger. Naaman expected special treatment befitting his station and was disappointed both in Elisha’s failure to receive him and at his instructions to wash . . . seven times in the Jordan River, which he considered inferior to the rivers of Aram. Washing in the Jordan would be a visible reminder that only Yahweh, the God of Israel, could heal Naaman.
Rashi on 2 Kings 5:11
“Behold, I thought.” I thought the prophet would come out and speak with me, and see the ailment.
And wave his hand toward the spot. Of the tzora’as.7Alternatively, אֶל הַמָּקוֹם refers “to the place where he worships God, i.e., towards the Beis Hamikdosh.—Ralbag
Naaman · 4. A Syrian general, healed of leprosy by Elisha — 4. A Syrian general, healed of leprosy by Elisha
Pharpar · Referred to by Naaman — Referred to by Naaman
Rashness · Jordan River — Jordan River
Readings, Select · NAAMAN THE LEPER — NAAMAN THE LEPER
Rivers · Mentioned in scripture: Of Damascus — Mentioned in scripture: Of Damascus
Syria · Abana and Pharpar rivers of — Abana and Pharpar rivers of
Unbelief · .Naaman — .Naaman
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
