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 offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Naaman	נַעֲמָן֒ na.'a.Man	H5283	Naaman · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּאמֶר֮ vai.yo.Mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
given	יֻתַּן yu.tan-	H5414	to give · verb, hophal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
servant	לְעַבְדְּךָ֔ le.'av.de.Kha	H5650	a servant · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
two	צֶֽמֶד tze.med-	H6776	hence · noun, common masculine singular construct
mules’	פְּרָדִ֖ים pe.ra.Dim	H6505	a mule (perhaps from his lonely habits) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
burden	מַשָּׂ֥א ma.Sa'	H4853	a burden · noun, common masculine singular construct
earth	אֲדָמָ֑ה 'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
servant	עַבְדְּךָ֜ 'av.de.Kha	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
offer	יַעֲשֶׂה֩ ya.'a.Seh	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
offering	עֹלָ֤ה 'o.Lah	H5930	a step or (collectively · noun, common feminine singular absolute
sacrifice	וָזֶ֙בַח֙ va.Ze.vach	H2077	properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
other	אֲחֵרִ֔ים 'a.che.Rim	H312	properly · adjective, masculine plural absolute
gods	לֵאלֹהִ֣ים le.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
LORD	לַיהוָֽה la.Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title

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

Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins…
Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine ox…
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…
Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
1 Peter 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wi…
1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 5:15-19

Of the ten lepers that our Saviour cleansed, the only one that returned to give thanks was a Samaritan, Luk 17:16. This Syrian did so, and here expresses himself. I. Convinced of the power of the God of Israel, not only that he is God, but that he is God alone, and that indeed there is no God in all the earth but in Israel (Kg2 5:15) - a noble confession, but such as intimates the misery of the Gentile world; for the nations that had many gods really had no God, but were without God in the world. He had formerly thought the gods of Syria gods indeed, but now experience had rectified his mistake, and he knew Israel's God was God alone, the sovereign Lord of all. Had he seen other lepers clean…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 5:17

two mules' burden of earth--with which to make an altar (Exo 20:24) to the God of Israel. What his motive or his purpose was in this proposal--whether he thought that God could be acceptably worshipped only on his own soil; or whether he wished, when far away from the Jordan, to have the earth of Palestine to rub himself with, which the Orientals use as a substitute for water; or whether, by making such a request of Elisha, he thought the prophet's grant of it would impart some virtue; or whether, like the modern Jews and Mohammedans, he resolved to have a portion of this holy earth for his nightly pillow--it is not easy to say. It is not strange to find such notions in so newly a converted…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 5:17

Shall there not then, I pray thee - This verse is understood two different ways. I will give them both in a paraphrase: - 1. Shall there not then be given unto thy servant [viz., Naaman] two mules' burden of this Israelitish earth, that I may build an altar with it, on which I may offer sacrifices to the God of Israel? For thy servant, etc. 2. Shall there not be given to thy [Elisha's] servant [Gehazi] two mules' burden of this earth? i.e., the gold and silver which he brought with him; and which he esteemed as earth, or dust, in comparison of the cure he received. For thy servant [Naaman] will henceforth, etc. Each of these interpretations has its difficulties. Why Naaman should ask for tw…

The Church Fathers

Naaman the Aramean asked for some dust from the promised land in order to cause the shame of Israel, as I think, so that they might be ashamed that a stranger believed that even the dust of their land was filled with God, while the Hebrews did not even believe that God dwells in the prophets.
— Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 5:17

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

Earth — (1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah’. In Gen. 9:20 “husbandman” is literally “man of the ground or earth.” Altars were to be built of earth (Ex. 20:24). Naaman…
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.…
Mule — (Heb. pered), so called from the quick step of the animal or its power of carrying loads. It is not probable that the Hebrews bred mules, as this was strictly forbidden in the law (Lev. 19:19),…
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…
Yoke — (1.) Fitted on the neck of oxen for the purpose of binding to them the traces by which they might draw the plough, etc. (Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3). It was a curved piece of wood called ’ol. (2.) In Jer.…
Elisha · .Heals Naaman the leper — .Heals Naaman the leper
Joram · his leprosy — his leprosy
Mule · .As pack animals — .As pack animals
Mule, The · Used for: Carrying burdens — Used for: Carrying burdens
Naaman · 4. A Syrian general, healed of leprosy by Elisha — 4. A Syrian general, healed of leprosy by Elisha

2 Kings 5:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 5:15-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 5:17

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 5:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Kings 5:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 5:15-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 5:17

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 5:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 2 Kings 5:17

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 5:1-19

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Kings 5:17

Rashi on 2 Kings 5:17