2 Kings
5:1-17
(2 Kings 5:2-14)
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Hebrew Interlinear Bible, WLCv, WLC5, CHES, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- IV.9, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 210)
- VI.28, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Philocalia [anthology of Origen prepared by St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen], Origen. (c.230)
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
- From the Geneva Notes
(c.1599).
- "Man's reason murmurs when it considers only the signs and outward things, and has no regard for the word of God, which is contained there."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.(c. 1700)
- "Though the Syrians were idolaters, and oppressed God's people, yet the deliverance of which Naaman had been the means, is here ascribed to the Lord."
- From
Wesley's Notes.
John Wesley (1703-1791).
- "Not that he thought it unlawful to receive presents, which he did receive from others, but because of the special circumstances of the case; this being much for the honour of God that the Syrians should see the generous piety, and kindness of his ministers and servants, and how much they despised all that worldly wealth and glory, which the prophets of the Gentiles so greedily sought after."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "This leprosy, which, in Israel, would have excluded him from society, did not affect his free intercourse in the court of Syria."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
- "Not For Sale," sermon discussion from Frederick Buechner, Frederick Buechner Blog.
- "When Elisha got wind of it, he told Gehazi that the healing power of God was not for sale to the highest bidder and, to press his point home, transferred Naaman's leprosy to him. For the sake of Naaman's newfound faith in Yahweh as above all a God of love and mercy, it would be nice to believe that news of Elisha's overreaction never reached him in Syria."
- Commentary,
2 Kings 5:1-14, Steed Davidson, Preaching
This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2012.
- "Why does this business of healing have to be a business? "
- Radical Gratitude, 2 Kings 5:1-14, lectionary-based stewardship, Northwest United Methodist Foundation. (.pdf)
- "Buying Access to God's Healing," Michael Danner, The Hardest Question, 2012.
- " Why did Jesus have to set our healing hopes so high?"
- "Wisdom from Below," John C. Holbert, Patheos, 2012.
- "...listen to those who have little power."
- "Naaman the Warrior Becomes a Whole Man," Michael Coffey, 2012.
- "Naaman is healed of his leprosy, yes, but also, he is healed of his singular warrior identity."
- Commentary,
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c, Sara Koenig, Preaching
This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
- "Set amidst international politics is a remarkable story about healing, humility, and universalism, which centers around the character of Naaman."
-
Commentary,
2 Kings 5:1-14, Samuel Giere, Preaching
This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
- "This delightfully pesky story of the healing of Naaman the Aramean by Elisha the prophet of Israel is a story of border-crossings, whereby the Lord works in mysterious ways ? unwelcome by anyone, ancient or modern, who wants the Lord to observe humanity's boundaries, and welcome by those finding themselves at the margins or on the outside."
-
2 Kings 5:1-14,
Pentecost 6,
The Old Testament Readings:
Weekly Comments on the Revised Common Lectionary, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church,
Melbourne, Australia.
- "The background to this intriguing story is the history of conflict between Israel and Syria (Aram)."
- 2 Kings 5:1-14, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series B, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
-
"Naaman's
Truth," Expository Essay,
2 Kings 5:1-14, Dr. William R. Long.
Part 2.
- "The story has so much to teach us--about where we expect 'saving' words to come, about the way we rush to interpretive possibilities that aren't life-giving for us, about how we close off joy and meaning because we can only see things one way, about how we limit life by our own expectations, about how the 'little people' really may have the key to life for us."
-
Kairos CoMotion Lectionary Discussion,
2 Kings 5:1-14 / Isaiah 66:10-14, "A place of
conversation regarding Progressive Christianity."
- "A part of our common work is to receive nursing and to give nursing and to wisely know the difference and the time for each."
- 2 Kings 5:1-14, Proper 6B, Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
-
2 Kings 5:1-14,
Epiphany
6B,
The Old Testament Readings: Weekly Comments on the
Revised Common Lectionary, Howard Wallace Audrey Schindler, Morag Logan,
Paul Tonson, Lorraine Parkinson, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church,
Melbourne, Australia.
- "In the course of this story many expectations, assumptions, ?normal? practices and appropriate behaviours are overturned."
-
Commentary, 2 Kings 5:1-14, W. Dennis Tucker, Jr., Preaching
This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
- "The text this week centers on a common theme: the faith of a servant acted out on foreign soil."
-
2 Kings 5:1-12,
Pentecost 6C,
Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological
Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in
Australia.
- "Healing came through simple obedience (Seow: 198)."
-
Join the Feast,
2 Kings 5:1-14, Catherine Devins, Union PSCE,
2009.
- "God mediates salvation in unexpected ways?through lowly servants and simple acts, and is symbolized in a baptism."
-
"A
Nameless Nobody Advises a 'Great Man': The Outsider In, the Insider
Out,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey
- "The insider-outsider dynamic operates at many levels."
-
"Muddling
Through," J. Mary Luti, The Christian Century, 1998.
- "God outwaits us while in weakness healing begins."
-
"Naaman," Chapter 1 in
The Politics of God and
the Politics of Man, Jacques Ellul. Full text at Religion Online.
- "If Elisha did not receive him when it was a question of performing a miracle of healing for him (although he did perform it), he did receive him when the basic problem was at issue And this, too, should be enlightening to us Christians who are so zealous for action and so scornful of what is only a matter of conversion and the inner life."
-
"Namaan's No-nonsense Cure,"
Peter S. Hawkins, The Christian Century,
1. Religion Online.
- "The situation is bizarre: a hostile pagan king asks an impossible favor for his generalissimo, thereby setting the stage for disappointment and what might well be the next political disaster. Jesus plays with the politics implicit in the story, making good use of the perennial tensions between Jew and gentile, us and them."
-
"Miracle Market," Barbara Crafton,
The Christian Century,
2003.
- "A miracle has to be magic and full of special effects before we'll pay any attention."
-
"Naaman
and the Wild God of Israel," Michael A. King, Spirituality
Today, Spring 1986.
- "Though our theologies seek to grasp at God and limit him, we know him only partly, for he remains mysterious, unpredictable, unknowable and "untame.""
-
"Change of
Skin, Change of Heart," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com:
A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
- "Do we see God's miracles in our lives? Do they change us and give us faith?"
-
"The
Healing of Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19)," by J. Hampton Keathley III at the
Biblical Studies Foundation.
- "The healing of Naaman, the Leper is not just a story of the healing of a man from one of the most dreaded diseases of ancient times, but it is a story of salvation, one which illustrates the spiritual salvation man finds only in Jesus Christ and how men come to find that salvation in Christ."
- 2 Kings 5:1-14, Proper 14C, Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
- "Not For Sale," sermon discussion from Frederick Buechner, Frederick Buechner Blog.
- Articles & Background:
- "Author Recounts His 'Journey with Leprosy,'" NPR All Things Considered, February 1, 2009.
-
"War in the Old Testament," John A. Wood, (other resources at)
"Peace and War," Christian Reflection, The Center for
Christian Ethics at Baylor University, 2004.
- "How can God be both a God of peace and a God of war? The ancient Israelites reached no consensus about holy war, just war, and pacifism. Yet Scripture faithfully records their long and difficult debates, for the diversity of viewpoints arose out of a deep faith in God who had brought the people out of Egypt."
-
Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Barrick, William
D., "Living a New Life: Old Testament Teaching about Conversion,"
Master's Seminary Journal, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Brueggemann,
Walter, "2 Kings 5: Two Evangelists and a Saved Subject," Missiology,
2007.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Carvalhaes,
Claudio, "Unexpected Gestures, Holy at Home," Journal of Family
Ministry, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Cohn, Robert L.,
"Form and Perspective in 2 Kings V," Vetus Testamentum, 1983.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Crafton, Barbara,
"Miracle Market," The Christian Century, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Effa, Allan L.,
"Prophet, Kings, Servants and Lepers: A Missiological Reading of an Ancient
Drama," Missiology, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Farrington, Debra,
"Healed, Not Cured," The Christian Century, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Getui, Mary N.,
"Wash and Be Clean," Ecumenical Review, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hawkins, Peter S.,
"Namaan's No-Nonsense Cure," The Christian Century, 2001.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Kim, Jean Kyoung,
"Reading and Retelling Naaman's Story (2 Kings 5)," Journal
for the Study of the Old Testament, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Luti, J. Mary,
"Muddling Through," The Christian Century, 1998.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Menn, Esther M., "A Little Child Shall Lead Them: The
Role of the Little Israelite Servant Girl (2 Kings 5:1-19)," Currents
in Theology and Mission, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ngan, Lai Ling
Elizabeth,
"2 Kings 5," Review & Expositor, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Satterthwaite, Philip E., "The
Elisha Narratives and the Coherence of 2 Kings 2-8," Tyndale Bulletin,
1998.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Schulte, Hannelis,
"The End of the Omride Dynasty: Social-Ethical Observations on the Subject
of Power and Violence," Semeia, 1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Smith, W. Alan,
"Naaman and Elisha: Healing, Wholeness, and the Task of Religious
Education," Religious Education, 1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Barrick, William
D., "Living a New Life: Old Testament Teaching about Conversion,"
Master's Seminary Journal, 2000.
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
- One In Need Of Healing: Naaman's Story, John E. Sumwalt and Jo Perry-Sumwalt, SermonSuite.
- "Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx," the Rev. Heidi Neumark, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Congregation-Based Community Organizing, 2006.
- "What the Mighty Might Learn," the Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad, Day 1, 2003.
- "It's Not about You!" John Jewell, 2000.
- With Children:
- Worshiping with Children, Epiphany 6B, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2012.
- "Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry," February 12, 2012, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: 2 Kings 5:1-14 and Miro in the Kingdom of the Saints by Jane Kurtz.
- "Elisha," "Namaan's Little Maid," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- "Seven Ducks in Muddy Water (Part 1)," "Seven Ducks in Muddy Water (Part 2)," Barbara Wilmerton Haas, The Children's Chapel.
- "Elisha Heals Naaman of Leprosy," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- "Naaman's Leprosy Is Healed," children's study, puzzles, coloring sheet, etc. Higher Praise Christian Center.
- Drama:
- "Naaman - Staying Alert to God," Peter & Mary Minson, dramatix.
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Elisha and the General, inclusiveChrist worship clip, 2012.
- Clip Art, 2 Kings 5:17, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
- Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
- Hymns and Music:
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's
Art Index:
- healing/healers
- Elisha (includes images of Naaman and Elisha)
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of 2 Kings
