EBR020EINZ

505 Naaman (Commander of the Aramean Army)

Naaman (Commander of the

Aramean Army)

I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

II. New Testament

III. Judaism

IV. Christianity

V. Literature

VI. Visual Arts

VII. Music

I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

Naaman appears in 2 Kgs 5 as the chief of the Ara-

mean army, who is healed from his skin disease by

the Prophet Elisha. After his healing, Naaman rec-

ognizes the superiority of the god of Israel and

pledges himself to YHWH. Second Kings 5 is part

of the Elisha cycle that was introduced into the

books of Kings in a late stage (McKenzie). The au-

thor of 2 Kgs 5 is apparently aware of older tradi-

tions which cast Elisha as a miracle worker, but also

of narratives about military conflicts between Ara-

means and Israel, especially 2 Kgs 7 and 2 Kgs 8.

The author uses these narratives, taking up motifs

and literary expressions in order to create a story

with another political and theological perspective

(Römer). The author of 2 Kgs 5 uses the name Naa-

man (the “pleasant one,” see “Naaman I. Introduc-

tion”) perhaps to describe how attractive he was be-

fore he became “leprous” (this term used in many

translations is inappropriate; the Hebrew expres-

sion designates psoriasis or more generally different

kinds of scale diseases). As a commander of the

army, Naaman is one of the most important persons

in the court; his healing is initiated by an Israelite

girl, whom he has captured, and who serves his

wife. The encounter between Naaman and Elisha

starts with Naaman’s dissatisfaction about Elisha’s

instructions for healing. Naaman is disappointed

that Elisha does not perform some ritual or exor-

cism. Naaman’s servants convince their reluctant

master to wash in the waters of the Jordan river.

After he is healed, Naaman returns to Elisha and

confesses: “Now I know that there is no god on all

the earth except in Israel” (2 Kgs 5:15). This “mono-

theistic” statement has often been understood in

the sense that Naaman has become a “proselyte”

(Schult; Cogan/Tadmor). But, with his confession,

Naaman does not integrate into Israel or the “peo-

ple of YHWH,” instead he returns to Damascus. He

is thus presented as a foreigner who worships the

god of Israel (Haarmann). This narrative may keep

some memory that YHWH was also worshipped in

some Aramaic regions in the 9th or 8th century BCE

(Dalley; Wazana). Therefore, 2 Kgs 5 can be under-

stood as a late non-Deuteronomistic etiology of an

Aramaean YHWH veneration. The author, however,

probably wrote in the Persian period (Haarmann;

McKenzie). Namaan’s confession that YHWH is the

only god is formulated in a monotheistic way, but

506

also maintains the idea that the only place where

this god can be worshipped adequately is the land

of Israel.

Bibliography:

■

Cogan, M./H. Tadmor, 2 Kings: A New Trans-

lation (AB 11; New York 1988).

■

Dalley, S., “Yahweh in

Hamath in the 8th Century BC: Cuneiform Material and

Historical Deductions,” VT 40.1 (1990) 21–32.

■

Haar-

mann, V., JHWH-Verehrer der Völker: die Hinwendung von Nicht-

israeliten zum Gott Israels in alttestamentlichen Überlieferungen

(AThANT 91; Zurich 2008).

■

McKenzie, S. L., 1 Kings 16–2

Kings 16 (IECOT; Stuttgart 2018).

■

Römer, T., “The

Strange Conversion of Naaman, Chief of the Aramean

Army,” in Research on Israel and Aram: Autonomy, Independence

and Related Issues. Proceedings of the First Annual RIAB Center

Conference, Leipzig, June 2016 (ed. A. Berlejung/A. M. Maeir;

Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times 1; Tübingen

2019) 105–19.

■

Schöpflin, K., “Naaman: Seine Heilung

und Bekehrung im Alten und Neuen Testament,” BN 141

(2009) 35–56.

■

Schult, H., “Naemans Übertritt zum Yah-

wismus (2 Könige 5,1–19a) und die biblischen Bekehrungs-

geschichten,” DBAT 9 (1975) 2–20.

■

Wazana, N., “Ahaz

and the Altar from Damascus (2 Kings 16:10–16): Literary,

Theological, and Historical-Political Considerations,” in In

Search for Aram and Israel (ed. O. Sergi et al.; ORA 20; Tü-

bingen 2016) 379–400.

Thomas Römer

II. New Testament

The name Naaman is mentioned one time in the NT

in Luke 4:27. The verse is part of Jesus’s program-

matic inaugural speech in Nazareth (Luke 4:16–30),

in which Jesus interprets his identity and ministry

through a (combined) citation from Isa 61:1–2 and

58:6 (Luke 4:18–19), two aphorisms (Luke 4:23–24),

and two examples of the prophets Elijah and Elisha

(Luke 4:25–27). In the second example, Jesus refers

to Elisha’s cleansing of the Syrian Naaman, even

though there were many lepers in Israel. This exam-

ple alludes to 2 Kgs 5:1–14, where Elisha com-

mands Naaman, the commander of the army of the

king of Aram, to wash himself in the Jordan seven

times to be cured from skin disease traditionally

translated as leprosy. The reference to Elisha fore-

shadows Jesus’s own healings of lepers (Luke 5:12–

13; 7:22; 17:12–19).

Bibliography:

■

Albertz, A., “Die ‘Antrittspredigt’ Jesu im

Lukasevangelium auf ihrem alttestamentlichen Hinter-

grund,” ZNW 74 (1983) 182–206.

■

Busse, U., Das Nazareth-

Manifest: Eine Einführung in das lukanische Jesusbild nach Lk 4,16-

30 (SBS 91; Stuttgart 1978).

■

Mariottini, C., “NAAMAN,”

NIDB 4 (Nashville, TN 2009) 199–200.

■

Siker, J. S., “First

to the Gentiles’: A Literary Analysis of Luke 4:16-30,” JBL

111 (1992) 73–90.

■

Wolter, M., Das Lukasevangelium (HNT

5; Tübingen 2008) 188–99.

Clarissa Paul

III. Judaism

A Jewish tradition taken up by Josephus identifies

the unnamed archer who drew his bow against King

Ahab (1 Kgs 22:34) with Naaman (Ant. 8.15.5; see

also MidTeh 78:11). In the Talmud Naaman, be-

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception

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507 Naaman (Commander of the Aramean Army)

cause of his skin disease, is paralleled with Miriam

and serves as a starting point for rabbinic discus-

sions about leprosy (Weissenrieder: 173–74). In

bSan 47a Elisha’s healing of Naaman is paralleled

with the resurrection of a man whose corpse

touched the bones of the prophet (2 Kgs 13:20–21).

According to R. Johanan “[Elisha] healed Naaman of

his leprosy, which is equal to death, as it is written:

‘let her not be as one dead’ [Num 12:12].” Contrary

to some modern scholars, who consider Naaman as

a proselyte (see above), the rabbis, who considered

Jethro and Rahab as examples of proselytes, called

Naaman a “ger toshav,” a “righteous gentile” (bGit

57b; bSan 96b). Naaman is mentioned in bSan 74b,

a discussion about whether Noahides, or righteous

gentiles, are obligated to sanctify God’s name. But

since in Naaman’s case the event took place in

private and not in public, no conclusion can be

drawn and the matter is left unresolved (Haar-

mann: 167–69).

Bibliography:

■

Haarmann, V., JHWH-Verehrer der Völker: Die

Hinwendung von Nichtisraeliten zum Gott Israels in alttestamentli-

chen Überlieferungen (AThANT 91; Zurich 2008).

■

Weissen-

rieder, A., Images of Illness in the Gospel of Luke (WUNT 164;

Tübingen 2003).

Thomas Römer

IV. Christianity

Patristic exegetes commented frequently on the fig-

ure of Naaman and his surrounding storyline. De-

spite acknowledging him as someone who was great

before his master and before the Lord (see Ephrem

the Syrian, On the Second Book of Kings on 2 Kgs 5:1,

several commentators highlight Naaman’s initial

doubt in the face of possible healing. Chrysostom in

two places (Hom. Jo. 56.2; Hom. Matt. 31.1) mentions

the lack of faith – the dullness – that Naaman ex-

hibits upon first hearing the command to go wash

in the Jordan river. Origen points out the error that

Naaman makes downplaying the mystical healing

powers of the Jordan (Comm. Jo. 6.28). And Ambrose

mentions Naaman’s initial lack of obedience to Eli-

sha’s command (Myst. 3.17).

Conversely, Ambrose in the same text asserts

that Naaman, once he is convinced by his servants

to dip seven times, realizes that he has been healed

by grace (and not of the waters themselves; Myst.

3.17). Likewise, several commentators consider Naa-

man’s washing a prefigurement of baptism. Ire-

naeus remarks that Naaman’s skin disorder is repre-

sentative of sin, and that the physical washing is

representative of spiritual regeneration (via physical

water and divine power; frg. 34 [ANF 1:574]; cf.

Ephrem, Hymns for the Feast of the Epiphany 5.6

[NPNF² 13:272]; Chrysostom, Hom. Jo. 26.2; Gregory

of Nyssa, In baptismum Christi). Tertullian goes so far

as to say that Naaman’s washing symbolizes the

possibility of the cleansing of the nations along

with the seven deadly sins (Marc. 4.9). Several com-

508

mentators point out, too, the lack of faith sustained

by native Israelites on one hand, and the ultimately

rewarded faith of a foreigner on the other (Tertul-

lian, Marc. 4.35; Chrysostom, Hom. Matt. 48.1).

Cyril of Jerusalem comments that Naaman’s ail-

ment is transferred to Gehazi for the sin Gehazi

commits (Catecheses 16.17); and Ambrose uses the

Naaman story to demonstrate the fact that seem-

ingly impossible things (i.e., the cleansing of skin

diseases via washing) are possible with God (Paen.

2.12).

Later Christian writers contribute opinions that

both differ from and overlap with those of their in-

terpreting predecessors. Thomas Aquinas says that

Naaman’s servants (curiously) call Naaman “father”

(2 Kgs 5:13) due to the various father-like roles he

takes on as commander (Summa theologiae II–II q.

102 a. 1). Lucas Osiander comments that while the

servants initially demonstrate better judgment than

Naaman, Naaman eventually humbles himself and

listens to their good advice (Annotations on 2 Kings on

2 Kgs 5:1–7; on Naaman’s humility, see John Mayer,

Commentary on 2 Kings on 2 Kgs 5:14b–15). Francois

Lambert points out that God bestows mercy and

grace upon those who “fear his will,” regardless of

nationality (In Divi Lucae evangelium commentarii on

Luke 4:24–27). And Johannes Piscator comments

that Naaman’s disease actually leads him to salva-

tion, and as such is not a sign of disfavor (Commen-

tary on 2 Kings on 2 Kgs 5:14b–15).

On the theme of washing, Johannes Bugenha-

gen notes that Naaman was cleansed because he be-

lieved in the promise, not just the water (Commen-

tary on 2 Kings on 2 Kgs 5:8–14a). Peter Martyr

Vermigli thinks that while Naaman’s washing may

prefigure baptism, it differs with baptism because

there are multiple dips (Commentary on 2 Kings on

2 Kgs 5:8–14a). And Benedict Aretius contends that

as Naaman was physically healed by Elisha, Chris-

tians are spiritually healed by Jesus (Common Places

of the Christian Religion [1617]).

Bibliography:

■

Conti, M./G. Pilara (eds.), 1–2 Kings, 1–2

Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (ACCS.OT 5; Downers

Grove, IL 2008).

■

Cooper, D./M. J. Lohrmann (eds.), 1–

2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles (Reformation Commentary

on Scripture: Old Testament 5; Downers Grove, IL 2016).

■

Just, A. A. (ed.), Luke (ACCS.NT 3; Downers Grove, IL

2005).

■

Kreitzer, B. (ed.), Luke (Reformation Commentary

on Scripture: New Testament 3; Downers Grove, IL 2015).

Eric Zito

V. Literature

Naaman as the Syrian general healed of leprosy by

Elisha in 2 Kgs 5:9–6:14 features sporadically in lit-

erature. The healing is dramatized in the Lille, Cas-

tilian and two Dutch mystery cycles of the late-me-

dieval period (Muir: 81). Naaman also appears in the

early-17th century Stonyhurst pageants, in the play

Naaman, translated from the Terentian Latin play

(1581) of Cornelius Schonaeus, and also in a number

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509 Naaman (Commander of the Aramean Army)

of early 20th-century American plays, including

Mary Ellen Whitney’s Naaman the Leper (1927) (cf.

Coleman: 73–74).

In Anthony Trollope’s novel Barchester Towers

(1857), the character Francis Arabin faces the choi-

ces presented by the ecclesiastical politics of the Vic-

torian period through the prism of the passage from

2 Kgs: “[He] deemed it so insufficient to wash him-

self simply in the waters of Jordan” (Trollope: 161).

Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Naaman’s Song”

(1932) combines a wily military sense of the realities

of occupied territory with a lyrical view of the po-

tentialities of nature:

But Pharphar - but Abana - which Hermon

launched down

They perish fighting desert-sands

beyond Damascus-town

But yet their pulse is of the snows - their

strength is from on high

And, if they cannot cure my woes,

a leper I will die!

The character Giordano in James Joyce’s Finnegan’s

Wake (1939) may be part of that novelist’s play on

dual Christian/Jewish connotations of biblical

tropes, here combining allusions to John the Baptist

and Naaman (Moseley: 147).

Bibliography:

■

Coleman, E. D., The Bible in English Drama

(New York 1968).

■

Kipling, R., “Naaman’s Song,” in Chap-

ters into Verse (ed. R. Atwan/L. Wieder; Oxford 2000) 131–32.

■

Moseley, V., Joyce and the Bible (DeKalb, IL 1967).

■

Muir,

L. R., The Biblical Drama of Medieval Europe (Cambridge 2003).

■

Trollope, A., Barchester Towers (London 1995 [1857]).

Anthony Swindell

VI. Visual Arts

The figure of Naaman has been immensely popular

in the history of art. Artists depicted scenes from his

story as told in 2 Kgs 5, often with complex visual

interpretation, from the Middle Ages through the

Modern Era, working in all media. The episode

most frequently depicted is Naaman washing him-

self in the Jordan River to cure his leprosy (2 Kgs

5:14). Beginning in the Early Christian period, this

episode was interpreted typologically, as a foreshad-

owing of Christian baptism. Depending on the con-

text, Naaman’s washing was a type for either the

baptism of Jesus or more generally the sacrament

of baptism.

An example of the former is the noted Naaman

Plaque at the British Museum. The 4 × 4" champlevé

enamel (1150–60) was once part of an altar retable

showing scenes from the life of Jesus. Elements of

the scene present clear visual parallels with the bap-

tism of Jesus as typically depicted. Naaman dips

into the waters of the Jordan River, prominently la-

beled IORDANEM; servants labeled FAMVLI wait

on the bank, holding Naaman’s clothes; and, in a

departure from the scriptural account, the artist has

included the hand of God emerging from a cloud in

510

the upper right corner. Blue rays extend from God’s

blessing hand, along one of which is written

CVRATIO NAMAM (“I heal Naaman”), drawing a

clear parallel with the voice of God speaking at the

moment of Jesus’s baptism. The latter scene is de-

picted on a matching plaque from the same retable

at the Metropolitan Museum (acc. no. 17.190.430).

The Naaman washing-baptism of Jesus typology

was ubiquitous in medieval art and figured in large-

scale church decoration in both stained glass and

wall painting. The two scenes are adjacent to each

other in the ceiling paintings of the Romanesque

Church of St. Maria Lyskirchen in Cologne (ca.

1250), where an extensive typological program fills

the three domes of the nave. Scenes from the life of

Jesus on the right side of each dome (facing the al-

tar) are paired with HB/OT prototypes on the left.

The Naaman scene has two parts, with a leprous

Naaman in the waters of the Jordan on the left and

Naaman healed, speaking to Elisha, on the right.

This typology entered the realm of popular cul-

ture in the Late Middle Ages with the first publica-

tion of the Speculum Humanae Salvationis in the early

14th century. In this illustrated work of Latin verse,

each page opening links an event from the NT with

three pre-figurations from the HB/OT. The baptism

of Jesus is accompanied by Solomon’s Font (1 Kgs

7:23–26), the healing of Naaman, and Joshua cross-

ing the Jordan with the ark of the covenant (Josh 3).

One of many examples is Morgan Library M 140,

with watercolor drawings above the usual columns

of text. Naaman is shown half-immersed in the Jor-

dan, his upper body covered in sores. A servant and

the prophet Elisha stand on opposite banks. Above

the scene is written in Latin, “The leprous Naaman

washes seven times in the Jordan and is healed.”

The scene of Naaman washing in the Jordan also

represented the sacrament of baptism more gener-

ally. Naaman represents the sinner, who is washed

clean of sin in baptism. This second typology often

appeared in illustrations of the Seven Sacraments. A

15th-century tapestry fragment in the Metropolitan

Museum (1435–50) shows the washing of Naaman

in the upper register with a contemporary scene of

infant baptism below. The prophet Elisha corre-

sponds to the ministering priest below and Naa-

man’s body is already clean, like the newborn baby.

The strong connection of Naaman and baptism

in visual art is notable, given that the Lectionary

pairs the Naaman story with either Jesus healing

the leper (Matt 8:3) or preaching in the synagogue

of Nazareth, where Jesus evokes Naaman the gentile

following the prophet Elisha as a counter-example

to the Jews who do not recognize him (Luke 4:24–

30). The message of Luke 4 is difficult to depict but

is implied in the text below the Naaman scene in

the Speculum, which reads, “Naaman was a gentile

and did not know God, but came to the Prophet

Elisha to be cured.” Elisha telling Naaman to go

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511 Naamathite

wash in the Jordan is one of four healing scenes ac-

companying Jesus healing the leper on a page for

“The Second Sunday after the Octave of Epiphany”

in a 15th-century Bible concordance from Vienna

(Morgan Library M 1045, fol. 23v).

Fuller treatments of Naaman’s story appeared in

illustrated Bibles, which depicted 2 Kgs 5 in a narra-

tive rather than a typological manner. The Pamplona

Picture Bible of 1197 includes scenes of Naaman

stricken with leprosy, Naaman’s wife and Hebrew

maid, Naaman at Elisha’s house, and Naaman wash-

ing in the Jordan, spread over three pages illustra-

ting 2 Kgs 4–5.

In the Reformation period and later, typological

readings of the Naaman story were gradually re-

placed by moral readings, which viewed the events

and characters as exemplars of faith or virtue. Cor-

nelis Engebrechtsz’s Naaman Triptych of ca. 1524

(Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna), proba-

bly the most significant work depicting Naaman’s

story, combines the two approaches (see / plate

10.b). The central panel depicts Naaman washing in

the Jordan, with clear echoes of the baptism of Je-

sus, including the servant waiting on the bank with

Naaman’s clothes. But Naaman’s brightly clean

body, in stark contrast to the leprous figures in the

wings, and the physician saints Cosmas and Damian

on the outer sides of the wings, point to the theme

of healing. C. Boeckl (136–45) identified the large

figures in the wings as Naaman’s servant Gehazi

(left) and Naaman before his cure (right). The faith

of Naaman, which led to his cure, is contrasted with

the duplicity of Gehazi, which led to his punish-

ment of leprosy (2 Kgs 5:19–27). Engebrechtsz. adds

multiple small scenes into the landscape, telling the

rest of the story before and after Naaman’s cure.

Most prominent is Elisha refusing Naaman’s gifts,

just behind the foreground scene.

This theme of Elisha refusing Naaman’s gifts

came to the fore in 17th-century Dutch painting.

There are numerous examples, including several

versions by Pieter de Grebber, but Ferdinand Bol’s

1661 painting is probably most well-known

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). Naaman, wearing ar-

mor and a rich cloak, offers gifts to Elisha in thanks

for his cure. A kneeling servant in the center fore-

ground and Naaman’s retinue on the left bring ad-

ditional lavish gifts, emphasizing wealth and status.

Elisha, standing before his house, refuses the gifts.

Bol’s work was executed for the leper house in Am-

sterdam, which was supported by philanthropic do-

nors. Elisha’s refusal to be paid for doing God’s

work was an appropriate theme for this setting.

The subject of Naaman’s wife’s Hebrew maid,

who first suggested Naaman seek a cure from Elisha

(2 Kgs 5:2–5), became popular during the Romantic

period and into the 20th century. In F. W. W. To-

pham’s 1888 painting Naaman’s Wife, the captive

servant girl stands before the distraught wife. De-

512

spite her low status, the maid represents the faith

which led to Naaman’s cure and his acceptance of

the one God.

Bibliography:

■

Boeckl, C., Images of Leprosy: Disease, Religion,

and Politics in European Art (Kirksville, MO 2011).

■

Cavallo,

A. S., Medieval Tapestries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

(New York 1993).

■

Conti, M. (ed.), 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles,

Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, vol. 5 of Ancient Christian Commentary

on Scripture: Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL 2008).

■

Stratford, N., Catalogue of Medieval Enamels in the British Mu-

seum, vol. 2: Northern Romanesque Enamel (London 1993).

■

The Index of Medieval Art (Princeton University; ima.prince

ton.edu).

Sarah Bond

VII. Music

The story about the healing of Naaman in 2 Kgs

5:1–19 has been received in some oratorios. The

Italian composer Francesco Bartolomeo Conti

(1681/1682–1732) wrote Naaman to a libretto by

Apostolo Zeno (Vienna 1721; Smither: 1:375, 390;

Massenkeil: 1:293; Williams). The Italian-born Brit-

ish conductor and composer Sir Michael Costa

(1808–1884) wrote an oratorio Naaman (1864, based

on Zeno’s libretto) to an English text by William

Bartholomew (Smither: 4:311, 325; 1:390; Massen-

keil: 2:234; Dowling Long/Sawyer: 165). Also, Susan

Hulsman Bingham’s “chancel oratorio” for an Epis-

copalian Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania (2012)

treats the same story (Dowling Long/Sawyer: 165).

British composer Inglis Gundry (1905–2000) based

his Naaman: The Leprosy of War (1938) to his own li-

bretto on the full narrative in 2 Kgs 5, including

also the episode about Gehazi’s greed (2 Kgs 5:19–

27; Mason; Gundry: ch. 9).

Bibliography:

■

Burton, N./K. Horner, “Costa, Sir Michael

(Andrew Agnus) [Michele Andrea Agniello],” Grove Music On-

line (www.oxfordmusiconline.com).

■

Dowling Long, S./

J. F. A. Sawyer, The Bible in Music (Lanham, MD 2015).

■

Mason, C., “Gundry, Inglis,” rev. by P. Griffiths and R.

Barnett, Grove Music Online (www.oxfordmusiconline.com).

■

Massenkeil, G., Oratorium und Passion, 2 vols. (Laaber 1998–

1999).

■

Gundry, I., “The Last Boy of the Family,” Music-

Web International (www.musicweb-international.com).

■

Smither, H. E., A History of the Oratorio, 4 vols. (Chapel Hill,

NC 1977–2000).

■

Williams, H. W., “Conti, Francesco Bar-

tolomeo,” Grove Music Online (www.oxfordmusiconline.com).

Nils Holger Petersen

See also / Elisha; / Gehazi; / Healing Mira-

cles; / Leper, Leprosy; / Medicine and Healing

Naamathite

Naamathite (MT Naa

tî) is the regular by-name

for Job’s friend Zophar, cf. Job 2:11; 11:1; 20:1;

42:9. While variations of the same toponym are at-

tested to by Peshitta (nmty), Vg. (Naamathites), and

the Targum (dmn nmh), LXX makes Zophar “king

of the Minaeans” (ὁ Μιναίων βασιλες), cf. Job 2:11

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