Read 2 Kings 5 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
5:1-19 {s} Elisha used by God to heal Naaman the Aramean commander of leprosy
5:20-6:7 {p} Gehazi borrows Naaman’s gift …
2 Kin 5:5b-27 Chiastic structure:
In the ancient world, people commonly believed that gods were tied to specific lands or regions. A deity’s power and worship were thought to be strongest in their “home” territory, for example, Dagon in Philistia (1 Sam 5:2-7) or Chemosh in Moab (Num 21:29).
Recall that in 1 Kin 20:22-28, Ahab king of Israel, and Ben-hadad king of Aram were at war. Israel defeated Aram in hilly terrain.
And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, ‘Their God is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain—surely we will be stronger than they.’ 1 Kin 20:23
God refuted their theory when Israel defeated them in the plains too, LOL. But Naaman, an Aramean, likely grew up with the idea that gods are local, and their presence is tied to the land.
After Naaman’s healing and recognition that “there is no God in all the earth except in Israel” (vs. 15) he pledged exclusive worship to YHVH. Yet as an Aramean returning to Damascus, he might have believed that YHVH’s honor was tied to Israel’s land. Requesting “two mules’ burden of earth” (vs. 17) could be his way of ensuring proper worship of YHVH away from Israel.
Naaman didn’t fully grasp YHVH’s universal nature, as the text doesn’t correct his assumption. Instead, his request shows a sincere commitment to YHVH, filtered through his Aramean perspective; that in order to forsake his homeland’s gods, he needed Israel’s earth to make his worship of YHVH “official” in Damascus.
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