2 Kings 5:27

2Ki 5:27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

Ver. 27. The leprosy therefore of Naaman.] As thou hast his money, so take his leprosy, a filthy disease for thy filthy lucre; a sad bequeath to thy children whom thou thoughtest to have raised for ever. Gain got by a lie will burn our fingers, burn in our purses, rot our estates, root out our posterity: it is like a bundle of plague clothes, &c.

A leper as white as snow.] How much better to Gehazi had been a light purse and a homely coat, with a sound body and a clear soul! Peter Martyr compareth the Pope to Gehazi.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 5:27. The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and thy seed for ever — That is, for some generations, as the expression is often used, and as may be thought by comparing this with Exo 20:5; Exo 34:7. This was a sentence which Gehazi justly deserved, for his crime was aggravated by a greedy covetousness, which is idolatry, profanation of God’s name, a downright theft, in taking that to himself which was given for others, deliberate and impudent lying, a desperate contempt of God’s omnipotence, justice, and holiness, a horrible reproach cast upon the prophet and his religion, and a pernicious scandal given to Naaman, and every other Syrian who should chance to hear of it. We are taught from hence that God knows our sins, though committed in secret, and will punish them; and particularly that his wrath pursues, not only the unrighteous, but all those in general who are given to covetousness and dishonest gain; and that goods acquired by wicked means carry a curse with them, which often descends from parents to their children. He went out from his presence a leper as white as snow — Which is the worst kind of leprosy, and noted by physicians to be incurable. Those who get money by any way which is displeasing to God, make a dear purchase. What was Gehazi profited by the two talents of silver, when he lost his health, if not his soul, for ever?

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To be an example to all such, as by whose covetousness God’s word might be slandered.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

leper as white as snow--(See on Lev 13:3). This heavy infliction was not too severe for the crime of Gehazi. For it was not the covetousness alone that was punished; but, at the same time, it was the ill use made of the prophet's name to gain an object prompted by a mean covetousness, and the attempt to conceal it by lying [KEIL].

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 6

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 27. The leprosy of Naaman - shall cleave unto thee] Thou hast got much money, and thou shalt have much to do with it. Thou hast got Naaman's silver, and thou shalt have Naaman's leprosy. Gehazi is not the last who has got money in an unlawful way, and has got God's curse with it.

A leper as white as snow.] The moment the curse was pronounced, that moment the signs of the leprosy began to appear. The white shining spot was the sign that the infection had taken place. See on Le 13:2, and the notes at the end of that chapter. See Clarke on Le 13:58.

1. SOME have thought, because of the prophet's curse, The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and thy seed for ever, that there are persons still alive who are this man's real descendants, and afflicted with this horrible disease. Mr. Maundrell when he was in Judea made diligent inquiry concerning this, but could not ascertain the truth of the supposition. To me it appears absurd; the denunciation took place in the posterity of Gehazi till it should become extinct, and under the influence of this disorder this must soon have taken place. The for ever implies as long as any of his posterity should remain. This is the import of the word לעולם leolam. It takes in the whole extent or duration of the thing to which it is applied. The for ever of Gehazi was till his posterity became extinct.

2. The god Rimmon, mentioned 2Kg 5:18, we meet with nowhere else in the Scriptures, unless it be the same which Stephen calls Remphan. See Ac 7:43, and the note there. Selden thinks that Rimmon is the same with Elion, a god of the Phoenicians, borrowed undoubtedly from the עליון Elion, the Most High, of the Hebrews, one of the names of the supreme God, which attribute became a god of the Phoenicians. Hesychius has the word Ῥαμας Ramas, which he translates ὁ ὑψιστος Θεος, the Most High God, which agrees very well with the Hebrew רמון Rimmon, from רמה ramah, to make high or exalt. And all these agree with the sun, as being the highest or most exalted in what is called the solar system. Some think Saturn is intended, and others Venus. Much may be seen on this subject in Selden De Diis Syris.

3. Let us not suppose that the offence of Gehazi was too severely punished.

1) Look at the principle, covetousness.

2) Pride and vanity; he wished to become a great man.

3) His lying, in order to impose on Naaman: Behold even now there be come to me, c.

4) He in effect sells the cure of Naaman for so much money for if Naaman had not been cured, could he have pretended to ask the silver and raiment?

5) It was an act of theft; he applied that to his own use which Naaman gave him for his master.

6) He dishonoured his master by getting the money and raiment in his name, who had before so solemnly refused it.

7) He closed the whole by lying to his master, denying that he had gone after Naaman, or that he had received any thing from him. But was it not severe to extend the punishment of his crime to his innocent posterity? I answer, it does not appear that any of Gehazi's children, if he had any prior to this, were smitten with the leprosy; and as to those whom he might beget after this time, their leprosy must be the necessary consequence of their being engendered by a leprous father.

Reader, see the end of avarice and ambition; and see the truth of those words, "He that WILL be rich, shall fall into temptation, and a snare, and into divers hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition." - St. Paul.

4. We have already remarked the apparently severe and manifestly kind providence of God in this business.

1) A marauding party was permitted to spoil the confines of the land of Israel.

2) They brought away, to reduce to captivity, a little maid, probably the hope of her father's house.

3) She became Naaman's property, and waited on his wife.

4) She announced God and his prophet.

5) Naaman, on the faith of her account, took a journey to Samaria.

6) Gets healed of his leprosy.

7) Is converted to the Lord; and, doubtless, brought at least his whole family to believe to the saving of their souls. What was severe to the parents of the little maid was most kind to Naaman and his family; and the parents lost their child only a little time, that they might again receive her with honour and glory for ever. How true are the words of the poet!

"Behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face."

And see the benefits of a religious education! Had not this little maid been brought up in the knowledge of the true God, she had not been the instrument of so great a salvation. See my sermon on this subject 2Kg 5:12.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(27) Shall cleave.—Or, cleave! i.e., let it cleave. The prophetic sentence is naturally expressed as an imperative.

A leper as white as snow.—Comp. Exo_4:6 Num_12:10. A sudden outbreak of leprosy may follow upon extreme fright or mortification (Michaelis).

Unto thy seed for ever.—Like other skin diseases, leprosy is hereditary. If it be thought that the sentence is too strong, it should be remembered that the prophet is really pronouncing inspired judgment upon the sin of Gehazi, and milder language might have produced erroneous impressions. Covetousness and lying are never spared in Scripture, and it is well for mankind that it is so. (Comp. Acts 5)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee] ‘Oh heavy talents of Gehazi’, says Bishop Hall, ‘oh the horror of this one unchangeable suit … How much better had been a light purse and a homely coat, with a sound body and a clear soul’.

a leper as white as snow] Both here and elsewhere in this phrase, the words ‘as white’ are inserted to explain the comparison. Cf. Num_12:10. As the incrustation of leprosy is sometimes rather rose-coloured than white, it seems likely that the point of the comparison is not the whiteness only, but that likeness which it bears to a light downlike covering, as if the limbs had been sprinkled over in the manner, though not always with the colour, of snow.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever,.... As long as any of his race remained; as through his covetousness he had his money, so for his punishment he should have his disease:

and he went out from his presence; as one ashamed and confounded, and discharged from his master's service:

a leper as white as snow; a leprosy of which colour is the worst, and is incurable.

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 6

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For ever. Not perhaps to those who might be already born, unless they were accomplices in the crime. The leprosy is hereditary. Giezi was punished for simony, in selling the miracle, as well as for lying and disobedience. (Calmet) --- He might also have given occasion to Naaman to judge ill of his master; as the false prophets were noted for such avarice, Micheas iii. 11. But Eliseus would probably take care to give him better information. (Tirinus) --- He did not require his servant to give up what he had unjustly received, as the general had made over the property to him; and he thought proper to leave it in the hands of Giezi, to indemnity him for past services, and that he might have wherewith to support himself, as he now dismissed him from his company. (Salien, the year before Christ 903.) --- Snow, and therefore more incurable. (Tirinus) --- See Leviticus xiii. (Calmet) --- "All the covetous and misers, together with their riches, possess the leprosy of Giezi:" thesaurum criminum congregarunt. (St. Ambrose) Giezi prefigured Judas, the false apostles of Christ, and all those who buy or sell spiritual things. By their avarice, they procure infamy in this world, and damnation in the next. (St. Augustine, ep. 208, de Temp.) (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And unto thy seed for ever, i.e. for some generations; or for a long time, as that word is oft used, and as may be thought by comparing this with Exo 20:5; 24:7.

He went out from his presence; being confounded with the sense of his guilt, and shame, and misery, and banished from the company of others by God’s law, Le 13; Le 14.

A leper as white as snow; which is the worst kind of leprosy, and noted by physicians to be incurable. See Exo 4:6; Num 12:10; 2Ch 26:19,20. Nor was this punishment too severe for Gehazi’s wickedness, which was great and various; horrid covetousness, which is idolatry; the profanation of God’s name by a wicked oath; downright theft; deliberate and impudent lying, and that to a prophet, which was in a manner a lying to the Holy Ghost, like theirs, Act 5:3; a desperate contempt of God’s omniscience, justice, and holiness; a horrible reproach fastened upon the prophet, and his religion; and a mischievous scandal given to Naaman and all other Syrians that might hear of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Unto thy seed forever — “Who can tell but that the victims of this horrid plague, now seen about the city [Samaria] and at Nablus, the present home of all the Samaritans, may be the heirs of this heritage of Gehazi?” — Thomson.

He went out from his presence — And from that time forth he seems not again to have ministered unto Elisha, though he might afterwards have been often called the servant of Elisha. See on 2Ki_8:4.

A leper as white as snow — Hence we learn that the disease of Naaman and the curse of Gehazi was the white leprosy. Comp. Exo_4:6; Num_12:10.

Let not the punishment of Gehazi be thought too severe. Important principles were involved in his conduct, for, according to 2Ki_5:26, it was a time when the representatives of the sacred office needed to observe the greatest caution against the spirit of worldliness. Then, too, Gehazi’s acts on this occasion were a complication of wickedness. He showed contempt for the judgment of his master in the matter of receiving gifts: he meanly misrepresented the prophet by making him ask for what Naaman had just heard him most positively refuse: he invented a false story to blind the eyes of Naaman: and finally told a miserable lie in the hope of escaping detection from Elisha. Add to all this the foul spirit of covetousness that actuated him through all this evil course and his curse will not appear too great.

The extending of his curse to his children after him is but another exhibition of the terrible consequences of human sinfulness. Gehazi’s posterity were innocent of their father’s sins, but, like many others, they were compelled to bear the consequences of ancestral crimes. That thousands of innocents are subjected to suffering because of the sins of others is a fact which none can deny. Why this is permitted, under the government of an all-wise God, is a question which he has not seen fit fully to answer.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee; i.e. "As thou hast taken his goods, thou shalt also take his leprosy, which goes with them." A just Nemesis. And unto thy seed forever. The iniquity of the fathers is visited upon the children. Gehazi, however, could avoid this part of the curse by not marrying. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. There were many forms and degrees of leprosy. (Lev_13:2-46) Gehazi"s was of the most pronounced kind, And it fell on him suddenly, as her leprosy fell upon Miriam, (Num_12:10) complete at once, so that there could he no further aggravation of it. The lesson should be taken to heart, and should be a warning to us, both against lying and against covetousness.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For ever - That is, for some generations; as that word is often used and as may be thought by comparing this with Exod. xx, 55. (?) White - Which is the worst kind of leprosy, and noted by physicians to be incurable. Those who get money by any way displeasing to God, make a dear purchase. What was Gehazi profited by his two talents, when he lost his health, if not his soul, forever?

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"And let the leprosy of Naaman cleave to thee and to thy seed for ever." This punishment took effect immediately. Gehazi went out from Elisha covered with leprosy as if with snow (cf. ex. Kg2 4:6; Num 12:10). It was not too harsh a punishment that the leprosy taken from Naaman on account of his faith in the living God, should pass to Gehazi on account of his departure from the true God. For it was not his avarice only that was to be punished, but the abuse of the prophet's name for the purpose of carrying out his selfish purpose, and his misrepresentation of the prophet.

(Note: "This was not the punishment of his immoderate δωροδοκίας (receiving of gifts) merely, but most of all of his lying. For he who seeks to deceive the prophet in relation to the things which belong to his office, is said to lie to the Holy Ghost, whose instruments the prophets are" (vid., Act 5:3). - Grotius.)

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)