2 Kings — Chapter 5

Naaman, prince of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable: for by him the Lord had given deliverance to Syria; and he was a valiant man and rich, but a leper. Lapide: The description of Naaman is notable: great, honourable, a deliverer of Syria, valiant, rich — yet a leper. This pattern of worldly greatness marred by a single hidden affliction is common in Providence: God keeps even the mightiest humble by some secret wound. Naaman's leprosy was the occasion of his conversion to the true God, working a greater good than his victories had done.

Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying: Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thou shalt be clean. Lapide, citing Tertullian (Adv. Marc. IV.9) and S. Ambrose (Lc. IV): The seven washings in the Jordan signify first the sevenfold grace of the Holy Ghost given in Baptism; second, the seven Sacraments of the Church, which are as seven spiritual ablutions of the soul; third, the perfect purification from all the seven capital sins. The Jordan had been consecrated at Christ's own Baptism, and this washing of Naaman is therefore a type of Christian Baptism.

He went down and washed in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was made clean. Lapide: The obedience of Naaman, which his servants counselled when he was about to turn back in pride, brought him healing. Lapide notes the contrast with his initial refusal: the Damascus rivers were perhaps cleaner, but God prescribed the Jordan. So too in Baptism the natural water does not of itself purify, but the divine institution and the merits of Christ render it effective. The healing of Naaman's leprosy is figura prima et clarissima baptismi — the primary and clearest figure of Baptism.

He said: Behold I know there is no God in all the earth, but only in Israel. I beseech thee therefore, take a blessing of thy servant. Lapide: Naaman's profession of faith — \"There is no God in all the earth, but only in Israel\" — is remarkable: he came a pagan and returned a worshipper of the true God. Elisha refused his gifts, as a type of Christ saying to the Apostles, \"Freely you have received, freely give.\" Naaman's refusal to sacrifice to foreign gods and his request for a load of Israelite earth to build an altar is praised by the Fathers as evidence of sincere conversion.

Thy servant will not henceforth offer holocaust or victim to strange gods, but to the Lord. Lapide cites this as a note in favour of the lawfulness of keeping relics of holy places, since Naaman's desire to have Israelite earth for his altar was approved by Elisha the prophet of God. The text is used contra haereticos who deny the honour due to holy places and sacred objects.

When my master goeth into the temple of Remmon to worship there, and he leaneth upon my hand; if I bow down in the temple of Remmon when he boweth down in the same place, I beseech thee, that the Lord pardon me thy servant for this thing. Lapide: Naaman's bowing in the temple of Remmon was not religious adoration of the idol, but a civic and political act — supporting the king's body as his duty of office required. Cajetanus, Abulensis, Serarius, and Suarez all agree: he was accompanying the king's bodily action, not sharing the king's religious intention. Elisha's \"Go in peace\" is an approval of this civic obedience.

But the leprosy of Naaman shall also stick to thee, and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from him a leper as snow. Lapide: Giezi sinned not by formal simony (since he did not sell the miracle directly), but by five distinct sins — acting without his master's knowledge; lying to Naaman that Elisha had sent him; stealing what was meant for his master; defaming Elisha's reputation for disinterestedness; and having a simoniacal intent, seeking gifts in return for a miracle. S. Ambrose (De Dignitate Sacerdotali) says that simonists are followers of Giezi and Simon Magus, and that their leprosy is of the mind rather than the body.