The name "Naaman" means "nice guy!". Now the Arameans went out in bands and captured from the land of Israel a young girl, who ministered to Naaman's wife. He said, "That guy didn't even have the graciousness to come out and meet me himself. Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you. [5], As the object of the narrative of Naaman's sickness and restoration to health is, apparently, to form a link in the long series of miracles performed by Elisha, the redactor of II Kings did not concern himself to indicate the time when this event occurred. Naaman was a man with significant duties in his home country. He was a great warrior and highly respected because he had given victories to Aram. Elisha the prophet healed Naaman of his leprosy by the power of the Lord (verse 14), and Naaman praised God and offered Elisha a gift, which Elisha refused to accept (verse 16). Now in coming back, he acknowledged that there was no God in all the earth but in Israel. Another example can be found in Lambert Jacobszs estate inventory, in which Jacob Backers name is later added to a large painting of Paul with a sword, that was initially only attributed to Lambert Jacobsz. R. vii. This phrase is used when Moses is in the presence of the Angel of the Lord and the God of Israel at the burning bush (Exod 3:15) and when Joshua meets the Angel of the Lord (Josh 5:15). 1800 (Stockholm, 2005), 59, no. Does Cast a Spell make you a spellcaster? This attribution by Fred Meijer was largely based on an alleged kinship with De Grebbers Belshazzars Great Feast from 1625 in Museum Schloss Wilhelmshhe, Kassel. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Angered, Elisha curses his servant, and the servant has Naaman's leprosy for the rest of his life. Where Are Giants in the Bible Other Than Goliath? 57b; Deut. Only a few Dutch paintings depicting this biblical narrative have survived, most of them by artists working in Amsterdam and Haarlem in the first half of the 1600s. Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. For example, Naamans turban and sashas well as the sash of his youngest servantfeature the same decorations as Belshazzars sash. 6, Nachtrge, Ortsregister, Ikonographisches Register, Bibliographie, Knstlerverzeichnis (Landau, 1983), no. He then praised the lord of Israel as the only true god. Elisha refused the gifts Naaman offered for his use of God's power, but Gehazi did not. Yet Naaman was a leper. Bol was commissioned by the masters of the Amsterdam leper home. Those were the things which Elisha refused. Copyright 2023 The Christian Broadcasting Network. Find a vector in the null space of a large dense matrix, where elements in the matrix are not directly accessible. But I can't. The baths cured Naaman. In the past, the edges of the painting appear to have been folded over a smaller stretcher about an inch from the current edge. Arama, l.c.). Small sections of the ground have been left visible between some of the brushstrokes. Explain that Naaman was healed by Heavenly Father through the power of the priesthood and that priesthood holders cannot use the priesthood to gain recognition or wealth. In general, he painted directly onto the canvas, working both wet into wet and over dried paint layers. The two works of this subject by Abraham van Dijck (1635/680) and Ferdinand Bol (161680) date from much later. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Elisha hearing from God refused out of obedience to God anything Naaman offered because after all he was entitled to payment as a prophet. Lambert Jacobszs Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts depicts an episode from the Old Testament story of Naaman, the widely admired commander of the Syrian army, and the Prophet Elisha, who cured him of leprosy. The balding and aged prophet, in contrast, is dressed soberly in a brown habit. The prophet Elisha, upon hearing of the king's tear-clothes moment, asked that Naaman be sent to him so that "he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." (see 2 Kings 5:8). .css-tadcwa:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Daniel Esparza - @media screen and (max-width: 767px){.css-1xovt06 .date-separator{display:none;}.css-1xovt06 .date-updated{display:block;width:100%;}}published on 10/13/19. Scripture says that we can come before the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor in our time of need. Naaman tells his lord this and he is sent to Israel with a letter to the king. Why does Jesus turn to the Father to forgive in Luke 23:34? Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study. Not only is Elisha's gesture of refusal reminiscent of that in the Leiden Collection painting, but Gehazi similarly stands behind the prophet in both works. This also shows the place where the king and the people were at spiritually because the king doesn't think to call Elisha there to heal Naaman. Peter van den Brink, Jacob Backer (1608/91651) (Exh. ii.). Since documents about a commission have not been preserved, it is not known for whom Lambert painted Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts or where it was originally intended to be displayed. And the guy urged him, but still he refused. Copyright Aleteia SAS all rights reserved. And he took it and put it in his house. The Bible calls him "the servant of Elisha, the man of God. This is where Halbertals remarks might come in handy: if a gift is supposed to start a gift cycle, why is Elisha not willing to partake in it? Naaman then takes his bath in the Jordan river (as a mikveh) and is healed. The request is so odd that its hard to avoid wondering if Naaman needed some other kind of therapy. And in the letter it said, "I want you to heal my general of this leprosy." Dirt? R. 552 et seq.) The regents of the Leprozenhuizen in Haarlem and Amsterdam seem to have used Naamans story to show their integrity, as city councils often fall back on stories from classical history. It is wise to learn to listen to those around you, no matter what their station in life, knowing that sometimes God uses the weak and the seemingly insignificant to speak to us and keep us humble. Because of Jacobszs paintings devotional content, it is tempting to assume that it was intended for the Mennonite Church (Vermaning) he cofounded, and where he delivered the first sermon on 7 August 1631; see the biography of Lambert Jacobsz in this catalogue. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. This is the second contrast we find in this story: that of the pomp of Naaman and Elishas humbleness. Some paint layers were thinly applied, as in sections of the brown background and the plum-colored textile held by Naamans attendant. Previous commentary: Next commentary: About this commentary: are made available by the generosity of . Abraham van Dijck, Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts (present whereabouts unknown); Werner Sumowski, Gemlde der Rembrandt-Schler,vol. But this only can happen if we are willing to humble ourselves and recognize that Jesus is Lord and that we are His servants. Notice Naaman asks for dirt to take back home with him. How to react to a students panic attack in an oral exam? Keep them." In v5, we read that Naaman only took with him money (gold and silver) and clothes, so I don't see how Elisha could have refused the other gifts if Naaman didn't even bring them (and how could he bring an olive orchard with him? Sperkitap web sitesini kullanarak, Kullanm artlarmz ve Gizlilik Politikamz kabul etmi olursunuz. It seems unlikely that Jacobszs depiction of this Biblical story would have been suitable for the Regents Chamber in the Leprozenhuis in Leeuwarden. Furthermore, the uniform purple color and trim of the gift cloak given in the Leiden Collection painting are somewhat similar to that in De Grebbers The Wrath of Ahasuerus, 1628 (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm); see Grel Cavalli-Bjrkman, Dutch and Flemish Paintings,vol. II Kings v. 2). Now Naaman was the captain of the host of Syria, he was a great man with his master, he was honorable, because the LORD had actually helped him to subdue many nations. When we come before the Lord in our time of prayer, it's important for us to humble ourselves like Naaman did to receive favor from God. He focused particularly on Naamans gaze as he quietly reflects upon the prophets reasons for refusing to accept his gifts of appreciationthe moment of revelation when Naaman came to understand that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.. In the healing of Naaman we find some interesting things, and one of them is that typically, we, all of us, really have difficulty with just accepting the grace of God. Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts (2020). Naaman's wife had a servant girl from Israel who said that a prophet there would be able to heal him. Josua Bruyn once remarked that the large-figure paintings produced in this workshopthe Backer-like Jacobsz and the Jacobsz-like Backer paintingswere difficult to distinguish.5 One example of how closely related the works of these painters were during this period is The Tribute Money in Stockholm. Sale, Sothebys, London, 7 December 2005, no. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and brought away captives out of the land of Israel and a little maid happened to be the servant of his wife. (2 Ne. His refusal, strongly contrasting with the conduct of ordinary prophets, Israelite and heathen (comp. Amsterdam, Hermitage Amsterdam, Rembrandt and his Contemporaries: History Paintings from The Leiden Collection, 4 February27 August 2023, no. 2 Kings 3:14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. The artist worked with loose and gestural brushwork. The name Elisha in Hebrew is translated, "My God is salvation". Why did Elisha refuse Naaman's gift? Elisha refused gifts for use of power By Church News Archives 15 June 1990, 11:00 PM PDT After Naaman was cured of leprosy, he offered Elisha gifts for his use of priesthood powers. Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? BRILL's mainly English language publications include book series, individual monographs and encyclopaedias as well as journals. Rawlinson, "Ancient Monarchies," ii. cat. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Somehow I would like to deserve or earn God's blessings. Naamans wife was married to a mighty warrior that suffered from leprosy. 8), which the Rabbis regard as an allusion to Naaman's bathing in the Jordan; the appellation "Moab" is a play on the word "abi" (= "my father"), by which Naaman was addressed by his servants in II Kings v. 13 (Num. Gehazi asked for (and received) silver and clothing from Naaman, after lying about the arrival of two men of the sons of the prophets. Naaman was a warrior who won many battles for his king and his country. He said, "Yea, everything's fine, except that my master had a couple of young prophets come in and they didn't have much. Finally, before embarking for Syria, Naaman makes a strange request: to load two mules with dirt to take back with him. 2847; see also the RKD website. (Comp. 3238 and 3913. When the two meet, Elisha tells him rather dismissively that he needs to take a bath in the Jordan River. Jacobsz acted as an art dealer in Leeuwarden, which allowed him to have close ties with artists and dealers in other cities. As he found himself cured, he praised Elishas god and wanted to thank the prophet by giving him presents. Let me have enough dirt from Israel to fill the baskets on two of my mules. Michael S. Heiser is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., Ancient History) and the University of Wisconsin- Madison (M.A., Ph.D., Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies). Naaman returned to Elisha and said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant" (verse 15). By doing so, Naaman received his healing. She has done all the leadership work but finds no one is doing her bidding with the follow-up details. He then praised the lord of Israel as the only true god. The rest of the Old Testament is the story of Gods intention to reclaim every nation on earth. This excerpt about Naaman in the Bible is adapted from the original article in Dr. Heisers book I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible. In Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts, Jacobsz, a devout Mennonite teacher and biblical expert, was more interested in conveying the conversion of a great leader to the Christian faith than in portraying physical drama.14 With the painting in The Leiden Collection, Jacobsz showed himself to be both a talented painter and an earnest Mennonite teacher. Am I God that I can heal him of his leprosy? The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. Interestingly, the Septuagint (the classic translation of the Old Testament into Greek) uses the word baptizein (to baptize) for Naamans immersions in the Jordan River. The king of Israel didn't know what to do, yet Elisha (Eliseus) sent a message to the King, advising that the King tell Naaman to come to see him. Elisha repeatedly refuses. Nephi called such employment "priestcraft," in which " . One day, his wife's Israelite servant girl told her about the power of God moving through the prophet Elisha. And he said, Did not my spirit go with thee, [when you received] when you went out to their chariot and stopped them and you received the money, and you received the garments, and the oliveyards, and the vineyards, and the sheep, and the oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? He wanted to thank Elisha by giving him presents, but Elisha refused. The passage ("because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria," II Kings v. 1) upon which the identification of Naaman with Ahab's slayer is based by the Rabbis is referred by G. Rawlinson, however (in the "Speaker's Commentary"), to the Syrian triumph over Shalmaneser II. 32; 206, no. the Lord hath forbidden this thing." Similar decorations are also visible on the sash of one of the servants in De Grebbers version of Elishas Refusal for the Leprozenhuis in Haarlem, while the jewels on Naamans and Belshazzars turbans are nearly identical. And he said, "Send him down to me, and he will know that there is a God in Israel." Backer had a great reputation as a skilled painter of finely formed hands. BRILL is renowned for its publications in the following subject areas; Asian Studies, Ancient Near East & Egypt, Biblical Studies & Religious Studies, Classical Studies, Medieval & Early Modern Studies, Middle East & Islamic Studies. 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