Study Desk

When the king of Isra'el finished reading the letter, he tore his clothes. "Am I God, able to kill and make alive," he asked, "so that he sends me a man to heal of tzara‘at? You can see that he is only seeking an excuse to quarrel with me."

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Isra'el had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: "Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Isra'el."

So Na‘aman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house.

But Na‘aman became angry and left, saying, "Here now! I thought for certain that he would come out personally, that he would stand, call on the name of Adonai his God and wave his hand over the diseased place and thus heal the person with tzara‘at.

But his servants approached him and said, "My father! If the prophet had asked you to do something really difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So, doesn't it make even more sense to do what he says, when it's only, ‘Bathe, and be clean'?"

So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Yarden, as the man of God had said to do; and his skin was restored and became like the skin of a child; and he became clean.

Then, with his whole retinue, he returned to the man of God, went and stood before him, and said, "Well, I've learned that there is no God in all the earth except in Isra'el; therefore, please accept a present from your servant."

But Elisha answered, "As Adonai lives, before whom I stand, I will not accept it." And despite his urging him to take it, he refused.

So Geichazi hurried off after Na‘aman. When Na‘aman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?"

"By all means, take two talents!" said Na‘aman, pressing him. He tied up the two talents of silver in two bags and gave them, with the two changes of clothes, to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Geichazi.

He went in and stood before his master. Elisha asked, "Where have you been, Geichazi?" "Your servant hasn't gone anywhere," he said.

Elisha said to him, "Wasn't my heart there with you when the man left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to receive silver and clothing — and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female slaves?

but as one was felling a tree trunk, the head of his axe fell in the water. "Oh, no!" he cried. "My master, it was a borrowed one!"

"Lift it out," he said. So he put out his hand and took it.

Now the king of Aram went to war against Isra'el; and in consulting his servants he said, "I'll set up my ambush camp in such-and-such a place."

and it greatly upset the king of Aram. He called his servants and said to them, "Tell me which of you is betraying us to the king of Isra'el?"

One of his servants replied, "It's not that, my lord, king. Rather, Elisha, the prophet who is in Isra'el, tells the king of Isra'el the words you speak privately in your own bedroom!"

The servant of the man of God got up early in the morning; on going outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. His servant said to him, "Oh, my master, this is terrible! What are we going to do?"

Elisha prayed, " Adonai , I ask you to open his eyes, so that he can see." Then Adonai opened the young man's eyes, and he saw: there before him, all around Elisha, the mountain was covered with horses and fiery chariots.

But some time afterwards, Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, went up and laid siege to Shomron.