Naaman the Syrian
Naaman ( Hebrew נַעֲמָן"Kindness", also Naeman ) was, according to the Bible, a Syrian captain under King Ben Hadad , probably during the reign of the Israeli King Joram . He is mentioned in the Tanach or in the Old Testament in the Book of Kings ( 2 Kings 5 EU ). Naaman was a common northern Syrian name.
According to the biblical narrative, Naaman suffered from leprosy . His wife had a Jewish girl as a slave who told her about a prophet in Samaria who was able to heal. Thereupon Ben-Hadad sent Naaman with a letter to the King of Israel (the names of both kings are not mentioned in this report) and asked him to free Naaman from the leprosy. The King of Israel was unable to help, but suspected a pretext for hostility and panicked. When the prophet Elisha heard this, he summoned Naaman to him. This came to his door. Elisha sent a messenger out with the message that he should wash himself seven times in the Jordan (the Septuagint , the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses the word baptizein here for washing , which later denoted Christian baptism in the Greek New Testament, which also included associated with the Jordan River; therefore, Christian history has often been understood as a typological anticipation of the baptism of Gentiles). Naaman was annoyed at first, having expected the Prophet himself to carry out elaborate procedures on him, and made arrangements to travel home. At the encouragement of his servants, he dived seven times in the water, was healed and was converted to the god Elisha. He rejected all thanksgiving gifts and dismissed Naaman with the blessing.
The story is significant for the relationship between Israel and its God and other peoples. It testifies to the universality of YHWH .
In the New Testament it is said that Jesus set the example of the Syrian Naaman in front of his compatriots in the synagogue of Nazareth (probably as an example of God's salvation will also for people outside the people of Israel), which aroused their violent anger ( Lk 4,27 EU ) .
literature
- Ernst Modersohn : From unhappiness to happiness. Reflections on the history of Naeman 2 Kings 5 (= Biblical Images IV). Bad Blankenburg 1923. Digitized
- DW Baker: Naaman. In: The Great Bible Lexicon. Vol. 2, R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 1988, p. 1010.
Web links
- Naaman in the Bible Lexicon of bibelkommentare.de
Single receipts
- ↑ In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC BC, according to the texts of Ugarit . Thus The Great Bible Lexicon .
- ↑ The Great Bible Lexicon : “Lepra”; Commentary on the Bible . AT and NT in one band. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 2003, p. 423: " Leper ... but rarely or never refers to Hansen's disease, which is usually called leprosy."