2 Kings 5:10
in 2 Kings 5Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
KJV
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
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This verse in 2 Kings 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseBut in addition, that we may accept the interpretation of the Jordan, that river that is so fresh and grants so much grace, it is useful to present both Naaman the Syrian, who was cleansed from leprosy, and the comments made about the rivers by the enemies of religion. It is written of Naaman, therefore: "He came with his horse and chariot and stood at the doors of the house of Elisha.
This site's exposition
wash in Jordan seven times
Elisha does not come out himself. He sends a messenger with a plain instruction, wash in Jordan seven times, no ritual, no touch, no word spoken over him, only obedience to a number and a river any Syrian could ask why it should matter more than his own. The distance between the great man and the servant who delivers his message is itself part of the cure the chapter is administering.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Naaman was suffering from leprosy, and when he heard that a prophet who lived under the command of Jehoram, king of Israel, could cure him, he left and proceeded to the country of the healer and went to the house of Elisha, because he had …
Let us further see what blessed Elisha commanded Naaman the Syrian. "Go," he says, "and wash seven times in the Jordan." When Naaman heard that he was to wash seven times in the Jordan, he was indignant and did not want to comply, but accepting …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Elisha sent - Which he did, partly, to exercise Naaman's faith and obedience: partly, for the honour of his religion, that it might appear he sought not his own glory and profit, but only God's honour, and the good of men.
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Sent a messenger - Did not come out to speak with him: he had got his orders from God, and he transmitted them to Naaman by his servant. Wash in Jordan seven times - The waters of Jordan had no tendency to remove this disorder but God chose to make them the means by which he would convey his healing power. He who is the author of life, health, and salvation, has a right to dispense, convey, and maintain them, by whatsoever means he pleases.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, . . . let him come now to me--This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient.
quarantine:debris,scripture (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase; scripture-overlap:84%@v6-8
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Elisha was not deterred from personally meeting Naaman because he was a leper. He sent a messenger because Naaman had over-estimated his own importance 2Ki 5:11), and needed rebuke. And wash in Jordan - Compare the marginal references. A command is given which tests the faith of the recipient, and the miracle is not performed until such faith is openly evidenced.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“Behold, I thought.” I thought the prophet would come out and speak with me, and see the ailment.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֥ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵלָ֛יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱלִישָׁ֖ע | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
| מַלְאָ֣ךְ | malakh | a messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָל֗וֹךְ | halokh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְרָחַצְתָּ֤ | verachatzta | and you will wash | H7364 → | 72 times |
| שֶֽׁבַע־ | sheva'- | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| פְּעָמִים֙ | peamim | times | H6471 → | 118 times |
| בַּיַּרְדֵּ֔ן | baiyarden | in the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| וְיָשֹׁ֧ב | veyasho | and it may return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| בְּשָׂרְךָ֛ | besarekha | flesh your | H1320 → | 270 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to you | ||
| וּטְהָֽר׃ | utehar | and be clean | H2891 → | 94 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֥חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
אֵלָ֛יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֱלִישָׁ֖עElisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 times
מַלְאָ֣ךְa messenger
malakhH4397 →213 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הָל֗וֹךְgo
halokhH1980 →1546 times
וְרָחַצְתָּ֤and you will wash
verachatztaH7364 →72 times
שֶֽׁבַע־seven
sheva'-H7651 →394 times
פְּעָמִים֙times
peamimH6471 →118 times
בַּיַּרְדֵּ֔ןin the Jordan
baiyardenH3383 →182 times
וְיָשֹׁ֧בand it may return
veyashoH7725 →1056 times
בְּשָׂרְךָ֛flesh your
besarekhaH1320 →270 times
לְךָ֖to you
lekha
וּטְהָֽר׃and be clean
uteharH2891 →94 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 6:11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- Colossians 3:5–7
Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- 1 Corinthians 1:2
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their…
- Romans 6:17–19
But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.
- Acts 22:16
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’
- 1 Corinthians 1:30
Through
John 9:7Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
- Isaiah 35:5
Through
Joshua 6:4Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out…
- Revelation 16:1
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
Where this verse is studied
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About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 129.4-5; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 5:10-11; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.242-45.