2 Kings 5:14
in 2 Kings 5So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored and became like that of a little child, and he was clean.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
KJV
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
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This verse in 2 Kings 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThen went he down - He felt the force of this reasoning, and made a trial, probably expecting little success. Like unto the flesh of a little child - The loathsome scurf was now entirely removed; his flesh assumed the appearance and health of youth; and the whole mass of his blood, and other juices, became purified, refined, and exalted! How mighty is God! What great things can he do by the simplest and feeblest of means!
This site's exposition
dipped himself seven times in Jordan
Naaman obeys exactly, and his flesh comes again like the flesh of a little child, a full reversal rather than a mere improvement. The number seven marks completeness across Elijah and Elisha's whole ministry, from the servant's seven looks toward the sea at 1 Ki 18:43-44 to this sevenfold dip, and the text lets the number do its own work without comment. Jesus names this very healing at Luke 4:27 against the lepers of Israel in Elisha's own day.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
After Naaman had been persuaded by the prophet and had washed seven times in the Jordan, he eventually acknowledged his error. He was astonished, and a deep bewilderment took him when he realized that he had been delivered from his filthiness. And he thanked God …
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
Of the ten lepers that our Saviour cleansed, the only one that returned to give thanks was a Samaritan, Luke xvii. This Syrian did so, and here expresses himself. Convinced of the power of the God of Israel, not only that he is God, but that he is God alone, and that indeed there is no God in all the earth but in Israel (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God,.... He listened to the reasoning of his servant, and his passion subsided, and did as the prophet ordered him: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child; clear and fresh, soft and tender as an infant, quite new flesh: and he was clean; from the leprosy, and all the filthy symptoms of it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan--Persuaded by his calmer and more reflecting attendants to try a method so simple and easy, he followed their instructions, and was cured. The cure was performed on the basis of God's covenant with Israel, by which the land, and all pertaining to it, was blessed. Seven was the symbol of the covenant [KEIL].
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Seven times - Compare 1Ki 18:43. In both cases a somewhat severe trial was made of the individual’s faith. Compare the seven compassings of Jericho, and the sudden fall of the walls Josh. 6:3-20.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
A blessing [a gift]. A gift of peace, upon greeting, [e.g.,] when a student or a servant greets [his] master, 9 See Bereishis:11. salud, in O.F. 10 Na’amon lived as a righteous gentile, keeping the seven commandments that God gave to Noach and his descendants.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֗רֶד | vaiyered | and he went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| וַיִּטְבֹּ֤ל | vaiyitbol | and he dipped | H2881 → | |
| בַּיַּרְדֵּן֙ | baiyarden | in the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| שֶׁ֣בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| פְּעָמִ֔ים | peamim | times | H6471 → | 118 times |
| כִּדְבַ֖ר | kidvar | according to [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיָּ֣שָׁב | vaiyashov | and it returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| בְּשָׂר֗וֹ | besaro | flesh his | H1320 → | 270 times |
| כִּבְשַׂ֛ר | kivsar | like [the] flesh of | H1320 → | 270 times |
| נַ֥עַר | naar | a lad | H5288 → | 239 times |
| קָטֹ֖ן | katon | young | H6996 → | 101 times |
| וַיִּטְהָֽר׃ | vaiyithar | and he was clean | H2891 → | 94 times |
וַיֵּ֗רֶדand he went down
vaiyeredH3381 →381 times
וַיִּטְבֹּ֤לand he dipped
vaiyitbolH2881 →
בַּיַּרְדֵּן֙in the Jordan
baiyardenH3383 →182 times
שֶׁ֣בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
פְּעָמִ֔יםtimes
peamimH6471 →118 times
כִּדְבַ֖רaccording to [the] word of
kidvarH1697 →1440 times
אִ֣ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וַיָּ֣שָׁבand it returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
בְּשָׂר֗וֹflesh his
besaroH1320 →270 times
כִּבְשַׂ֛רlike [the] flesh of
kivsarH1320 →270 times
נַ֥עַרa lad
naarH5288 →239 times
קָטֹ֖ןyoung
katonH6996 →101 times
וַיִּטְהָֽר׃and he was clean
vaiyitharH2891 →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
Zechariah 14:8And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:1–2
Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- John 7:38
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- John 4:10
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- Revelation 7:16–17
‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
- Revelation 22:1–2
Through
John 2:5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 6:22
So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.
- John 15:14
You are My friends if you do what I command you.
- Genesis 6:22
Through
Job 33:25then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth.
it leads to
- Psalms 103:5
who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
- Psalms 103:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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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 5:15; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.