N. J. D. WHITE.
NAAMAH (ποῦ; Νωμάν; Luc. Nowa; Vulg. Neema).—A town of Judah in the lowland or Shephélah, named in conjunction with Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Makkedah, and forming one of a group of sixteen (Jos 157), There is no notice of it elsewhere. Zophar the Naamathite (‘n>y2n) is mentioned in Job (2" ete.), but there is nothing to connect him with this town.
It is proposed to identify Naamah with Nd'neh SWP it. 408); Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Mak-
edah being respectively identified as Katrah,
Dejiin, and el-Mughdr (‘the caves’), villages on the northern border of Judah near Ekron and Jabneel. N&neh is a small mud village on low ground 6 miles south of Ludd (Lydda).
C. WARREN.
NAAMAN (j>y3; BA Ναιμάν ; Luc. Νεεμάν; NT Νεεμάν (TR), Ναιμάν (WH)=‘ pleasantness,’ perhaps the name of the god Adonis (Lagarde, Sem. i. 32], ef, o'Dy3 ‘ye) ‘ plantings of Adonis,’ RVm of Is 17”, where see Dillmann-Kittel’s note).*—4. A Syrian warrior known to us only through the remark- able cure of his leprosy by the prophet Elisha, recorded in 2 K 5, and referred to by our Lord asa rebuke to Jewish exclusiveness, and an illus- tration of the anomalous manifestations of divine mercy (Lk 4”). According to the Midrash, Naaman was the man who at the battle of Ramoth-gilead ‘drew his bow at a venture’ (1 KX 22), and inflicted on Ahab his fatal wound—a tradition apparently accepted by Jos. (Ant. VIII. xv. 5), who deuscites
*Compare further the name ὍΣ) (Naomi) in the Book of Ruth.
the archer in question as παῖς δέ τις βασιλικὸς τοῦ ᾿Αδάδου, ᾿Αμανὸς ὄνομα. But this identification may have been a mere conjecture, due to the statement in 2 Καὶ 5! that ‘by Naaman J” had given deliver- ance (ay;3wm) unto Syria,’—an expression which may naturally be held to refer to the battle of Ramoth- gilead, since the issue of that engagement is ex- prey attributed in 1 Καὶ 22% to the counsel of
” (although G. Rawlinson [in Speaker's Comm.) would rather connect it with Syrian successes against Shalmaneser Π. [Anc. Mon. ii. 344, 361)), on the general principle recognized (nearly a century later) in Am 97,
With regard to the date of Naaman’s visit to Israel as a suppliant for ‘deliverance’ of another sort, the sequence of the narrative would lead us to suppose that Ben-Hadad was king of Syria at the time; but no indication is given of the interval that had elapsed since Ahab’s death, to enable us to determine who was king of Israel. Ewald (HI 4) prefers the reign of Jehoahaz, and Schenkel (Bib.-Lex.) that of Jehu. But the general view that Jehoram was king seems more probable, in view of the recent Syrian raids (2 K 5%), the pre- carious friendship between the two kings (vv.°’), and the prevalence of paganism and unbelief (v.*, ef. vv.7),
The miraculous character of Naaman’s cure exposes it in some degree to the objections taken to Elisha’s life as too ‘thaumaturgic.’ Néldeke (Schenkel’s Bib.-Lex.) comments on the absence of antecedent faith on the part of the sufferer, and sees no sign of spirituality in his conversion ; but it is only the outstanding features of the incident that have been preserved to us, and on the whole the miracle must be acknowledged to be one of the most dignified in the life of Elisha. Even assuming that there was an ancient Semitic belief in the efficacy of running waters as a cure for leprosy, we find some- thing analogous to this in the miracles of the NT (Jn 9°, Mk 83). The narrative is ‘thoroughly in kee ing with the state of things in the time of Elisha’ (Kittel, Hist. of Heb. ii. 279). Its portrayal of Naaman’s character is natural and lifelike. It does not conceal his pride and irritation at the slight offered to himself (2 K 5") and to his country (v.12 Damascus being famous for its noble streams), which was designed doubtless to induce a more humble and reverent spirit in his approach to the God of Israel (cf. vv.***). Yet on the whole it depicts a manly and attractive character, which
won for him the sympathy of the little Jewish maid who was the first to suggest his cure at the hands of Elisha, the warm friendship of his sovereign, who spared no expense (the gold and silver sent with Naaman are generally estimated at upwards of £10,000) and lost no time in seeking to obtain the remedy, and the affectionate de- votion of his servants, who were anxious for his welfaru and knew how to appeal to his better judgment. One of the most striking features of his character is his sense of gratitude (cf. the healing of the ten lepers in Lk 17"-), which led him to retrace his steps from the Jordan to Samaria, a distance of nearly 30 miles, to thank and reward his benefactor, and to devote himself henceforth to the worship of the God of Israel, which he does with a strength and decision of faith that has scarcely any parallel in the lan- ruage of Gentile converts in the OT. This wasa ulfilment of the hope expressed by Elisha (2 K 5°), and justified the lofty attitude which he had assumed towards Naaman when he communicated with him only by messenger, bidding him wash seven times in the Jordan, showing, by this absten- tion from personal intercourse as well as by his refusal of the gifts customary at heathen oracles (Herod. i. 14. 50) and not forbidden to the prophets of J”(1S 955,1 Καὶ 14%, 2K 45; ct. Mt 108, Ac 8), how little he had in common with the artful and obsequious sorcerers familiar to Naaman and his master (2 Καὶ 5°),