The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 58

flowing through a series of romantic glens, I.e. followed exactly the prophet's directions bursts finally from the mountains through a in Ver. 10-aooording to the saying of the deep gorge and scatters itself over the plain. man of God : and his flesh came again like One branch passes right through the city of unto the flesh of e. little ohild-literally, of Dama.sous, cutting it in half. Others flow a little lad-and he was clean. Not only past the city both on tho north nnd on the was the leprosy removed, but the flesh wo.a south, irrigating the gardens and orchnrda, more soft and tender than that of a grown and spreading fertility far and wide over man commonly is. It wa.s like the flesh of the Merj. A smnll stream, the Fidjeh, e. boy. flows into the Bo.rado. from the north. Ver. 15.-And he returned to the man of Another quite independent river, the Awo.aj, God, he and e.ll his oompany. It is not waters the southern portion of the Damaacene al way~ seen what this involved. It involved plain, but does not approach within several going out of his way at least fifty miles. miles of the city. Most geographers regard At the Jordan, Nae.man wa.s on his way this as the "Pharpar;" but the identifica- home, had accomplished a fourth part of his tion is uncertain, since the name may very return journey; in three more days he would possibly have attached to one of the branches be in Damascus, in his own pa.lace. But he of the Baro.de.. The Bare.da is limpid, cool, feels that it would be an nn worthy act to gushing, the perfection of a river I It was e.ccepthis cure and make noacknowledgment known to the Greeks and Ilomans as the of it, having turned away from the prophet Chrysorrhoas, or" river of gold." We can "in e. rage" (ver. 12), now, without apo- well understand that Nao.man would esteem logy, or retractation, or expression of regret the streams of his own city as infinitely or gratitude, to return into his own country superior to the turbid, often sluggish, under the obligation of an inestimable sometimes "clay-coloured" (Robinson, ' Re- benefit. His cure has wrought in him, not searches,' vol. ii. p. 256) Jordan. If leprosy merely a revulsion of feeling from rage and was to be washed, away, it might naturally fury to thankfulneas, but a change of belief. have appeared to him that the pure Bare.da It has convinced him tl1a.t the God of Elisha would have more cleansing power than the is the God of the whole earth. It has muddy river recommended to him by the turned him from e. worshipper of Rimmon prophet. So he turned and went away in a into e. worshipper of Jehovah. He must rage. proclaim this. He must let the prophet Ver. 13.-And his ae"ants came near, know what is in hi.s heart. He must, if and spake unto him, and said, My father. possible, induce him to accept a recompense. Nao.man's attendants did not share his in- Therefore he thinks nothing of an outlay dignation, or, if they did, since servants in of time e.nd trouble, bnt retraces his steps the East are apt to be jealous of their to the Israelite capital, taking with him all masters' honour, had their feelings more his oompany, his horses and his chariots, under control; and they therefore inter- his grJld e.nd silver and be.lea of clothing, fered with mild words, anxious to pacify and numerous train of attendants. And him, e.nd persuade him to follow the pro- came, and stood before him; i.e. descended phet's advice. "My father" is e. deferential from his chariot, e.nd asked admittance into and, at the ea.me time, e.11 affectionate ad- the prophet's house, e.nd we.s received and dress, not unne.ture.l in the mouth of e. con- allowed e.n e.udience--e. striking contrast fidential servant ( comp. eh. ii. 12). There with hiJ:I previous o.ppee.rance before the is thus no need of any e.ltere.tion of the house, in expectation that the prophet wonld text, such e.s Ewe.Id (1? for '=!1$) or Thenius come down and wait upon him. And he (C~ for •:it;t) proposes. It must be admitted, said, :Behold, now I know that there is no God in e.ll the earth, but in Israel. This is however, that the LXX. seem to have he.d an acknowledgment of the sole supremacy \? in their copies. If the prophet he.d bid of J ehovo.h on the part of e. heathen, such thee do some great thing-'' had set thee," as we scarcely find elsewhere. The general i.e., " some difficult task "-wouldest thou belief of the time, and indeed of antiquity, not have done it? how mnoh rather then, wo.s that every land ho.d its own god, who [shouldest thou perform his behest] when was supreme in it-Baal in Phcenicia, Che- he saith to thee, We.eh, and be clean 1 The mosh in Moe.b, Moloch in Ammon, Rimmon reasoning we.a uno.nswere.ble, e.nd took effect. in Syria, Bel or Bel-Merodach in Babylon, N no.man was persuaded. Amun-Ro. in Egypt, etc.; and when there is • Ver. 14.-Then went he down; i.e. de- an e.cknowledgment of Jehovah on the p~rt scended into the deep Jordo.n valley from the of heathens iu Scripture, it is almost always highland of So.maria-a. descent of above the recognition of him as a god-the God of e. thousand feet. The nearest route would the J ewe or of the Isro.elites, one among involve e. journey of a.bout twenty-five miles. many (see Exod. x. 16, 17; eh. xvii. 26; And dipped himself sevea timH in lorda11- xviii. 33-35; 2 Chron. ii. 11; Dan. ii. 1:7;  96 THE SEOOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. [err. v. 1...:.27,