And she said, It's too bad your husband isn't with the prophet there in Israel, because he could heal him of his leprosy. 1800 (Stockholm, 2005), 213, no. [2][3] Leprosy has been a scourge on the human condition for thousands of years. But Elisha said, "The LORD is the one I serve, and as surely as he lives, I will not accept any gift." Naaman tried hard to make Elisha take the gift, but he refused. Why did Elisha refuse naamans gifts? Just to receive from God the simplicity with which God gives to me. How do I fit an e-hub motor axle that is too big? Get a roundup of new Word by Word articles in your inbox each Friday. Since Jacobsz did not execute large figure pieces after Backers departure, Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts must have been painted between 1628, shortly after Backer arrived in Leeuwarden, and 1633, when he returned to Amsterdam. There are some old damages to the canvas support with associated paint losses, as in the two figures immediately to the left of Naaman. Blankert also noted the strong resemblance of some figures in Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts with those in Jacobszs Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in the Muse des Beaux-Arts et de la Cramique de Rouen and especially with those in the painting with the same subject in the Muse des Beaux-Arts et dArchologie de Besanon. Gehazi was Elisha's young messenger and servant. After Naaman departed, Gehazi ran after him and asked him for gifts. Since documents about a commission have not been preserved, it is not known for whom Lambert painted Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts or where it was originally intended to be displayed. God is the one who gives, not Elisha. 78. Jacobsz acted as an art dealer in Leeuwarden, which allowed him to have close ties with artists and dealers in other cities. But his slaves suggest to him that he really has nothing to lose by giving it a try: Elishas instructions are actually quite easy to follow. One day his wife's Israeli servant girl told her about the power of God moving through the prophet Elisha. Somehow I would like to deserve or earn God's blessings. And the leprosy from Naaman fell on Gehazi and would remain in his descendants. Small sections of the ground have been left visible between some of the brushstrokes. But I can't. 32; 206, no. The Mekilta (Yitro, 'Amale, 1), however, places Naaman's conversion above Jethro's. See Grel Cavalli-Bjrkman, Dutch and Flemish Paintings, vol. Naaman tells his lord this and he is sent to Israel with a letter to the king. I think Elisha was rebuking not only the actions of Gehazi, but also the attitude of his heart. Lambert Jacobsz and his many assistants produced history scenes with small figures throughout his career, but works with large figuressuch as this one in the Leiden Collectionwere made only for a short while and overlapped with Jacob Backers stay in Leeuwarden.3 Like Jacobsz, Jacob Backer (1608/951) was a Mennonite who grew up among fellow believers on Amsterdams Nieuwendijk. Elisha understood Naaman's request and granted it without hesitation. It only takes a minute to sign up. A person is not born a Mennonite, but only becomes one when mature enough to decide based on personal belief to follow the Christian faith, much like Naaman, who came to that revelation through the actions and words of Elisha. An overall warm gray ground has been applied to the painting. Because of this, Christian commentators have often interpreted the history of Naamans story as a typological prefiguration of the Christian church rite of baptism, in which Gods grace is freely given to a person who is not quite yet a Christian: in the end, it is a message of Gods grace going to meet the person where the person is, regardless of merit, unconditionally, asking nothing in return. Naaman was the captain of the army of the king of Aram (Syria). The rest of the Old Testament is the story of Gods intention to reclaim every nation on earth. 5; comp. Naamans wife was married to a mighty warrior that suffered from leprosy. Why would he ask for dirt? Now Naaman, the general of the king of Aram, was a prominent man before his lord and respected, for through him had the Lord given victory to Aram; and the man was a great warrior, and he was a mezora. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. He did not want sin to come between him and the Lord or to hinder the Lord's work through his life because of his greed. . Sign up for our Premium service. 6, Nachtrge, Ortsregister, Ikonographisches Register, Bibliographie, Knstlerverzeichnis (Landau, 1983), no. And he started thinking of what he could do with some of that reward that Naaman was offering.And so he went chasing after Naaman. When a joyful Naaman stood before Gehazi and Elisha, with skin clean and pure, Naaman pleaded, "Take a blessing [gift] of thy servant.". Elisha refused the gifts Naaman offered for his use of God's power, but Gehazi did not. Naaman is mentioned in 2 Kings 5 of the Tanakh in Hebrew as " " or "Naaman captain of the army of the King of Aram". The Church News is an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Copyright 2023 The Christian Broadcasting Network. Naaman was cured of his leprosy. So Naaman became enraged. Entrust your prayer intentions to our network of monasteries. Only a few Dutch paintings depicting this biblical narrative have survived, most of them by artists working in Amsterdam and Haarlem in the first half of the 1600s. 26:30. Naaman departed for Syria, but Elisha's servant Gehazi ran after him and told a lie in order to get Naaman's gift for himself. By using the Superbook website, you accept our use of cookies. When the prophet Elisha hears about this, he sends for general Naaman. The word is transliterated in the Septuagint (Vatican) and (Lucian) , while the Alexandrian codex has ' , apparently reading . "Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, When he returned home, Elisha found out and punished . Naamans unusual request stems from the ancientand biblicalconception that the earth is the locale for a cosmic turf war. (2 Ne. Albert Blankert in a letter to Jack Kilgore, 5 October 2006, at The Leiden Collection, New York. He thought Elisha should have accepted all of the gifts. .css-tadcwa:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Daniel Esparza - @media screen and (max-width: 767px){.css-1xovt06 .date-separator{display:none;}.css-1xovt06 .date-updated{display:block;width:100%;}}published on 10/13/19. Subscribe for free and get daily or weekly updates straight to your inbox, The three things you need to know everyday, Highlights from the last week to keep you informed. However, as noted, nothing is known about a commission, and it therefore remains uncertain for whom or which institution Jacobsz originally made this painting. The expression "So he departed from him a little way" (; II Kings v. 19) seems to contradict the assertion of Naaman's intention to return to Syria with the two loads of earth. Naaman believed that There [was] no God in all the earth but in Israel (2 Kgs 5:15) and wanted to return to his homeland with holy ground. This attribution by Fred Meijer was largely based on an alleged kinship with De Grebbers Belshazzars Great Feast from 1625 in Museum Schloss Wilhelmshhe, Kassel. The biblical text (Cf. Naaman was happy to give Gehazi the gifts and then he continued on his journey. Peter van den Brink, Jacob Backer (1608/91651) (Exh. 1, J.A. Oh how simple it is. In which circumstances are we allowed to reject a gift? So when the king of Israel saw Naaman come in, knew who he was, this captain of the Syrian host and all, and when he gets this note, "I want you to heal this guy of his leprosy," the king just became excited and concerned.He said, "Look how this guy is trying to pick a fight. Then when his mentor was taken up into the whirlwind, Elisha became the leader of the sons of the prophets. 15:15-16 ). The passage ("because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria," II Kings v. 1) upon which the identification of Naaman with Ahab's slayer is based by the Rabbis is referred by G. Rawlinson, however (in the "Speaker's Commentary"), to the Syrian triumph over Shalmaneser II. But he was a leper. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Muse des Beaux-Arts et de la Cramique de Rouen), and The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Muse des Beaux-Arts et dArchologie de Besanon); see Werner Sumowski, Gemlder der Rembrandt-Schler, vol. Elisha was totally surrendered to God in every area of his life. He's going to set himself up. And so the king of Syria Benhadad sent a formal letter to the king of Israel [and sent Naaman down] ( 2 Kings 5:1-5 ). (Matt. 212. He's trying to start a fight. ), Paul suggested that if one charged for his service in the priesthood, he would abuse his power in the gospel. The leprosy that was upon Naaman is going to be upon you and your family. Publications are increasingly becoming available in electronic format (CD-ROM and/or online editions).BRILL is proud to work with a broad range of scholars and authors and to serve its many customers throughout the world. I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible. men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion." When he discovered that he was stricken with leprosy, he searched for a cure -- and of course, at that time, there was no cure. When he returned home, Elisha found out and punished Gehazi with leprosy for his greed. In De Grebbers painting, the patrons assume the roles of Naaman and three of his servants. 14:1-12, where God himself tells Moses the ritual for cleansing one with a skin disease). rev2023.3.1.43269. Jointly published by the Deseret News and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its content supports the doctrines, principles and practices of the Church. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions The regents of the Leprozenhuizen in Haarlem and Amsterdam seem to have used Naamans story to show their integrity, as city councils often fall back on stories from classical history. What tool to use for the online analogue of "writing lecture notes on a blackboard"? Elisha is one of the most powerful prophets in the Old Testament. These are the things he thought he would buy with the money: the oliveyards and vineyards, he's going to have servants of his own. He said, "Yea, everything's fine, except that my master had a couple of young prophets come in and they didn't have much. 1800 (Stockholm, 2005), 59, no. 20-7). The temptation to use priesthood power for personal gain has plagued man throughout history (see for example the account of Balaam in Jude 1:11and the account of Nehor in Alma 1). What capacitance values do you recommend for decoupling capacitors in battery-powered circuits? On Backer in his Leeuwarden period, see Jasper Hillegers, Lambert Jacobsz (15981636) en zijn werkplaats. But this only can happen if we are willing to humble ourselves and recognize that Jesus is Lord and that we are His servants. The dirt which is Yahwehs domain is holy ground. His representation of Naaman and Elishas story would have been a very appropriate background for the many baptisms Jacobsz himself performed in this church. Naaman was a powerful man and a warrior who was used to giving commands and having those commands obeyed. Discover God's grace, His officers convinced him of the wisdom of obeying the commands of the prophet. Perhaps, as he walked back, he was thinking about what he could do with such a large sum: he could buy olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and have servants rather than being a servant. UFOs and Christianity: What Hath Roswell to Do with Jerusalem? This is where Halbertals remarks might come in handy: if a gift is supposed to start a gift cycle, why is Elisha not willing to partake in it? Want to see fewer ads on Aleteia? Gehazi asked for (and received) silver and clothing from Naaman, after lying about the arrival of two men of the sons of the prophets. Around 1627, after finishing his training, Backer moved to Leeuwarden to assist his former neighbor with the production of paintings, especially large-figure history pieces.4 The collaboration between Jacobsz and Backer, his main assistant, must have been harmonious. This was Gods land. Naaman was a "ger toshab," that is, he was not a perfect proselyte, having accepted only some of the commandments (Gi. cat. Ewald ("Gesch." Elisha's refusal of Naaman's gift in our passage, and that this expla-nation should be sought in the prophet's judicial deliberations over his servant, Gehazi, incurred after the latter had acquired Naaman's gift (vv. Why must a product of symmetric random variables be symmetric? 10 Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored and you will be healed." 11 Naaman went away angry. Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study. Angered, Elisha curses his servant, and the servant has Naaman's leprosy for the rest of his life. It appears that Naaman was acknowledging the God of Heaven, Israels God as the one true God. If God was able to cleanse a man of an incurable skin condition why would God need that persons gold, or slaves or cattle? But he said, As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. You can now hide this message or find out more about cookies. 15, 5). Bol was commissioned by the masters of the Amsterdam leper home. For comparable tronies of old men executed by Jacob Backer in this period, see Jacob Backer, The Head of an Apostle, ca. 6, unsold). He wanted to always remember the true God who healed him. (Amsterdam, 2012), 4447. Who Are Gog and Magogand Whats So Evil about the North? He was a great warrior and highly respected because he had given victories to Aram. I speculate that God seeing a true turning of Naaman to Himself did not want Naaman to say that he contributed toward his conversion, especially not with material and perishable things Share Improve this answer 1 Kings 18:15 And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. He couldnt stay in Israel, but he could take Israel with him. iii. He did not want money, wealth, power, or prestige to interfere with the call of God that was on his life. He focused particularly on Naamans gaze as he quietly reflects upon the prophets reasons for refusing to accept his gifts of appreciationthe moment of revelation when Naaman came to understand that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.. cat. Why would God have rejected Cains offering? And the guy urged him, but still he refused.In the healing of Naaman we find some interesting things, and one of them is that typically, we, all of us, really have difficulty with just accepting the grace of God. The Bible doesn't say whether God told him not to receive the gift from Naaman, but we see that Elisha was quick to refuse the offer, desiring only to honor God. If the tradition is correct, the Syrian king whom Naaman served must have been Ben-hadad II. However, Elisha's servant, Gehazi, followed Naaman and deceitfully asked for a gift in Elisha's name. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. imdi bu mesaj kapatabilir veya Kullanm artlarmz ve Gizlilik Politikamz okuyabilirsiniz. Amsterdam Museum, Amsterdam. https://theleidencollection.com/iconclass. Backer A. van Dijck (Landau, 1983), 669, no. Am I God that I can heal him of his leprosy? "And word came to Elisha of how the king was so upset because of this demand. He was a mighty man and very brave, but he was a leper. Although the story of Naaman and Elisha was infrequently depicted by other artists, Jacobsz painted episodes from this story at least six times in the late 1620s and 1630s, including three scenes with small-scale figures and three with large-scale figures.2 One of Jacobszs early portrayals of this subject, which is known only from a black-and-white photograph (fig 2), has compositional elements similar to those seen in Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts, such as the interaction between Naaman and Elisha. The king of Israel didn't know what to do, yet Elisha (Eliseus) sent a message to the King, advising that the King tell Naaman to come to see him. The Lord healed Naaman. More broadly, the idea derives from Deuteronomy 32:89 (compare Deut 4:1920), where we learn that when God divided up the nations at the Tower of Babel, they were allotted to the sons of God. The nations of the world were, in effect, disinherited by Yahweh as his own earthly family. Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis; Aachen, Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum) (Zwolle, 2008), 32. ; but as the interval between the death of Ahab and the curing of Naaman's leprosy is not known, it is impossible to identify the King of Israel to whom Naaman was sent with a letter. Now, Naaman is not an Israelite. Jointly published by the Deseret News and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its content supports the doctrines, principles and practices of the Church. It seems unlikely that Jacobszs depiction of this Biblical story would have been suitable for the Regents Chamber in the Leprozenhuis in Leeuwarden. Naaman's wife had a servant girl from Israel who said that a prophet there would be able to heal him. And when Gehazi came up, he said, "Is everything fine?" The suggestion that vv. We've got better rivers up in Damascus." Elisha refused the gift and sent the Syrian commander away in peace. It's FREE! Now you see, he starts to read his mind at this point, or he starts to discern what was on his heart. The practice in Lambert Jacobszs workshop included the frequent variation and copying of originals by some leading painters of the time, such as Rembrandt van Rijn (160669), Jan Lievens (160774), and Gerrit von Honthorst (15921656). 5, Nachtrge, Ortsregister, Ikonographisches Register, Bibliographie (Landau, 1994), nos. Dirt? The display of power, so transparently without sacrifice or incantation, awakens Naaman to the fact that Yahweh of Israel is the true God. But when they got to the gate of the city, Gehazi said, "That's great. Elishas healing of Naaman in the Bible (the leper [and] commander of the army of the king of Syria) is a familiar story to many (2 Kgs 5:127). Tanuma, Tazria' (end), however, says that Naaman was stricken with leprosy for taking an Israelitish maiden and making her his wife's servant (comp. Simon Kick, Elisha Refusing Naamans Gifts, 1644 (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemldegalerie); Werner Sumowski, Gemlde der Rembrandt-Schler, vol. 2,Dutch Paintings c. 1600c. 20-7 act epexegetically to Elisha's refusal to accept Naaman's gifts is plausible for three reasons. Finally, before embarking for Syria, Naaman makes a strange request: to load two mules with dirt to take back with him. The first small-figure picture is known only from a description in Lamberts inventory, where it can be gleaned that a landscape formed the backdrop for Gehazis attempt to inveigle Naaman into giving him the gifts. 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