Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Elisha frees Naaman from leprosy, and sends it upon the avaricious and simoniacal Gehazi.
Vulgate Text: 4 Kings 5:1-27
1. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man before his master and highly regarded: for through him the Lord had given victory to Syria; and he was a mighty man of valor, and rich, but a leper. 2. Now bands of raiders from Syria had gone out and had brought back from the land of Israel a little girl, who waited on Naaman's wife. 3. And she said to her mistress: If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would certainly cure him of the leprosy he has. 4. So Naaman went in and told his master, saying: Thus and thus said the girl from the land of Israel. 5. And the king of Syria said: Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of garments, 6. and brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read: When you receive this letter, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.
7. And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his garments, and said: Am I God, that I should be able to kill and give life; since this man sends to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Consider, and see that he seeks occasions against me. 8. When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel. 9. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door of Elisha's house; 10. and Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying: Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh shall recover its health, and you shall be cleansed. 11. Naaman departed in anger, saying: I thought he would come out to me, and standing would invoke the name of the Lord his God, and touch with his hand the place of the leprosy, and cure me. 12. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I should wash in them and be cleansed? So when he had turned himself and was going away indignant, 13. his servants came to him and said to him: Father, even if the prophet had told you some great thing, surely you should have done it; how much more since he has now said to you: Wash, and you shall be cleansed? 14. He went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was cleansed. 15. And returning to the man of God with all his retinue, he came and stood before him, and said: Truly I know that there is no other God in all the earth, except only in Israel. I beseech you therefore to accept a blessing from your servant. 16. But he answered: As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will not accept it. And when he pressed him, he utterly refused. 17. And Naaman said: As you wish, but, I beseech you, grant to me your servant that I may take the burden of two mules of earth; for your servant will no longer offer holocaust or victim to alien gods, but only to the Lord. 18. But this only is there, for which you shall pray to the Lord for your servant, when my lord enters the temple of Rimmon to worship, and he leans upon my hand, if I worship in the temple of Rimmon, when he worships in the same place, that the Lord may pardon your servant for this thing. 19. He said to him: Go in peace. So he departed from him at the chosen time of the land. 20. And Gehazi the servant of the man of God said: My master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, by not receiving from him what he brought; as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him. 21. And Gehazi followed after Naaman; and when Naaman saw him running toward him, he leapt down from his chariot to meet him, and said: Is all well? 22. And he said: All is well; my master has sent me to you, saying: Just now two young men have come to me from Mount Ephraim, from the sons of the prophets; give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments. 23. And Naaman said: It is better that you take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, and two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, who carried them before him. 24. And when he had come to the evening, he took them from their hands and stored them in the house, and dismissed the men, and they departed; 25. but he himself went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said: Where do you come from, Gehazi? And he answered: Your servant has not gone anywhere. 26. But he said: Was not my heart present, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Now therefore you have received silver, and you have received garments, to buy olive groves, and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and male and female servants. 27. But the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your seed forever. And he went out from him a leper, white as snow.
Verse 2: Raiders Had Gone Out From Syria
2. RAIDERS HAD GONE OUT FROM SYRIA, that is, soldiers to plunder the hostile land of Israel: thus soldiers were formerly called "robbers," for the reasons I gave above; now they are often not only called so, but are in fact robbers.
THEY HAD TAKEN CAPTIVE A LITTLE GIRL, through whom God healed Naaman, the chief of Syria, both in body and in mind, that he might become a believer and worshipper of God. Thus under the Emperor Constantine, a captive Christian woman by her constant prayers, fasts, and exercises of piety, converted the Iberians to the faith of Christ, as Nicephorus attests, book 8, chapter 34.
Verse 5: Ten Changes of Garments
5. And ten changes of garments, to offer them to Elisha, who might use them when he wished to change his daily garment. He means more elegant and precious garments, which we use in public and on solemn days, says Vatablus.
Verse 6: That You May Cure Him of His Leprosy
6. THAT YOU MAY CURE HIM OF HIS LEPROSY, that you may arrange for him to be freed from leprosy through the prophet, whom I hear is a wonder-worker among you. For the king did not know Elisha, and therefore he writes not to him, but to the king of Israel whom he knew, so that through Elisha he might arrange for Naaman to be healed.
Verse 7: Am I God
7. AM I GOD? The king of Israel takes the words of the king of Syria harshly: for he did not know what the girl had said to the king of Syria about Elisha, nor that the king was seeking not that he himself, but that Elisha should cure Naaman of his leprosy. Whence he suspected that the king was plotting against him, meditating war, and using this as a pretext for war.
Verse 10: Elisha Sent a Messenger to Him
10. AND ELISHA SENT A MESSENGER TO HIM. Why did Elisha himself not go to Naaman, to receive him honorably as a prince? Theodoret and Procopius answer first that Elisha was so zealous for the law that he was unwilling to bear even the sight of an unclean man, much less contact with him, so that we might understand how much one ought to flee the manners and company of those whom the leprosy of the graver crimes of infidelity and heresy defiles.
Secondly, and more truly, to show that he was withdrawn from the court and courtiers, devoted to God alone like a religious, and therefore made little of the presence of princes, their servants, horses, and pomp, which the world admires. He did not therefore do this out of pride, since he "not only allowed himself to be seen, but even to be held by a woman," chapter 4, says St. Gregory, book 7 of the Morals, chapter 15, who also at the beginning of the chapter, proclaiming the loftiness of spirit in Elisha and similar saints, says: "For all things that are prominent outwardly, in their hidden gaze lie despised. For inwardly rapt above themselves, they fix their mind on another thing, and whatever they suffer in this life, they see as things falling far below and alien to themselves; and, so to speak, while they strive in mind to be beyond the flesh, they are almost unaware of what they endure. In their eyes indeed, whatever is temporally prominent is not lofty. For as if situated on the summit of a great mountain, they fully despise the joys of the present life: and transcending themselves through spiritual loftiness, they see as beneath them whatever swells outwardly through carnal glory. Whence also they spare no powers that oppose the truth: but those whom they see puffed up through vainglory, they press down through the authority of the spirit."
Thus St. Anthony, greeted by Constantine the Great through a letter, hardly wished to reply; yet he did reply, almost compelled by his disciples, and gave him salutary advice, as St. Athanasius attests.
Thirdly, Elisha wished to increase the greatness of the future miracle and healing, since he performed it through a servant as intermediary, says Abulensis; and that not by touch, but by word alone, says the Author of the Marvels of Sacred Scripture, book 2, chapter 28.
Verse 11: I Thought He Would Come Out to Me
11. I THOUGHT HE WOULD COME OUT TO ME, AND STANDING WOULD INVOKE THE NAME OF THE LORD HIS GOD, AND TOUCH WITH HIS HAND THE PLACE OF THE LEPROSY, AND CURE ME. Naaman speaks from the mentality of proud pagan princes, who from their own judgment prescribe for themselves the manner of working a miracle; but God, wishing to humble them, prescribes a different manner, so that they may learn to submit themselves and their judgment to God, and to receive the law from God, not to give it, and to obey Him simply in all things.
Verse 12: Are Not Abana and Pharpar Better
12. ARE NOT ABANA AND PHARPAR, THE RIVERS OF DAMASCUS, BETTER? Hear Benjamin in his Itinerary: "The city of Damascus itself is very great and most beautiful, enclosed by walls; the whole region is most abundantly furnished with gardens and orchards, extending fifteen miles on each side. Nowhere else in all the fertile earth is a city like this to be seen, which two rivers flowing down from Mount Hermon bless, Amma and Pharpar: for the city is situated beneath Mount Hermon; Amma flows into the city itself, whose waters are conducted through pipes into all the houses of the great, and also into the markets and streets; and the region itself is busy with the commerce of all lands. Pharpar, flowing past the city itself, irrigates all the gardens and orchards."
Verse 13: Even if the Prophet Had Told You Some Great Thing
13. FATHER, EVEN IF THE PROPHET HAD TOLD YOU SOME GREAT THING, SURELY YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE IT; HOW MUCH MORE SINCE HE HAS NOW SAID TO YOU: WASH AND YOU SHALL BE CLEANSED. Naaman was kindly to his servants like a father, so much so that he was called "father" by them, and loved as a father, who therefore kindly suggested to him salutary counsel, which he heard gently and accepted. So also Elisha called his master Elijah "father," saying: "My father, the chariot of Israel and its driver." So even now the Dutch, benign by nature, call their masters and lords: Baer, that is, father.
Verse 14: He Went Down and Washed Seven Times in the Jordan
14. HE WENT DOWN AND WASHED SEVEN TIMES IN THE JORDAN. Why seven times? So that the number seven, which is considered the number of universality, might demonstrate that all capital sins, which are numbered as seven, and in all time, which revolves in seven days of the week, must be utterly eradicated from souls. Tertullian, book 4 against Marcion, chapter 9, says of the nations: "Which shudder at the seven stains of capital offenses. Wherefore he washed seven times, as if through individual headings, in the Jordan; and at the same time to proclaim the expiation of the whole week, because the power and fullness of one washing was dedicated to Christ alone, who was to make on earth both a compendious word and a compendious washing."
Secondly, seven times, to signify perfect cleansing and health of body and soul: for the former consists of four elements, and is produced by their just balance; the latter is accomplished by invoking the name of the Holy Trinity in baptism. So Theodoret and Procopius.
Thirdly, the sevenfold washing foreshadows the seven Sacraments of the Church of Christ, by which the leprosy of all sin is wiped away; these therefore are like seven baptisms and washings of the soul.
AND HE WAS CLEANSED. Behold, this is the fruit of simple obedience. Thus Constantine the Great was purged of leprosy by the water of baptism conferred by St. Sylvester, not by the power of the water, nor even by the power of baptism precisely (for the effect of Baptism is to wash away sins of the soul, not leprosy of the body), but because this water was an instrument of the divine will and the prophetic command," as St. Ambrose says.
Allegorically, the washing of Naaman in the Jordan signifies first baptism, which washes the leprosy of the soul. For this was, as it were, consecrated for this purpose in the Jordan, when Christ was baptized in it. Secondly, penance; for Jordan in Hebrew means "river of judgment," which is accomplished in the Sacrament of Penance. So Angelomus, Prosper, and others. Hear St. Ambrose, book 4, chapter 4 on Luke: "Learn that spiritual Sacraments are signified. A remedy for the body is sought, one for the mind is acquired. The flesh is washed, the affection is cleansed. For I see it was not so much the leprosy of the body as of the mind that was cleansed: since after baptism, the filth of the old error having been washed away, he refuses to offer sacrifices to alien gods, which he had promised to the Lord."
Hence Elisha here was a type of Christ commanding His Apostles: "Freely you have received, freely give," says St. Augustine, sermon 208 On the Seasons.
Verse 15: Accept a Blessing From Your Servant
15. I BESEECH YOU THEREFORE TO ACCEPT A BLESSING FROM YOUR SERVANT, namely the gifts which I brought you in verse 5. For these are called "blessing" by the Hebrews, because they are signs of love and goodwill. Add: this "blessing" is real, and the same as "benefaction." So the blessing of God is efficacious, and the same as doing good.
Verse 16: As the Lord Lives, I Will Not Accept It
16. AS THE LORD LIVES, BEFORE WHOM I STAND, I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT, as if to say: Although I am with my disciples in the greatest want and poverty, nevertheless I swear that I will not accept your gifts, so that I may show that this miracle is not mine, but God's; and so that I may demonstrate that I performed it purely from love of God, not for gifts; and so that you may learn that the servants of God seek not the gifts of men, but of God.
St. Hilarion did the same. Hear what St. Jerome writes in his life about Orion, who had been freed from a legion of demons through him: "Having been cured, he says, he came with his wife and children to the monastery, bringing very many gifts, as if to return thanks. To whom the saint said: Have you not read what Gehazi, what Simon suffered? One of them accepted payment, the other offered it: so that the one might sell the grace of the Holy Spirit, the other might buy it? And when Orion, weeping, said: Accept, and give to the poor, he replied: You can better distribute your own things, you who walk through cities and know the poor; I, who have left my own, why should I covet what belongs to others?"
Perfect sanctity therefore refuses any and all gifts, as Abraham did, Genesis 14:22; about whom St. Ambrose, book 1 On Abraham, chapter 3: "How great, he says, is this, that he wished to take nothing of the spoils of victory, nor to accept what was offered? For the acceptance of reward diminishes the fruit of the triumph, and gnaws at the grace of the benefit. For it matters greatly whether you fought for money or for glory."
Hence he deserved to hear from God: "I am your protector and your exceedingly great reward," Genesis 15, verse 1. Where St. Ambrose, cited above: "Since, he says, he did not seek a reward from man, he received one from God."
Verse 17: Grant to Me Your Servant
17. I BESEECH YOU, GRANT TO ME YOUR SERVANT THAT I MAY TAKE THE BURDEN OF TWO MULES OF EARTH from the land of Israel. "Mules," that is, mules, as the Chaldean, Septuagint, Vatablus, Pagninus, and others translate. For in Hebrew פרד Pered is a mule, and perhaps from Pered the word burdo is derived, changing the letter P to the neighboring labial B. In the Digest, book 32, title 49, mention is made of "burdones," where Accursius wrongly understands staffs, which in French are called bourdons. Whence Cujacius, book 11 of Observations, chapter 16, asserts that "burdones" are mules, which are called manni and burici, begotten from a donkey and a mare, or a horse and a she-donkey; and therefore in Hebrew they are called peradim, that is, divided, separated, because they are of a species divided and different from their parents: for פרד parad means to divide, to separate. The meaning is, as if to say: Grant that I may take from your land as much as two "burdones," that is, mules, can carry, so that from it, as if it were holy, I may erect in my homeland an altar to the God of Israel, whom alone I recognize as the true God from this miracle of my healing, and whom I venerate and love. Whence it is likely that Naaman erected a temple or chapel around the altar, and in it worshipped God with his whole family, and induced many others to worship Him there. Naaman could have erected an altar from Syrian soil, but he preferred Israelite soil, because, as Theodoret admonishes, Question 19, and Abulensis, Question 22, he believed it to be holy, since God had chosen it above others, in which He had placed His people and His temple, and which was celebrated for the homes and virtues of so many most holy men.
Note this passage in favor of the veneration of the relics of the Saints, for the vow of Naaman was approved by Elisha, the prophet of God.
FOR YOUR SERVANT WILL NO LONGER OFFER HOLOCAUST OR VICTIM TO ALIEN GODS, BUT ONLY TO THE LORD. In Hebrew, Jehovah, who is the true and only God of Moses and Israel. See how far the sanctity of Elisha and his contempt of gifts brought Naaman. Whence, says Mendoza on 1 Kings 12:4, he judged that land to be holier, in which the cupidity for gifts is buried, than that water in which the leprosy of the body is washed away. For this reason he offered gold to Elisha who healed his leprosy, as to a physician: to the one who refused gold he offered prayers, as to God: nor did he dare to export a portion of earth on his own authority, but only after first obtaining Elisha's permission.
Verse 18: Pray to the Lord for Your Servant
18. BUT THIS ONLY IS THERE, FOR WHICH YOU SHALL PRAY TO THE LORD FOR YOUR SERVANT: WHEN MY LORD (the king of Syria) ENTERS THE TEMPLE OF RIMMON TO WORSHIP, AND HE LEANS UPON MY HAND, IF I WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLE OF RIMMON, WHEN HE WORSHIPS IN THE SAME PLACE, THAT THE LORD MAY PARDON YOUR SERVANT FOR THIS THING.
Verse 19: Go in Peace
19. HE SAID TO HIM: GO IN PEACE. Gregory of Valencia, treatise On Faith and the Profession of Faith, disputation 1, Question 3, point 2, ad 3, holds that this request of Naaman contained something illicit, namely a profession of idolatry; for Naaman cooperated with the king's idolatry in the worship of the idol Rimmon, and therefore Elisha neither assented nor directly responded, but permitted it, that is, took a negative stance, because he saw that Naaman was at that time incapable of correction, of laying aside this pretense of idolatry, and therefore he deferred it to another time, and for this occasion it sufficed that he had brought Naaman to the knowledge of the true God. But if Naaman was cooperating in idolatry, Elisha should have instructed him on this matter and not dissimulated. For from the fact that he said: "Go in peace," Naaman would entirely conclude that Elisha assented to his request, and granted that, when the king worshipped, he too might worship in the temple of Rimmon; therefore Elisha would have favored and confirmed Naaman in his idolatry, which is absurd.
Worse, the Priscillianists, whom Machiavelli follows, said it was lawful to simulate heresy or idolatry outwardly, provided you retain the true faith in your mind; whence they said: "Swear, perjure yourself, but do not betray the secret." More mildly, yet wrongly, Adrian in IV, Question 1 On Baptism, response to 5, asserts it is lawful to outwardly simulate idolatry if there is no scandal, and no precept of confessing the faith is pressing.
Note therefore that this adoration of Naaman was not properly so called: for then it would have been impious and idolatrous, but it was improper, namely a political bowing of the body, or a genuflection out of duty, so that he might support and sustain the king in the temple from the office committed to him, as he was accustomed to do elsewhere as well; which he could not do unless, when the king genuflected, he likewise genuflected. It is a catachresis. This is clear from the Hebrew השח shaca, which properly means to bow or bend down, as Arias translates here.
The adoration of the king was therefore one thing, that of Naaman another; for the king properly worshipped his idol Rimmon: but Naaman worshipped improperly, that is, he bowed himself to accommodate himself to his king who was bowing, and to sustain and honor him. His adoration was therefore not religious, but political and civil; just as Abraham worshipped, that is, showed reverence to, the sons of Heth, Genesis 23:7, and Jacob worshipped, that is, venerated his son Joseph, prince of Egypt, Hebrews 11:21.
For the king of Syria was accustomed, when he walked or prostrated himself for any reason, to lean on the hands or shoulders of Naaman: therefore it was necessary for Naaman to accommodate himself to the king's movement and posture. From which it followed that when the king stood, he stood; when the king walked, he walked; and when the king proceeded, he likewise proceeded. For had he omitted this, he would have been considered uncivil and boorish, indeed unfaithful.
You will object: Naaman was cooperating with the king worshipping Rimmon; therefore he was cooperating in his idolatry. I respond by denying the consequence. For he was cooperating with the king in a natural action, namely in the bowing of the body only, but not in the moral act, nor in the intention of the king, by which he was bowing to worship Rimmon. Thus nobles, says Cajetan, accompanying their king going to a concubine, do not sin; because they accompany him not to go to fornication and sin, but absolutely to go wherever he pleases: for they accompany him only for the sake of honor and duty, as servants their master.
The meaning of Naaman therefore was, as if to say: I ask, O Elisha, permission that, when the king bows in the temple of Rimmon to worship him, it may be lawful for me also, while supporting the king, to bow, not to worship Rimmon, but to render this service and duty to my king, to which I am bound by my office, in the temple as elsewhere, lest I lose my rank and dignity with the king. For the king leans upon me; therefore wherever he bends and turns, I likewise must turn and bend. This act of bowing was therefore indifferent and neutral, and it was worship not sacred, but civil and political. For to support the king whether standing, walking, or genuflecting is in itself an act of duty; but it is accidental that he happens to be supported while the king bows before an idol. For that is to show reverence not to the idol, but to the king.
You will object, secondly: Naaman gave scandal to the courtiers; for they thought he was worshipping the idol Rimmon with the king. I respond that there was no scandal, both because they knew that Naaman was bound by his office to support the king in this bodily bowing, and intended nothing else; and because Naaman had publicly renounced idols, and professed the worship of the true God of Israel, and had erected an altar and chapel to Him, in which he compelled his whole family to worship the true God with him. So Abulensis, Lyra, Burgensis, Cajetan, Serarius, Sanchez, Salianus here, and Suarez, On Faith, treatise 1, disputation 14, section 4, number 8.
Indeed, Tertullian also, in his book On Idolatry, chapter 15, at the end: "But since, he says, the world has so surrounded us with the evils of idolatry, it will be permitted to be present at certain things that make us dutiful to a man, not to an idol. Clearly, if called to a priesthood or sacrifice, I will not go (for that is the proper function of an idol), but neither will I serve in such things by counsel, expense, or any other work. If called to be present at a sacrifice, I will be a participant in idolatry: if another cause joins me to one who is sacrificing, I will only be a spectator of the sacrifice."
Moreover, in this matter one must act circumspectly: for one circumstance sometimes changes the appearance of the deed, and makes what was licit illicit; as if a king should wish to compel his servants to idolatry, and therefore force them to go with him to the temple, to worship the idol with him, as the apostate Julian did. Whence Valentinian, commander of the army and later emperor, indeed accompanied Julian going to the temple of idols, out of honor; but when the idolatrous priest there sprinkled him with certain dewy branches, he struck him with a slap and reviled him with reproaches, and cut off the part of his garment on which a drop of that sprinkling had fallen. On account of this, he himself, stripped of his military rank by Julian for the Christian faith, and driven into exile, by this constancy in his faith deserved to succeed Julian in the empire after Jovian. "He therefore who set all things below piety, obtained all things by the gift of piety," says Baronius in the year of Christ 364.
Thus Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, chief officers of the Emperor Maximian, accompanied him when he was going to sacrifice to Jupiter up to the doors of the temple; but they refused to enter it. Asked the reason, they said they were forbidden by their religion; for they were Christians, and worshipped not Jupiter, but the true God. For this reason they were tortured and endured the glorious contest of martyrdom on October 7: because at that time the attendants of the emperor were accustomed to throw incense into the thurible in honor of the idol, and to acclaim the idol, and to cooperate in the emperor's idolatry by other signs and means. Add that, during the raging persecution of Christians by the emperors, to stand at sacrifices was a sign of idol worship. Finally, under the first ten persecuting emperors, fervent Christians dreaded and avoided any appearance or shadow of idolatry.
Moreover, Naaman here became a worshipper of the true God, but not a Jew or proselyte, because he was not circumcised; therefore he was not bound to observe the law of Moses, as all Jews were equally bound to it and to circumcision, as descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: Naaman therefore remained a Gentile, and worshipped the true God, as all the fathers worshipped before the flood in the state of the law of nature. See St. Augustine, sermon 207 On the Seasons, which is about Naaman the Syrian.
RIMMON. Some hold that Rimmon is Jupiter, the supreme god, and that the name is said as if רמון Rimmon, that is, the lofty one, as the high thunderer. Better, Serarius, Sanchez, and others hold it is Venus, both because Venus was the goddess of Syria, and because the Syrians made Venus both a god and a goddess, as Macrobius attests; and because "Rimmon" in Hebrew means pomegranate. And that apples, especially golden and pomegranate ones, were sacred to Venus on account of their beauty and the fertility of their seeds, Theocritus, Virgil, Lucian, and Ovid attest, book 10 of the Metamorphoses. See Pererius, Hieroglyphics, book 54. Thus the Romans worshipped Pomona, as the goddess of fruits, as St. Augustine attests, book 3 of The City of God, chapter 24.
SO HE DEPARTED FROM HIM AT THE CHOSEN TIME OF THE LAND. The Chaldean and Pagninus translate: he departed from him a mile of land; the Septuagint: in a space of land; Isidore: as if a stadium of land; Vatablus: a juger of field; Cajetan from Rabbi David: a meal's-worth of land, that is, Naaman had gone such a distance from Elisha, when Gehazi came to him seeking gifts, as can be covered during a meal, namely a mile. And Sanchez accommodates the Vulgate version to this explanation, so that the "chosen time" is called a mile; for a mile is the common and chosen measure of men, which all have chosen by common consent for measuring the distances and spans of places.
But our translator, Genesis 35:16, translates it as "spring time"; elsewhere he translates it as "the time of greening." Therefore the chosen time is the spring time when all things are green. So Rupert: Scripture adds this to signify that Elisha prudently prescribed the washing in the Jordan for Naaman, because it was springtime; for then, when the air is warm, washings are healthful for the body, whereas in winter they are harmful because of the cold.
Again, to signify that this more joyful cure from leprosy happened to Naaman at an auspicious time, since it happened in spring, when all things bloom and breathe gladness upon man, and therefore he returned home most joyfully. See what was said on Genesis 35:16.
Verse 20: I Will Run After Him
20. AS THE LORD LIVES, I WILL RUN AFTER HIM AND TAKE SOMETHING FROM HIM, as if to say: I swear by God that I will ask from Naaman some gift, or present, for the health given to him by my master Elisha. From this it is clear that Gehazi was not properly a simoniac, because he did not sell the miraculous health to Naaman for a price, nor made a bargain with him about it; but after the health had been freely given to him by Elisha, he asked some gift from him. The first simoniac properly speaking was Simon Magus, who wished to buy the Holy Spirit from St. Peter for a price, Acts 8; whence from him this sin received the name of simony. Yet Gehazi sinned grievously: First, because without the knowledge and against the will of Elisha he asked and received this gift from Naaman; secondly, because he lied that Elisha was asking for it; thirdly, because he branded Elisha with this mark of greed, which greatly detracted from his sanctity and honor. For Elisha himself, by refusing Naaman's gifts, had been regarded by him as a divine man and heavenly prophet: but now, by seeking gifts, he could appear to Naaman as a needy and greedy man, similar to false prophets who accepted gifts for their prophecies. Wherefore Naaman could have fallen from the faith he had conceived concerning the true God, from the sanctity and integrity of Elisha. Whence it is very probable that Elisha arranged for Naaman to learn that Gehazi had asked these gifts from him without his knowledge, and therefore had been punished by him with leprosy, so that by this means his integrity in contempt of gifts might be established for Naaman; and thus he would be confirmed in the opinion he had conceived of him, and in true faith in God. Fourthly, Gehazi sinned by theft, because Naaman was sending these gifts to Elisha, on whose behalf Gehazi was asking for them; but Gehazi intended to convert them to his own use. Whence he hid them in verse 24, lest Elisha should know anything about them. For this reason Elisha immediately reproaches him, verse 16: "You have received silver, he says, to buy olive groves and vineyards." Fifthly, he sinned by mental simony; for he had a simoniacal intent: for he asked gifts from Naaman in view of the miraculous health conferred on him by Elisha, as if this were the payment and price owed to Elisha for the healing. Whence St. Ambrose, in his book On the Dignity of the Priesthood, chapter 4, says that simoniacs are followers of Gehazi and Simon Magus, and therefore the leprosy of simony clings not to their bodies, but to their minds.
Verse 26: Was Not My Heart Present
26. WAS NOT MY HEART PRESENT WHEN THE MAN (Naaman) TURNED FROM HIS CHARIOT TO MEET YOU? "Heart," that is, my mind and the eyes of my mind were supernaturally elevated and assisted by God, so that they knew and perceived your acceptance of gifts from Naaman, though absent and remote, as if it were present, as if to say: You thought me absent when you asked for the gifts: but I was present to you in spirit; for by the gaze of my mind I saw all that you did. Much more therefore, says St. Augustine, book 22 of The City of God, chapter 19, can the Saints in heaven see absent and remote things that happen on earth. In a similar way, St. Benedict saw many absent things, as St. Gregory narrates, Dialogues 2, chapter 13, verses 18-19. Whence St. Gregory adds that he had the spirit of Elisha.
26. YOU HAVE RECEIVED SILVER, etc. TO BUY OLIVE GROVES AND VINEYARDS, AND SHEEP, AND OXEN, AND MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS. A talent of silver contained six thousand shekels of silver, that is, six thousand Brabantine or French florins, as the French call them: therefore the two talents which Gehazi received were worth twelve thousand francs, which make four thousand French crowns: each of which contains twelve julii or reals; and with this sum in that era, when all things were cheaply priced, and silver was rare, all these things could have been bought. Others explain it disjunctively, as if to say: To buy either olive groves, or vineyards, or sheep and oxen. From this it seems that Elisha granted and gave these gifts, sent to himself by Naaman through Gehazi, to Gehazi himself, lest Gehazi, possessing them unjustly, continue to sin.
Verse 27: The Leprosy of Naaman Shall Cling to You
27. BUT THE LEPROSY OF NAAMAN SHALL CLING TO YOU AND TO YOUR SEED FOREVER, not absolutely, as is evident, but as if to say: for a very long and immemorial time, for example, for three hundred years, or to the third and fourth generation, Exodus 34:7. So Serarius, Abulensis, Sanchez, and others.
The silver therefore which Gehazi unjustly received was infected with poison and pestilential, like garments and coins in a plague-infected house to which the plague clings, so that it invades and infects the one who receives them. For thus the leprosy of Naaman, having as it were clung to the silver, infected Gehazi who received it, and made him a leper.
Therefore from that point on Gehazi did not associate with Elisha, but as a leper he had to avoid the company of men according to Levitical law, chapters 13 and 14: for Elisha, most zealous for the law, would not have admitted him. So Abulensis, Question 10. Therefore that Gehazi in chapter 8 is said to have conversed with King Joram, and to have narrated to him the miracles of Elisha, seems to have happened before he was struck with leprosy; whence Abulensis, Serarius, Salianus, and others hold that here there is a hysteron proteron, and that Gehazi's leprosy, and consequently Naaman's arrival to Elisha and his healing, happened later, namely in the last year of the reign of Joram, when shortly after he was killed by Jehu: if however anyone wishes to retain the order of Sacred Scripture, he must say that Gehazi did penance, and thus appeased God and Elisha, and repelled the leprosy from himself, if not from all his descendants, says Serarius, and thus already cleansed he conversed with King Joram.