Naaman's Healing and Gehazi's Affliction
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Vetus Testamentum 68 (2018) 540-555 Vetus Testamentum brill.com/vt Naaman’s Healing and Gehazi’s Affliction: The Magical Background of 2 Kgs 5 Isabel Cranz University of Pennsylvania [email protected] Abstract Scholars tend to view the healing of Naaman and the subsequent affliction of Gehazi in 2 Kgs 5 as polemic against magic and non-Israelite ideas about disease and healing. as literary device it can be demonstrated that צרעת However, in analyzing the motif of 2 Kgs 5 is not opposed to magic. My paper will show instead how the consultation between the Aramean and the Israelite kings, the depiction of Naaman’s healing, as well as the circumstances of Gehazi’s affliction draw from generic ideas about magic to bring into sharper focus the power of the prophet and the presence of Yahweh in the land of Israel. Keywords Naaman – Gehazi – Elisha – miracle stories – comparative – תערצ – healing – affliction approach – magic 1 Introduction The first half of 2 Kgs 5 informs us how the prophet Elisha heals the Aramean Shortly 1.צרעת general Naaman from a disfiguring skin condition referred to as is often translated as ‘leprosy’ (Hansen’s disease) based on Greek λεπρός צרעת The term 1 which is consistently used in the LXX. However, this translation is most likely incorrect be- cause Hansen’s disease is not recorded in the ancient Near East before Hellenistic times. -ṣāra‘at,ˮ TDOT 12 (2003): pp. 473-474. Although critics have tried to pin-צרעת“ ,See T. Seidl point other disorders such as psoriasis or vitiligo, none of these diagnoses are particularly © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi:10.1163/15685330-12341335Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 11:06:45AM via free access Naaman’s Healing and Gehazi’s Affliction 541 thereafter we learn that Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, is afflicted with the same dis- order as punishment for embezzling gifts the Aramean had offered to Elisha. The fact that an Israelite prophet heals an Aramean who subsequently converts to Yahwism has led many scholars to suspect either an underlying critique of non-Yahwistic traditions and/or magic. However, as this paper will show, the account of healing and affliction as presented in 2 Kgs 5 not only betrays its an- cient Near Eastern setting, but also utilizes principles that fall under the rubric of magic. Therefore, it can be shown that 2 Kgs 5 draws from generic ancient Near Eastern ideas about magic as it is utilized in the acts of healing and afflic- tion to bring into sharper focus the power of the prophet and the presence of Yahweh in the land of Israel. To demonstrate these points, my essay proceeds in four steps. After providing an overview of current scholarly opinions and summarizing the events of the prophetic miracle story, I will explore the magi- cal background of the consultation between the kings of Aram and Israel. This will be followed by an evaluation of Naaman’s bath in the Jordan and its links to similar practices in Assyro-Babylonian culture. Finally, I will examine how relates to ancient Near Eastern curse literature צרעת Gehazi’s punishment with and its biblical counterparts. The analysis of these episodes will show how the healing of Naaman and the affliction of Gehazi operate from within practices that qualify as magic to highlight the power of Yahweh and his prophet. 2 Healing, Affliction and the Ancient Near East The notion that 2 Kgs 5 denigrates non-Israelites forms of healing and magic is widespread. Hugo Gressman was among the first scholars to formulate this view when he observed that: “obscure, magical and mysterious [elements] are removed. All the incomprehensible formulas and rites that usually define ma- gicians and healing specialists are missing […]. Instead [one finds] a simple is merely an צרעת convincing. Consequently, as scholars increasingly acknowledge that -be trans צרעת umbrella term for an indistinct skin condition, it has been suggested that lated as ‘skin disease,’ or ‘scale disease.’ See J. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AB 3; New York, 1991), pp. 775-776. Yet, many scholars and mainstream translations retain the term “leprosy” simply because it has the same jarring ,would have had in ancient cultures. See K. van der Toorn צרעת effect on modern readers as Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study (SSN 22; Assen, 1985), -wherever pos צרעת p. 73. For the purpose of the present study, I will retain the Hebrew sible. Alternatively, I will refer to ‘skin condition’ or ‘skin disorder.’ For a similar approach, see D. P. Wright. The Disposal of Impurity. Elimination Rites in the Bible and in Hittite and Mesopotamian Literature (SBLDS 101; Scholar Press, 1987), p. 75. Vetus Testamentum 68 (2018) 540-555 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 11:06:45AM via free access 542 Cranz and clear act without drama that can be carried out with playful ease.”2 This notion is carried over into later research where the simplicity of Naaman’s cure has inspired statements such as “The encounter with Elisha […] [is] narrated from the standpoint of spiritual and religious superiority of Israel which re- quires no mantic practices (2 Kg 5 11f) for healing.”3 Similar thoughts have been voiced by Alexander Rofé who observes that “Naaman was cured not through magic, as practiced by the pagan nations, but through contact with the Lord’s holy land.”4 Scholars applying a medical anthropological model to 2 Kgs 5 have followed a comparable path in suspecting an attempt to denigrate magical or non-Yahwistic customs. Thus, Hector Avalos believes that “[…] the story aims to prove Yahweh’s power to neighboring religions and socio-political entities.”5 Finally, a similar conclusion is reached by Laura Zucconi who claims that: “[t]he Jordan, not the Abanah and Pharpar, is symbolically significant to the community of Yahweh; its power comes directly from Yahweh rather than from a magical incantation.”6 2 “Alles Undurchsichtige, Magische, Rätselhafte ist abgestreift, alle unverständliche Formeln und Riten fehlen, die sonst den Zauber- und Heilkünstler auszeichnen, statt ihrer eine ein- fache, klare, nüchterne Handlung, die mit spielender Leichtigkeit zu vollziehen ist […].” H. Gressman, Die älteste Geschichtschreibung und Prophetie Israels (Göttingen, 1910), p. 297. The translation is mine. 3 “Die Begennung mit Elisa und weitere Einzelheiten werden unter dem Gesichtspunkt geis- tiger und religiöser Überlegenheit Israels erzählt, dass nicht mantischer Praktiken (2 Kg 5 11f) zur Heilung bedarf.” See H. Bardtke, “Naeman,” in Bo Reicke (ed.), Biblisch-Historisches Handwörterbuch vol. 2 (Göttingen, 1964): p. 1279. The translation is mine. Bardtke’s view has been followed by H. C. Schmitt, Traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zur vorklassisch- en nordisraelitischen Prophetie (Göttingen, 1972), p. 78. Likewise, Gerhard von Rad believes that this account polemicizes against magic in general. See idem, “Naaman: Eine kritische Nacherzählung,” in Gottes Wirken in Israel: Vorträge zum Alten Testament (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1974), pp. 56-57. 4 See A. Rofé, Prophetical Stories: The Narratives about the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Their Literary Types and History (Jerusalem, 1988), p. 128. For similar views, see R. L. Cohn, “Form and Perspective in 2 Kings V,” VT (1983): 183; L. L. E. Ngan, “2 Kings 5,” Review and Expositor 94 (1997): p. 595. 5 See H. Avalos, Illness and Health Care in the Ancient Near East: The Role of the Temple in Greece, Mesopotamia, and Israel (HSM 54; Atlanta, 1995), p. 263. It should be noted that Avalos still acknowledges the broader message of the account by ascribing to it “socio-political,” “socio- geographic,” and “socio-religious” functions in its attempt to stress the power of Yahweh and his prophet. See ibid., p. 263-265. 6 See L. M. Zucconi, “Aramean Skin Care: New Perspective on Naaman’s Leprosy,” in S. Dolansky (ed.) Sacred History, Sacred Literature: Essays on Ancient Israel, the Bible and Religion in Honor of R. E. Friedman on his Sixtieth Birthday (Winona Lake, 2008), p. 174. Vetus TestamentumDownloaded from 68 Brill.com09/26/2021 (2018) 540-555 11:06:45AM via free access Naaman’s Healing and Gehazi’s Affliction 543 Although not all scholars accept this interpretation, there is a clear tenden- cy to view certain elements of 2 Kgs 5 in contrast to magical and non-Israelite traditions.7 Nevertheless, it is worth reconsidering these views for several rea- sons. While 2 Kgs 5 might have been aimed at exulting Yahweh as the main deity of Israel, it remains uncertain whether this message was meant for a non-Israelite audience.8 The account may just as well have been aimed at an Israelite audience as the archaeological evidence suggests that Israelite reli- gion was relatively diverse and not focused on Yahweh alone.9 Likewise, recent research on ancient Near Eastern incantation literature and ritual texts pro- vide us with new vantage points for evaluating accounts of healing and afflic- tion as they are depicted both in the Bible and in the ancient Near East.10 In the context of renewed interest concerning these texts, the principle of ‘magic’ has also undergone a general overhaul such that scholars no longer assume a strict distinction between religious and magical practices in the ancient world.11 This change in the perceived relationship between magic and religion has necessitated a redefinition of the concept of magic. While magic was once considered a coercion of the gods, scholars increasingly acknowledge that the performance of magic requires a considerable degree of divine consent.12 In this study, it will therefore be assumed that magic is best defined as an attempt 7 For a scholar who does not view this episode as deriding Aramean forms of healing and/ or magic, see R.