All posts tagged: Elisha

Crosses near Budapest, Hungary Credit: Gyorgy Soponyai/Flickr/Creative Commons

Acts of faith in a foreign land — Naaman, Bieber and Pratt

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There is a story in 2 Kings about Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19), a general in the Aramean army. The Bible describes him as “a great man” (v 1) suggesting he was a national hero in Aram. But though a celebrity, he also had leprosy — a dreaded, disfiguring disease in that culture. Since leprosy was incurable, people were considered the living dead. But one day his servant girl, an Israelite captured during one of Naaman’s many raids, told her master about an Israeli prophet capable of curing a person of leprosy. When he tracked down the prophet, Elisha told Naaman he would be healed if he dunked himself seven times in the Jordan River. After kicking up a bit of a fuss, Naaman did as he was told and was instantly healed. Naaman offered Elisha gold and wealth for the healing, but the the prophet refused the generous gift. So instead Naaman asked Elisha for a gift. He wanted two mule loads of Israeli dirt so he could build an altar to the Lord back …

It was an odd discovery — the first reference to King David from outside the Bible

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[by Dean Smith] An archaeological discovery in 1993 was the first historical reference to King David found outside the Bible. And it was an odd reference. The discovery was made by archaeologist Avraham Biran at Tel Dan located in Northern Israel. The inscription was found on a stela dated to the 9th century BC. A stela is a stone slab that would have been installed publicly as a monument usually to commemorate a major event. What was odd is that the stela was not written by the Israelis themselves, but by their enemy. The stone, which was only partially intact, was commemorating the victory of an unnamed Aramean king over “The king of Israel” and the “king of the House of David” — a reference to the nation of Judah. Neither of the three kings involved are named, though their names may have been referenced on parts of the slab that were broken off.