Tzara’at in the Prophets

A perfect example of this is the narrative of Naaman related in the book of Kings.

The narrative of Naaman is found in the second book of Kings, Chapter 5. There it states:

(1) Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was an important man to his lord and high in his favor, for through him GOD had granted victory to Aram. But the man, though a great warrior, was a leper. (2) Once, when the Arameans were out raiding, they carried off a young girl from the land of Israel, and she became an attendant to Naaman’s wife. (3) She said to her mistress, “I wish Master could come before the prophet in Samaria; he would cure him of his leprosy.” ….

Naaman is clearly an important person, well known, and famed because of his valour of arms.

When Naaman appears in front of Elisha, he does not do so on his own. He comes with a retinue with his “horses and chariots”.The Abarbanel here explains that he does so in order to impress Elisha, and in this way Elisha would try harder to cure him of his affliction.

Elisha seems unimpressed by this wealth and grandeur. He sends a messenger who tells Naaman that if he wishes to be cured, all he needs to do is immerse himself in the river Jordan seven times.

Naaman’s response is one of fury. The narrative states:

Naaman was angered and walked away. “I thought,” he said, “he would surely come out to me, and would stand and invoke the LORD his God by name, and would wave his hand toward the spot, and cure the affected part.

What has put Naaman out to the extent that he walked away from Elisha? Abarbanel explains that Naaman believed that because he was known to be an important person, Elisha should have come out of his tent to greet him personally. Instead, Elisha sent a servant to deal with Naaman. Furthermore, he believed that Elisha should have stood in front of him the whole time, as commoners would stand in front of a king or ruler. Elisha does nothing of the sort.

It is understandable that Naaman thought that he deserved to be treated with the highest respect. Why then, did Elisha not respect him in this way? There is a law that one should stand in front of a king, because of the honour which is afforded to kings. While Naaman was not a king, he was certainly a person of serious importance. Why did Elisha not come to deal with him personally? Why did he not give him the honour due to a man of serious power?

A closer look at the story can provide us with an answer to this question. G-d had made Naaman the hero of Aram, because it was he that shot Ahab (the king of Israel) according to the Abarbenel and won the war against Israel. Naaman takes this victory as a personal victory as his victory, boosting his ego, making him arrogant. His arrogance is further expressed through his anger that Elisha does not meet him personally, instead sending a messenger. Elisha, knowing that the source of Naaman’s Tzaraat is his arrogance, does not go out to meet him, or personally attend to him, because he knows that doing that action will just serve to inflate Naaman’s already inflated sense of self. His actions serve as a personification of the hyssop, the lowest of the trees. It is only when Naaman listens to his servants, who convince him to immerse himself in the Jordan river does the process of recovery begin. Once he is cured, Naaman says:

Returning with his entire retinue to the agent of God, he stood before him and exclaimed, “Now I know that there is no God in the whole world except in Israel! So please accept a gift from your servant.”

Naaman admits that he is not in control, but rather it is G-d. His arrogance is lifted, and he is once again healthy.