¹tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”
²tn For a discussion of ur`x)m= (m^etsora’), traditionally translated “leprous,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 63. Naaman probably had a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy/Hansen’s disease.
³map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
⁴tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁵sn Hebrew rK*K! (kikar) “circle,” refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
⁶tn Heb “six thousand gold […].” The unit of measure is not given in the Hebrew text.
⁷tn Heb “and now when this letter comes to you, look, I have sent to you Naaman my servant.”
⁸tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁹tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”
¹⁰tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).
¹¹tn Heb “Let him come.”
¹²tn Heb “will return to you.”
¹³tn Heb “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel?” The rhetorical question expects an emphatic “yes” as an answer.
¹⁴tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB 3 s.v. ba* and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.
¹⁵tn Heb “a great thing.”
¹⁶tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”
¹⁷tn Heb “How much more [when] he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).
¹⁸tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”
¹⁹tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”
²⁰tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²¹tn Heb “look.”
²²tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²³tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
²⁴tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²⁵tn Heb “and [if] not, may there be given to your servant a load [for] a pair of mules, earth.”
²⁶tn Heb “for your servant will not again make a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, only to the Lord.”
²⁷tn Heb “When my master enters the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my hand and I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this thing.”
sn Rimmon was the Syrian storm god. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
²⁸tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²⁹tn Heb “and he went from him a distance of land.” The precise meaning of hr^b=K! (kivrah) “distance,” is uncertain. See BDB 460 s.v. hr^b=K!, and HALOT 459-60 s.v. II *hr^b*K=, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
³⁰tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).
³¹tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”
³²tn Heb “Is there peace?”
³³tn Heb “peace.”
³⁴tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”
³⁵sn See the note at 2 Kgs 5:5.
³⁶tn Heb “Be resolved and accept two units.”
³⁷tn Heb “before him.”
³⁸tn Heb “from their hand.”
³⁹tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴¹tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the MT the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.
⁴²tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.
⁴³tn Heb “cling to.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴⁵tn Traditionally, “he went from before him, leprous like snow.” But see the note at 5:1, as well as M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 66.