Bible Strands
2 Kings 5:9
So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Naaman arrives at the prophet Elisha’s residence with his military retinue, fulfilling the prophet’s earlier instruction to the king of Israel that the leper should come directly to him. This moment occurs immediately after Elisha’s message and before the prophet’s specific healing command is delivered.
The words — The Hebrew phrase וַ/יַּעֲמֹ֥ד (va/i.ya.'a.Mod) denotes “and he stood,” emphasizing Naaman’s abrupt halt at the entrance rather than entering the house. This physical positioning highlights the boundary between royal privilege and prophetic protocol.
The thread — The motif of royal figures halting at a prophet’s threshold appears in 2 Kings 6:32, where the king sends a messenger ahead to Elisha’s house, and echoes the submission foretold in Isaiah 60:14. These passages trace a pattern of earthly authority encountering divine authority at a designated boundary.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine instruction operates independently of earthly status, requiring the reader to examine where they pause at spiritual boundaries rather than bypass them. It asks for a willingness to approach God’s word on its terms, not on the terms of one’s own rank.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 3:12 Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
- 2 Kings 6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Acts 16:29 Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
- Acts 16:37 But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”