2 Kings 5:17

And Naaman said, shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth..... Not that he desired of Elisha that he would suffer his servant Gehazi to receive a present

And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.

Two mules’ burden of earth; wherewith I may make an altar of earth, as was usual, . He desires the earth of this land, because he thought it more holy and acceptable to God, and proper for his service; or because he would by this token profess and declare his conjunction with the Israelites in the worship of God, and constantly put himself in mind of his great obligations to that God from whose land this was taken. And though he might freely have taken this earth without asking any leave, yet he rather desires it from the prophet’ s gift, as believing that he who had put so great a virtue into the waters of Israel, could put as much into the earth of Israel, and make it as useful and beneficial to him in a better way. And these thoughts, though extravagant and groundless, yet were excusable in a heathen and a novice, who was not yet thoroughly instructed in the true religion.

2 Kings 5:17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. Ver. 17. Two mules’ burden of earth.] Not to put under his feet when he stood in the house of Rimmon, as some have fondly conceited, but for an altar whereon to offer sacrifice, as himself showeth, and therewithal his zeal without knowledge, which is ordinary in new converts. As nature, so grace riseth by many degrees to perfection. Naaman’ s leprosy was cured at once: not so his corruption.

(17) Shall there not then.—Rather, If not, let there be given, I pray thee. LXX., Êáὶ åἰ ìή. Two mules’ burden of earth?—Literally, a load of a yoke of mules’ (in) earth. It was natural for Naaman, with his local idea of divinity, to make this request. He wished to worship the God of Israel, so far as possible, on the soil of Israel, Jehovah’s own land. He would therefore build his altar to Jehovah on a foundation of this earth, or construct the altar itself therewith. (Comp. Exodus 20:24; 1 Kings 18:38.) Burnt offering nor sacrifice.—Burnt offering nor peace offering. Offer.—Literally, make.

Verse 17. Shall there not then, I pray thee] This verse is understood two different ways. I will give them both in a paraphrase: - 1. Shall there not then be given unto thy servant [viz., Naaman] two mules' burden of this Israelitish earth, that I may build an altar with it, on which I may offer sacrifices to the God of Israel? For thy servant, c. 2. Shall there not be given to thy [Elisha's] servant [Gehazi] two mules' burden of this earth? i.e., the gold and silver which he brought with him and which he esteemed as earth, or dust, in comparison of the cure he received. For thy servant [Naaman] will henceforth, c. Each of these interpretations has its difficulties. Why Naaman should ask for two mules' burden of earth, which he might have taken up any where on the confines of the land, without any such liberty, is not easy to see. As to the prophet's permission, though the boon was ever so small, it was not his to give only the king of Israel could give such a permission: and what sort of an altar could he build with two mules' burden of earth, carried from Samaria to Damascus? If this be really the meaning of the place, the request was exceedingly foolish, and never could have come from a person enjoying the right use of his reason. The second opinion, not without its difficulties, seems less embarrassed than the former. It was natural for Naaman to wish to give something to the prophet's servant, as the master had refused his present. Again, impressed with the vast importance of the cure he had received, to take away all feeling of obligation, he might call two or ten talents of silver by the name of earth, as well as Habakkuk, Habakkuk 2:6, calls silver and gold thick clay; and by terms of this kind it has been frequently denominated, both by prophets and heathen writers: "Tyrus heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets;" Zechariah 9:3. And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as stones; 2 Chronicles 1:15. Which is agreeable to the sentiments of the heathen: Χρυσοςτιςκονιςεστι, καιαργυρος, Gold and silver are only a certain kind of earth. - ARIST. Eth. Nicomach. Should it be said, The gold and silver could not be two mules' burden; I answer, Let the quantity that Naaman brought with him be only considered, and it will be found to be as much, when put into two bags, as could be well lifted upon the backs of two mules, or as those beasts could conveniently carry. The silver itself would weigh 233lbs. 9oz. 15 1/2dwts., and the gold 1,140lbs. 7oz. 10dwts.; in the whole 1,3741bs. 5oz. 5 1/2dwts. Troy weight.

17. And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given] R.V. If not, yet I pray thee, let there be given. The reason for the variation lies in a comprehension of the grammatical force of the Hebrew. There is no mark of interrogation in the verse, but neither is there any word for ‘if’ which the R.V. gives. But the Hebrew can express a hypothetical clause without the insertion of any such particle. Literally the original has ‘And Naaman said, and not’ &c. by which is meant ‘and if not &c.’, i.e. ‘if it may not be as I wish, and you will not receive a present, yet &c.’ Thus in Genesis 44:22 the literal rendering is ‘and he leaves his father, and he will die’, which the A.V. rightly represents by ‘for if he leave … he will die’. And more like the present example Isaiah 2 Samuel 13:26, where David has objected to Absalom’s too liberal invitation, ‘And Absalom said, and not [i.e. and if it may not be] yet let my brother Amnon go with us’. The LXX. renders rightly êáὶ åἰ ìὴ. two mules’ burden of earth] Naaman still has no notion of Jehovah but as a territorial deity. He thinks therefore that by carrying with him a quantity of the soil of Israel, he may provide a place for acceptable sacrifice to Him in his country of Syria. It was holy ground and would sanctify all that it came near. will henceforth offer neither burnt offering] The other so-called gods are worth nothing. This much he has learnt, and so he will himself pay them no homage. But it would be too hard a thing to expect from so new a convert strength enough to become a witness for Jehovah. Hence his petition to God, to which Elisha gives a merciful answer.

Two mules’ burden of earth - This earth, Naaman thought, spread over a portion of Syrian ground, would hallow and render it suitable for the worship of Yahweh.

17. Two mules’ burden of earth — Though convinced that there was no God in all the earth but in Israel, (2 Kings 5:15,) he could not yet divest himself of the polytheistic notion that each land had