Texts in Conversation
In 2 Kings, Naaman’s healing leads him to acknowledge Israel’s God. In the Prayer of Nabonidus from the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Babylonian king’s recovery likewise becomes an occasion to honor God after his prayers to idols fail.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Kings 5:15
Hebrew Bible
13 His servants approached and said to him, “O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said, ‘Wash and you will be healed.’” 14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. His skin became as smooth as a young child’s and he was healed. 15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman came and stood before him. He said, “For sure I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.” 16 But Elisha replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), I will take nothing from you.” Naaman insisted that he take it, but he refused. 17 Naaman said, “If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord.
4Q242 1–3 5
4QPrayer of Nabonidus
Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings
1 The words of the prayer that Nabonidus, king of Babylon, the [great] king, prayed [when he was struck] 2 with a grievous skin disease by the decree of God in Teima. [I, Nabonidus, with a grievous skin disease] 3 was struck for seven years, and when God set [his face upon me, he healed me,] 4 and my sin an exorcist forgave. He was a Jew from [the exiles. He came to me and said,] 5 “Declare it and write it down, to give honor and greatness to the name of God [Most High.” And so I wrote:] 6 “I was struck with a grievous skin disease in Teima [by the decree of God Most High.] 7 For seven years I was praying [before] the gods of silver and gold, [bronze, iron,] 8 wood, stone, and clay, because [I thought] that they were gods […]
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Notes and References
“... Nonetheless, the Qumran text is significantly different both
from the Babylonian accounts of Nabonidus and from Daniel 4. The
Baby lonian accounts do not say that the king suffered from a
disease, and have no role for a Jewish diviner. The "Verse Account
of Nabonidus" accuses of Nabonidus of impiety towards the gods of
Babyion; in the Prayer he is foolishly devoted to idols. Nabonidus
hirnself attributes his restoration to the moon-god Sin. The Jewish
text attributes it to the Most High God, or the God of the Jews. Yet
the Jewish transformation of the Babylonian source-material is clear
enough. Nabonidus's absence from Babyion is associated with a
kind of sickness, and this sickness becomes an occasion for the
manifestation of the power of the God of Israel. We may compare
the story of Naaman the Syrian in 2 Kings 5. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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