Naaman

Biography

Naaman the Aramean (Hebrew: נַעֲמָן, romanized: Naʿmān, lit. 'pleasantness') was a commander of the armies of Hadadezer, the king of Aram-Damascus, in the time of Jehoram, King of Northern Israel (Samaria). According to 2 Kings 5 in the Bible, Naaman was a commander of the army of Aram. He was a good commander and was held in favor because of the victory that God brought him. However, Naaman suffered from tzaraath, a skin disease often translated as "leprosy". Naaman's wife had a servant girl from the Northern Kingdom of Israel ("Samaria") who said that a prophet there would be able to heal him. Naaman tells his lord this and he is sent to Israel with a letter to the king. The king of Israel did not know what to do and believes the request was the beginning of a plot to start a war, but Elisha sent a message to the King, advising that the King tell Naaman to come to see him. Elisha then told Naaman to go bathe in the Jordan River seven times and he would be clean. Naaman was angry and would have left, but his servant asked him to try it and he was healed. A servant of Elisha, Gehazi, seeing his master refuse gifts from Naaman, ran after him and falsely asked for clothing and silver for visitors. Tzaraath afflicted Gehazi and would remain in his descendants.

Bio from Wikipedia