2 Kings 5:18

Contextual Overview

¹⁵Then Naaman and his whole company went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “I know there’s no God in the whole world except in Israel. Therefore, please accept a gift from your servant.” ¹⁵ He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, See now, I know that there is no God in all the eretz, but in Yisra'el: now therefore, please take a present from your servant. ¹⁵ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. ¹⁵ Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant." ¹⁵ Naaman and all his group returned to Elisha. He stood before Elisha and said, "Look, I now know there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now please accept a gift from me." 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." ¹⁵Then Naaman returned to the man of God, he and all the people in his group, and stood before him. He said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so now accept a blessing and gift from your servant." ¹⁵ Then he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so please accept a gift from your servant now." ¹⁵ And hee turned againe to the man of God, hee, and all his companie, and came and stood before him, and sayd, Behold, now I knowe that there is no God in all the world, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a reward of thy seruant. ¹⁵Then he returned to the man of God with all his camp, and came and stood before him, and said, "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so now please take a blessing from your servant."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and he leaneth: This verse should probably, as many learned men have supposed, be read in the past, and not in the future tense: "In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master went into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaned on my hand, and I worshipped in the house of Rimmon; in that I have worshipped in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing." Rimmon is supposed by Selden to the same with Elion, a god of the Phoenicians, borrowed undoubtedly from the Elyon of the Hebrews, one of the names of God. 2 Kings 7:2, 2 Kings 7:17

and I bow: 2 Kings 17:35, Exodus 20:5, 1 Kings 19:18

the Lord pardon: 2 Chronicles 30:18, 2 Chronicles 30:19, Jeremiah 50:20

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 6:77 - Rimmon

Cross-References

Genesis 4:17
Kayin knew his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Hanokh. He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Hanokh.

Genesis 4:17
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Genesis 4:17
And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. And when he built a city he named the city after his son, Enoch.

Genesis 4:17
He had sexual relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. At that time Cain was building a city, which he named after his son Enoch.

Genesis 4:17
Cain had marital relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after his son Enoch.

Genesis 4:17
Cain knew his wife [one of Adam's descendants] and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city and named it Enoch, after the name of his son.

Genesis 4:17
Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son.

Genesis 4:17
Kain also knewe his wife, which conceiued and bare Henoch: and he built a citie, and called the name of the citie by ye name of his sonne, Henoch.

Genesis 4:17
Then Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.

Genesis 4:17
Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant,.... Which he next mentions, and on account of which he desires the prayers of Elisha for him, as the Vulgate Latin version; or it may be, this is a prayer of his own, put up at this time to the true Jehovah, in whom he believed:

that when my master: meaning the king of Syria:

goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon; the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing; the house of Rimmon was a temple of an idol of that name; what idol it was is not easy to say; the Septuagint version calls it Remman, thought by some to be the same with Remphan, Acts 7:43, a name of Saturn, said to be given him from a Greek word, which signifies to "wander" q, he being placed among the wandering stars in the supreme heavens; which is not likely, for the word is certainly of a Syriac signification, and comes either from רום, which signifies "high", and so the same with Elioun, the Phoenician deity, called the most high r; or, as "Rimmon" is used for a pomegranate, this is thought to design the Syrian goddess, to whom this sort of fruit was sacred; or Juno, whose statue, in her temple at Mycenas s, had a pomegranate in one hand; or rather this Rimmon was Jupiter Cassius, so called from Mount Cassius, which divided Syria from Egypt, who is painted with his hand stretched out, and a pomegranate in it t; and may be the same with Caphtor, the father of the Caphtorim, Genesis 10:14 who might be deified after his death, their names, Rimmon and Caphtor, being of the same signification u. But be this deity as it may, it was worshipped by the Syrians; and when the king of Syria went in to worship, he used to lean upon the hand of one of his officers, either being lame, or for state sake, in which office Naaman was; and his request to the prophet, or to the Lord, is, not for pardon for a sin to be committed; nor to be indulged in his continuance of it; not to worship the idol along with his master; nor to dissemble the worship of it, when he really worshipped it not; nor to be excused any evil in the discharge of his post and office; but for the pardon of the sin of idolatry he had been guilty of, of which he was truly sensible, now sincerely acknowledges, and desires forgiveness of; and so Dr. Lightfoot w, and some others x, interpret it; and to this sense the words may be rendered,

when my master went in to the house of Rimmon to worship there; which was his usual custom; and he leaned on my hand, which was the common form in which he was introduced into it:

and I worshipped in the house of Rimmon, as his master did, for the same word is used here as before;

in as much, or seeing I have worshipped in the house of Rimmon, have been guilty of such gross idolatry:

the Lord, I pray, forgive thy servant in this thing; the language of a true penitent.

q A ρεμβεσθαι "vagari", Hesychius. r Vid. Selden. de Dis Syris Syntagm. 2. c. 10. s Pausan. Corinthiac. sive, l. 2. p. 114. t Achilles Tatius, l. 3. Vid. Reland. Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 934. u See Clayton's Origin of Hieroglyphics, p. 113. w Works, vol. 1. p. 86. x Vid. Quenstedt. Dissert. de. Petit. Naaman. sect. 21, 22.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Rimmon is known to us as a god only by this passage. The name is connected with a root “to be high.” Hadad-rimmon Zechariah 12:11, the name of a place near Megiddo, points to the identity of Rimmon with Hadad, who is known to have been the Sun, the chief object of worship to the Syrians.

When he leaneth on mine hand - The practice of a monarch’s “leaning on the hand” of an attendant was not common in the East (compare the marginal reference). It probably implied age or infirmity.

The Lord pardon thy servant in this thing - Naaman was not prepared to offend his master, either by refusing to enter with him into the temple of Rimmon, or by remaining erect when the king bowed down and worshipped the god. His conscience seems to have told him that such conduct was not right; but he trusted that it might be pardoned, and he appealed to the prophet in the hope of obtaining from him an assurance to this effect.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 5:18. In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant — It is useless to enter into the controversy concerning this verse. By no rule of right reasoning, nor by any legitimate mode of interpretation, can it be stated that Naaman is asking pardon for offenses which he may commit, or that he could ask or the prophet grant indulgence to bow himself in the temple of Rimmon, thus performing a decided act of homage, the very essence of that worship which immediately before he solemnly assured the prophet he would never practise. The original may legitimately be read, and ought to be read, in the past, and not in the future tense. "For this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, for that when my master HATH GONE into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he HATH LEANED upon mine hand, that I also HAVE BOWED myself in the house of Rimmon; for my worshipping in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing." This is the translation of Dr. Lightfoot, the most able Hebraist of his time in Christendom.

To admit the common interpretation is to admit, in effect, the doctrine of indulgences; and that we may do evil that good may come of it; that the end sanctifies the means; and that for political purposes we may do unlawful acts.