Naaman

Naaman (meaning pleasantness) was the commander of the army of Benhadad II of Syria, a great and valiant warrior who was afflicted with leprosy (2 Kgs. 5:1). A captive Israelite servant girl told his wife of Elisha the prophet in Samaria who could heal him. Naaman came with a letter from the king of Syria, horses, and chariots to Elisha's door, but was offended when Elisha simply sent a messenger instructing him to wash seven times in the Jordan. His servants persuaded him to obey, and he was healed. Naaman's subsequent confession — "there is no God in all the earth but in Israel" (2 Kgs. 5:15) — stands as a remarkable Gentile acknowledgment of the LORD. Jesus cited his healing in the synagogue at Nazareth as an example of divine grace extending beyond Israel (Luke 4:27).