2 Kings 5:4

And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) And one went in.—And he (i.e., Naaman) went in: scil., into the palace. Some MSS.: “and she went in and told.”

Thus and thus.—To avoid repetition of her actual words.

Benson Commentary

2 Kings 5:4. And one went in and told his lord — One of Naaman’s servants, hearing this, told it to Naaman, and he to the king of Syria, begging his leave to go to the prophet in Israel. For though he neither loved nor honoured the Jewish nation, yet if one of that nation can but heal him of his leprosy, he will gladly and thankfully accept the cure. And he hopes that one can, from the intelligence he has received, which he does not despise because of the meanness of her that gave it. O that they who are spiritually diseased would hearken thus readily to the tidings brought them of the great Physician!

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:1-8 Though the Syrians were idolaters, and oppressed God's people, yet the deliverance of which Naaman had been the means, is here ascribed to the Lord. Such is the correct language of Scripture, while those who write common history, plainly show that God is not in all their thoughts. No man's greatness, or honour, can place him our of the reach of the sorest calamities of human life: there is many a sickly, crazy body under rich and gay clothing. Every man has some but or other, something that blemishes and diminishes him, some allay to his grandeur, some damp to his joy. This little maid, though only a girl, could give an account of the famous prophet the Israelites had among them. Children should be early told of the wondrous works of God, that, wherever they go, they may talk of them. As became a good servant, she desired the health and welfare of her master, though she was a captive, a servant by force; much more should servants by choice, seek their masters' good. Servants may be blessings to the families where they are, by telling what they know of the glory of God, and the honour of his prophets. Naaman did not despise what she told, because of her meanness. It would be well if men were as sensible of the burden of sin as they are of bodily disease. And when they seek the blessings which the Lord sends in answer to the prayers of his faithful people, they will find nothing can be had, except they come as beggars for a free gift, not as lords to demand or purchase.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

One went in - Rather, "he went in," i. e. Naaman went and told his lord, the king of Syria.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2-5. a little maid—who had been captured in one of the many predatory incursions which were then made by the Syrians on the northern border of Israel (see 1Sa 30:8; 2Ki 13:21; 24:2). By this young Hebrew slave of his wife, Naaman's attention was directed to the prophet of Israel, as the person who would remove his leprosy. Naaman, on communicating the matter to his royal master, was immediately furnished with a letter to the king of Israel, and set out for Samaria, carrying with him, as an indispensable preliminary in the East, very costly presents.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

One of Naaman’s servants hearing this, went in and told it to Naaman, and he to the king of Syria, which is implied. Or,

And he went in, & c., i.e. Naaman, mentioned 2 Kings 5:1, hearing this from his wife, told it to the king of Syria, as the next words intimate.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And one went in and told his lord,.... What the girl had said to her mistress; one of the servants of the house that overheard it; or rather, Naaman went and told his lord the king of Syria; for as this was said to his wife, no doubt she told it to her husband, and not a servant; and the following words require this sense, and is the sense of most Jewish commentators:

saying, thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel; who for her wit and beauty might be well known at court by the name of the Israelitish girl.

Geneva Study Bible

And {c} one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

(c) That is, Naaman told it to the king of Syria.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. And one went in] On the margin the R.V. has ‘he’. But it is better to insert an indefinite nominative. It is not likely that Naaman himself was the reporter.

and told his lord] i.e., Naaman’s lord, the king of Syria. The LXX. disregarding the gender of the verbal form has ‘She went in and told her lord’: i.e. Naaman’s wife brought him word of the damsel’s story.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - And one went in, and told his lord, saying. "One went in" is a possible translation; but it is simpler and more natural to translate "he went in," i.e. Naaman went in, and told his lord, Ben-hadad, the King of Syria. Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. Being "of the land of Israel," her words had a certain weight - she had means of knowing - she ought to know whether such a thing as the cure of leprosy by the intervention of a prophet was a possible occurrence in her country. 2 Kings 5:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When Naaman related this to his lord (the king), he told him to go to Samaria furnished with a letter to the king of Israel; and he took with him rich presents as compensation for the cure he was to receive, viz., ten talents of silver, about 25,000 thalers (3750 - Tr.); 600 shekels ( equals two talents) of gold, about 50,000 thalers (7500); and ten changes of clothes, a present still highly valued in the East (see the Comm. on Genesis 45:22). This very large present was quite in keeping with Naaman's position, and was not too great for the object in view, namely, his deliverance from a malady which would be certainly, even if slowly, fatal.