2 Kings 5:12 (GNV)

Passage

Are not Abanah and Pharpar, riuers of Damascus, better then all the waters of Israel? may I not washe mee in them, and bee cleansed? so hee turned, and departed in displeasure.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger vnto him, saying, Go and wash thee in Iorden seuen times, and thy flesh shall come againe to thee, and thou shalt be clensed.

2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman was wroth and went away, and sayde, Beholde, I thought with my selfe, Hee will surely come out, and stande, and call on the Name of the Lord his God and put his hand on the place, and heale the leprosie.

2 Kings 5:12 Are not Abanah and Pharpar, riuers of Damascus, better then all the waters of Israel? may I not washe mee in them, and bee cleansed? so hee turned, and departed in displeasure.

2 Kings 5:13 But his seruants came, and spake vnto him, and sayd, Father, if the Prophet had commanded thee a great thing, wouldest thou not haue done it? howe much rather then, when hee sayth to thee, Wash and be cleane?

2 Kings 5:14 Then went he downe, and washed him selfe seuen times in Iorden, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came againe, like vnto ye flesh of a litle child, and he was cleane.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "abanah", "pharpar", "riuers", "damascus", "better", "waters", "israel", and "washe". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "abanah" and "pharpar", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "But Naaman was wroth and went away..." into verse 13's "But his seruants came and spake vnto...", so "abanah" and "pharpar" belong inside that flow. In 2 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "abanah" and "pharpar" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.