Then went he down. — And he went down: scil., from Samaria to the Jordan bed. The Syriac and Arabic, and some Hebrew MSS., read “and he departed;” probably an error of transcription.
Seven times. — “Because seven was significant of the Divine covenant with Israel, and the cure depended on that covenant; or to stamp the cure as a Divine work, for seven is the signature of the works of God” (Keil). In the Assyrian monuments there is an almost exact parallel to the above method of seeking a cure. It occurs among the so-called exorcisms, and belongs to the age of Sargon of Agadê (Accad), before 2200 B.C. Merodach is represented as asking his father Hea how to cure a sick man. Hea replies that the sick man must go and bathe in the sacred waters at the mouth of the Euphrates. It thus appears that in bidding Naaman bathe seven times in the Jordan, Elisha acted in accordance with ancient Semitic belief as to the healing virtue of running streams.