Luke 4:27

27 And there were many lepers ^[a] in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

Luke 4:27 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 4:27

And many lepers were in Israel
The leprosy was a disease very common among the Jews; hence those laws concerning it in ( Leviticus 13:1-14:57 ) and it seems by this account, that it was very prevalent,

in the time of Eliseus the prophet;
that is, the prophet Elisha; who, by the Septuagint, in 1Ki 19:16
and, in other places, is called "Elisaie": and none of them was cleansed; from their leprosy, by any direction of the prophet,

saving Naaman, the Syrian:
or but Naaman, who was not an Israelite, but a Syrian: he was cleansed and cured of his leprosy, being ordered by Elisha to dip himself seven times in Jordan, which he did, and was healed, ( 2 Kings 5:14 ) .

Luke 4:27 In-Context

25 But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land.

26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.

27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged.

29 They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over the cliff.

Footnotes

• [a] A leper was one afflicted with a skin disease. See Leviticus 13.