2 Kings 5:5

5 So the king of Aram said, "Go, I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He went and took {with him} ten talents of silver, six thousand [shekels of] gold, and ten sets of clothing.

2 Kings 5:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 5:5

And the king of Syria said, go to, go
On what Naaman related to him from what the maid had said, he urged him by all means to go directly to Samaria:

and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel;
recommending him to use his interest in his behalf; this was Jehoram the son of Ahab:

and he departed;
set out on his journey immediately, as soon as he could conveniently:

and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of
gold;
partly for the expenses of his journey, and partly to make presents to the king of Israel's servants, and especially to the prophet; a talent of silver, according to Brerewood ^F4, was three hundred and seventy five pounds of our money; but, according to Bishop Cumberland's ^F5 exact calculation, it was three hundred and fifty and three pounds eleven shillings and ten and an half pence the pieces of gold are, by the Targum, called golden pence, and a golden penny, according to the first of the above writers ^F6, was of the value of our money fifteen shillings; so that these amounted to 4500 pounds sterling:

and ten changes of raiment;
both for his own use, and presents.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 4.
F5 Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 4. p. 120.
F6 Ut supra, (De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num.) c. 3.

2 Kings 5:5 In-Context

3 She said to her mistress, "If only my lord would [come] before the prophet who [is] in Samaria; then {he would cure his skin disease}."

4 He came and told his master, saying, "Thus and so the girl who [is] from the land of Israel said."

5 So the king of Aram said, "Go, I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He went and took {with him} ten talents of silver, six thousand [shekels of] gold, and ten sets of clothing.

6 So he brought the letter of the king to Israel, saying, "Now, when this letter comes to you, I have just sent Naaman my servant to you that you may cure him from his skin disease."

7 It happened that when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God to cause death or to give life? This man [is] sending a man to me to cure his disease. Indeed! But know and see that he seeks an opportunity against me."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "in his hand"