Hebrew Word Study – Immersion – Tabol – Teth Beth Vav Lamed.

II Kings 5:10,14: “And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. (14) Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

The story of Naaman has been one of my favorite Bible stories since I was a small child in kindergarten Sunday School.  I remember my Sunday School teacher telling this story of this great army general who had leprosy and how a small child who was just a servant to the general’s wife told how there was a prophet of God who could heal the general if he would only go to him.  So, with the blessings of his king this general traveled to Israel to seek out the prophet Elisha who, when found, does not even come to the door of his home to acknowledge this man but sends his servant to tell him to wash seven times in the Jordan river and he will be healed.  Naaman’s pride took the better of him and he declared the waters in his own land were cleaner, why wash in the dirty waters of the Jordan and what is this sending a servant to answer the door business anyways.  Why he was a great general, the prophet himself should have opened the door and recited some incantation while waving his arms.

Then one of Naaman’s servant said; “Master, had this man asked you to do some great and mighty thing, you have done it without question.  Yet, all he asks is that you take a bath in the Jordan, I mean what is that? What have you got to lose?”  So Naaman did it and was healed. The KJV as other versions of the Bible teach that he “dipped” into the water seven times. I remember my Sunday School teacher’s flannel graph picture of Naaman standing waste deep in the water lowering his hands into the water, that is dipping himself in the water.  

Even as a small child, I always had a check in my spirit about this picture. I mean I was a number one fan of the Superman TV series and watched every episode of Jet Jackson on Saturday mornings.  I knew my super heroes and Naaman was depicted as a super hero by my Sunday School teacher. I could not picture my Superman or Jet Jackson just doing things half way and dipping in the water, I mean they would have jumped, no flew into that water and swam to the bottom of the river if need be. Dipping, ba – they were no dips and neither was Naaman.  Not only that the prophet Elisha commanded Naaman to “wash” in the Jordan in verse 10.  Yet in verse 14 we read that he “dipped” himself.  This gives the impression that he had not yet overcome his pride. Doggone if he was gonna wash in those dirty waters, he would just pay lip service and “dip” in the water.  Yet, even going halfway God healed him, so I was told. 

Many years later as a Hebrew professor I took a closer look at this story and found something very interesting. The Hebrew word for wash is rachatz.  It is very closely related to racham which is that perfect love of God.  The word rachatz means a thorough, complete washing, a purification. It is a purification through the love of God. The word dip is the word yitebol from the root was tabol which is the Hebrew word for immersion, which is an anagram for a Hebrew word which could mean humility. The tabol itself is also a word used for washing.  So Naaman did not necessarily disobey the prophet. He did wash himself but the word tabol also means a purification through humility.  

You see this story is used by Jews for the practice of washing in a mikvah. Mikvah merely means a pool or collection of water.  We generally associate the mikvah as being used by a woman after mensuration and is part of the cleansing process to be made ritually clean. However, what many Christians do not realize is that there are two pools of water that make up a mikvah.  In other words, the person seeking ritual purity must bath two times.  The first is in a pool of water that can be any water used for bathing. Here the person will bath, that is wash using soap and shampoos and cleaning every part of the flesh. Once that person is completely clean physically then this individual enters the mikvah which is filled only with rain water, water that has not been treated with chemicals.  Here the person completely immerses tabol in the water reciting prayers and praise to God to become spiritually or ritualistically clean.  

Here is what I found interesting, when a non Jew converts to Judaism he must do four things.  The first is to yoke himself to the laws, everyone of the 613 commandments and must be declared sincere by a beit din – Jewish court of three religious rabbis. Secondly, if a male, he must be circumcised. Most males in the Western world are already circumcised so in that case there is a symbolic drawing of blood.  The third is to offer a sacrifice in the temple but since there is no temple he promises to bring a sacrifice when the third temple is built.  The final step is to immerse himself in a mikvah.  This involves that two step process of rachaz a physical cleansing and a tabol a spiritual cleansing.  The fact that the Bible teaches that Naaman tabol in the Jordan indicates that he humbled himself and was spiritually cleansed resulting in his physical cleansing of leprosy. Naaman became a proselyte, forsook his gods for the God Jehovah. 

Note his request to Elisha in verses 17-18: “And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. (18) In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.”  Ah, yes, Naaman was a superhero, he did not do things half way. Like any superhero he jumped into the Jordan with both body and soul.  God does not do things half way either, he cleansed Naaman, both his physical body of leprosy and his soul of all his sins.  Naaman just did not only receive a healing he gave himself totally to God.  

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