Two mule-loads of earth

[Digitonomy]

What on earth was this about in the reading yesterday from 2 Kings 5:14-17?

Please accept a gift from your servant."

Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;”
and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused.
Naaman said: “If you will not accept,
please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth,
for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD.”

Is the earth to bring some of the sacred soil of Israel back to Aram, or is it to bury Naaman’s old gods? If the latter, why does he need to drag along the earth from near Elisha? Why not just use the earth dug out from the hole where he’s going to bury them?

 

[Verbum]

Hi Dlgit__,

In those days people believed that each country had its own god. Naaman thought that, in order to worship the God of Israel in his (Naaman’s) own country, he had to take home a part of Israel. Thus he could possibly build an altar to Yahveh on ground where the God of Israel would be “at home”.

Verbum

 

[Johndigger]

Verbum is correct. This is what the Deacon giving the homily explained to us, also.

JD

 

[Orogeny]

Thanks for that, guys. I was a bit confused on that part of the reading as well.

Peace

Tim