ContradictionsReading order 563Bible context 1 min read
Did God give Gehazi (Elisha's servant) leprosy?
One passage gives Gehazi leprosy; the other describes him conversing with the king without mentioning his condition. Silence about an illness does not establish its absence.
- Textual conflict
- Weak contradiction
- The supplied passages do not establish incompatible claims. Different events, meanings, or conditions may account for the difference.
- Importance
- Minor
- A local detail in a story, chronology, or inventory.
Gehazi's conversation with the king supplies no denial of his leprosy or statement that he was cured.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Gehazi departs with the leprosy pronounced upon him
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
2 Kings 5:27
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:2 Kings 5
Gehazi later speaks with the king about Elisha
And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.
2 Kings 8:4
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:2 Kings 8