M’tzora (Leviticus 12-15); Haftorah is 2 Kings 7:3-20
By Irv Jacobs, M.D.
LA JOLLA, California — This laconic, short, prose, exaggerated sequence of events is attributed to the time of Aram’s attack on the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) during the brief rule of Israelite King Joram (851-842 BCE). A key figure was the prophet Elisha.
The connection to the Torah reading Tazria-M’tzora is the term m’tzora, commonly translated as leprosy. However Professor Robert Alter of the University of California, Berkeley more accurately calls it ‘skin blanch.’ I use his translation of this Haftorah. [1] [2]
The text seems unconcerned to periodically make clear the king’s name, merely saying ‘the king.’ It confused this reader more than once because there are two opposing kings in this story.
One has to go back at least to 2 Kings 6:24 to understand the background to this Haftorah.
2 Kings 6:24-33 “…King Ben-Hadad II of Aram (Damascus) (853-?BCE) gathered all his camp and…laid siege against Samaria-Israel. And there was a great famine in Samaria…” (There followed inflation and cannibalism, plus eating e.g. a donkey’s head and animal filth. [3] One of the first cannibal victims was King Joram’s son. Threatened next, was the prophet Elisha himself).
Elisha prophesied that the inflation would end the next day, to which was retorted sarcastically by King Joram’s spokesperson, “Look, the Lord is about to…(shower food)…from the casements in the heavens” [4]. The distress continued.
2 Kings 7:3-7 “And four (ostracized Israelite) men stricken with ‘skin blanch’ were at the entrance of the gate [5]…and said to one another…, ‘Why are we sitting here till we die?…if we stay here, we shall die. And now, come, let us slip off to the camp of Aram. If they let us live, we shall live, and if they put us to death we shall die…they came to…the camp of Aram…there was no one there…the Lord had made a sound of chariots…of great force, and every man (of Aram) said…”Look the king of Israel has hired against us…Hittite kings…and kings of Egypt…” And…they fled…abandoned their tents and…horses…and donkeys…and…ran for their lives.
2 Kings 7:8 “And these (ostracized) men stricken with skin blanch came to…the (Aram) camp (came)…into one tent and ate and drank and carried away silver and gold and garments…and came into another tent and carried away (more).”
2 Kings 7:9-11 “And they said…’We are not doing right…guilt will befall us…let us go and tell it at the king’s (Joram’s) house…they came to the gatekeepers…and told…’We came into the camp of Aram, and…there was no one there, only horses…and donkeys tethered…And the gatekeepers…told it at the king’s house…’ [6]
2 Kings 7:12-13 And the king (Joram) arose…and said (speculating wrongly) “…the Arameans knew we were starving…and they have gone out of the camp to hide in the field, saying, ‘When they (Israelites) come out of the town we shall catch them…let us send and see…’ [7]
2 Kings 7:14-16 “And the king (Joram) sent after the camp of Aram…and they went after them to the Jordan…and…the whole road was filled with garments and gear that the Arameans had flung down in their haste…and the (Samaritan-Israelites) people plundered the camp of Aram, and so…fine flour…and barley…sold (cheaply), according to the word of the Lord.”
2 Kings 7:16-19 “And the king (Joram) had appointed…the official on…whom he had leaned, and the people trampled him (the official)…and he died, as (Elisha) had spoken…And it happened when (Elisha) spoke (optimistically)…’Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel and a seah of fine flour for a shekel at this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria’ [8]…(Joram’s) official (who had sneered) ‘…the Lord is about to make casements in the heavens! Can such a thing be?’”
2 Kings 7:19-20 (Here is the required upbeat haftorah ending.) “And (Elisha replied) ‘You are about to see with your own eyes but you shall not eat from there.’…and the the people trampled (va-yo-mot) (Joram’s sarcastic official) and he died.” [9]
This fantastically constructed and purposed story achieves what the topic requires, but clearly it relies on hyperbolic phenomena from God. It allows a ring of historical truth, given the precarious reality that Samaria faced.
A distressing feature is the degraded behavior of the Israelites.
Also, the story line relies on miracles from heaven, and the cowardly army of quitters from Aram. I have to believe that if Samaria survived the siege, it was through real Israelite military tactics, not just miracles. I do commend the ostracized real heroes of the story.
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[1] Etz Hayim, The Jewish Publication Society, 2001, New York, p. 676
[2] Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, Prophets Vol. 2, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019, p. 551
[3] Ibid. “even animal filth was consumed by a starving people, and at a stiff price,” p.549
[4] Ibid. p. 551
[5] ostracized Israelites were not permitted to live inside the cities
[6] Ibid. p. 552 The heroes are the ostracized four Israelite men with ‘skin blanch’ (called leprosy by earlier translators)!
[7] One can’t help thinking of King Joram as an incompetent loser. Perhaps that explains his short nine-year duration on the throne.
[8] Ibid. p. 553 – a fulfilled prophecy
[9] Ibid. p. 553
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Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.