Naaman was a highly respected commander of the Syrian army but he had leprosy. (a form of skin disease not necessarily leprosy as we know it today) A servant girl from Israel who worked for Naaman's wife suggested Naaman should seek healing from Elisha so the King of Syria backed the initiative sending him with supporting gifts and clothes. It would seem therefore that Naaman expected a cure with fanfares, but when Elisha told him to go and wash 7 times in the River Jordan he seems to have felt the method of healing was puny and below his dignity. But even though he protested that in Syria there were rivers just as good he eventually obeyed and was healed. Naaman then tried to give Elisha a gift but he refused to accept it. However Naaman's servant Gehazi went after the gifts behind Elisha's back and received them, so God castigated Gehazi with Naaman's leprosy.
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