Person Old Testament
Gehazi
Gehazi, the servant of the prophet Elisha, was punished with leprosy for his greed and deceit in the matter of Naaman's healing. Mentioned in 12 verses across 1 book, first at 2 Kings 4:12.
Why it matters. Elisha's servant; punished with leprosy for greed and deceit.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Gehazi
Gehazi was the servant of the prophet Elisha, as recorded in 2Kings 4-5 and 8. He first appears in the story of the Shunammite woman, where he is sent by Elisha to lay the prophet's staff on the face of the woman's dead son (2Ki.4.29-31). Later, when Naaman, a Syrian commander, comes to Elisha to be healed of his leprosy, Gehazi witnesses the miracle and Naaman's offer of a reward, which Elisha refuses (2Ki.5.15-16). However, Gehazi, driven by greed, pursues Naaman and deceitfully asks for a talent of silver and two changes of clothing, claiming that Elisha had sent him (2Ki.5.20-24). When confronted by Elisha, Gehazi lies about his actions (2Ki.5.25). As a consequence of his greed and deceit, Elisha declares that Naaman's leprosy will cling to Gehazi and his descendants forever (2Ki.5.26-27). In 2Ki.8.4-5, Gehazi is seen recounting Elisha's great deeds to the king of Israel, suggesting that he may have later repented and served as a witness to Elisha's ministry, despite his past failings.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 12 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.