GEHAZI (Tip., vision-valley; Sept. IWO, a ser vant of Elisha, whose entire confidence he enjoyed [EusHA]. He personally appears in reminding his master of the best mode of rewarding the kind ness of the Shunamite (2 Kings iv. 14) ; he was present at the interview in which the Shunamite made known to the prophet that her son was dead, and was sent fonvard to lay Elisha's staff on the child's face, vvhich he did without effect (2 Kings iv. 31) ; and when Elisha, with a noble disin terestedness, declined the rich gifts pressed upon him by the illustrious leper whom he had healed, Gehazi, feeling distressed that so favoumble an opportunity of profiting by the gratitude of Naa maan had been so wilfully thrown away, ran after the retiring chariots, and requested, in his master's name, a portion of the gifts which had before been refused, on the ground that visitors had just arrived for whom he was unable to provide. Hav ing deposited his spoil in a place of safety, he again appeared before Elisha, whose honour he had so seriously compromised. His master, knowing what had happened, denounced his crime, and passed upon him the terrible doom, that the leprosy of which Naaman had been cured, should cleave to him and his for ever (2 Kings v. 20-27) ; B.C. 894.
We afterwards find Gehazi recounting to king Joram the great deeds of Elisha, and, in tbe pro vidence of God, it so happened that when he was relating the restoration to life of the Shunamite's son, the very woman with her son appeared before the king to claim her house and lands, which had been usurped while she had been absent abroad during the recent famine. Struck by the coinci dence, the king immediately granted her applica tion (2 Kings viii. 1-6). As lepers were compelled to live apart outside the towns, and were not al. lowed to come too near to uninfected persons, some difficulty has arisen with respect to Gehazi's interview with the king. Several answers occur. The interview may have taken place outside the town, in a garden or garden-house ; and the king may have kept Gehazi at a distance, 'kith the usual precautions which custom dictated. Some even suppose that the incident is misplaced, and actually occurred before Gehazi was smitten with leprosy. Others hasten to the opposite conclu sion, and allege the probability that the leper had then repented of his crime, and had been restored to health by his master [LEPERs].—J. K.