Naaman's request for two mules of Israelite soil after his cure was because of the belief that the God of Israel, who healed him through the prophet Elisha, could only be worshipped on Hebrew soil. In 2 Kings 5, Naaman, a commander in the Syrian army, was cured of leprosy after following Elisha's instructions to wash in the Jordan River seven times. After his healing, Naaman expressed his desire to worship the God of Israel and sought permission to take two mules' worth of Israelite soil back to Syria because he believed that he could only worship God on that specific soil.