Providence

Providence was inspired by the story of Naaman, the Aramean general who was cured of leprosy by Elisha. The biblical account is brief. Naaman’s wife had an Israelite slave girl who suggested he go to the prophet for healing. Nothing else is known about the girl.
In Providence, she is Hannah, a teenager who was born without the senses of smell or taste, and without outer ears. Her father and brother are priests in the tribe of Levi. Her brother Shimron is not a nice man. He’s cruel to his sister and highly judgmental.
When Elisha refused to heal Hannah because it is not her time, she enlists the aid of Gilead, a young man of Judah. They set out to find Elisha, but are captured by raiders. The commander of the Aramean army, Naabak, has advanced leprosy. He gifts his wife with Hannah.
Throughout her time in Aramea, Hannah is threatened by Konath, second-in-command of the army. He is eager for Naabak’s demise so he can be commander and take Naabak’s wife and all she has, including Hannah.
Hannah and Gilead eventually succeed in having Naabak transported to the mountain where the prophet is. The result is Naabak’s triumph and Konath’s demise.
While inspired by the Biblical story of Naaman, this is fiction. It is different. It is a little dark for my taste. Konath poses a constant threat, Hannah is thrown into a cave where prisoners are eager to assault her, Gilead is often beaten, Hannah’s brother behaves abominably.
Still, slavery wasn’t pretty. The Biblical account is clean and uncomplicated in its briefness. Providence shows what life may have actually been like for slaves.