Jeremiah 41

In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, came to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. Ishmael was from the royal family and was one of the king's chief officers. Ten men came with him, and they all ate a meal together there at Mizpah.

1Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.

Note"The seventh month" is Tishri, falling in September–October. The year is 586 BC or shortly after: Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem, deported much of the population, and appointed Gedaliah to govern the people left behind, with Mizpah, a town about eight miles north of the ruined Jerusalem, as his administrative seat. Ishmael's descent "from the royal family" means the line of David, which Babylon had just deposed; the previous chapter reports that the king of Ammon had sent him to kill Gedaliah. Sharing a meal placed a host and guest under an obligation of mutual protection, which makes the killing that follows a double offense in the eyes of the original readers.

2Then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him got up and struck Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with a sword and killed him. He was the man the king of Babylon had put in charge of the land.

2Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

NoteThe king of Babylon is Nebuchadnezzar. Gedaliah's grandfather Shaphan was the royal secretary under King Josiah, and his father Ahikam had protected Jeremiah from execution (Jeremiah 26:24), so the family was a well-known one in Jerusalem.

3Ishmael also killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with the Babylonian soldiers who were there.

3Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.

NoteThe King James "Chaldeans" means Babylonians; Chaldea was the region of southern Mesopotamia the ruling dynasty came from. The men killed here were the small Babylonian garrison stationed with the governor.

4On the second day after Gedaliah was killed, when no one yet knew about it,

4And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,

5eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves. They were carrying grain offerings and incense to bring to the house of the LORD.

5That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

NoteShechem, Shiloh, and Samaria were towns in the former northern kingdom of Israel, destroyed by Assyria over a century earlier; Shiloh had once housed the tabernacle. Shaving the beard, tearing one's clothes, and gashing the skin were customary signs of grief and mourning in the ancient Near East, here presumably for the destroyed temple. A "grain offering" was a gift of flour or grain, and incense was aromatic resin burned as an offering. "The house of the LORD" is the Jerusalem temple, which had been burned a few months before, the men are bringing offerings to a ruined site, which was evidently still in use for worship.

6Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, crying as he walked. When he met them, he said, "Come and see Gedaliah son of Ahikam."

6And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

7When they had come into the middle of the town, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him killed them and threw them into a water pit.

7And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.

NoteThe pit is a cistern: a large bottle-shaped hole cut into rock to collect and store rainwater, standard in a country with no summer rain. An empty one made a convenient dungeon or, as here, a mass grave.

8But ten men among them said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us. We have supplies hidden in the fields: wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey." So he held back and did not kill them with the others.

8But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

NoteGrain and other stores were hidden in concealed underground pits in the fields to keep them from raiding armies and tax collectors. The ten men are offering to buy their lives with the location of such caches.

9The pit where Ishmael threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa had dug when he was afraid of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the bodies of the dead.

9Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.

NoteAsa was king of Judah about three centuries earlier; Baasha was king of the rival northern kingdom of Israel. Asa fortified Mizpah against him (1 Kings 15:22), and a large cistern to supply a garrison with water in a siege was part of such works.

10Then Ishmael took prisoner all the rest of the people who were at Mizpah, including the king's daughters and everyone else left there. Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, had placed them under Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them away as prisoners and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

10Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

Note"The king's daughters" are the daughters of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, left behind when the Babylonians blinded and deported him. Nebuzaradan was Nebuchadnezzar's chief officer, who had overseen the destruction of Jerusalem. The Ammonites were a kingdom east of the Jordan whose king, Baalis, had backed Ishmael's plot (Jeremiah 40:14); crossing over to them meant putting himself beyond Babylonian reach.

11But Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders who were with him heard about all the harm Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done.

11But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

12So they gathered all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him near the large pool at Gibeon.

12Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

NoteThe great pool at Gibeon, about five miles from Mizpah, was a well-known landmark: a rock-cut shaft some thirty-seven feet across with a spiral stairway down to the water table. It was also the site of an earlier famous confrontation (2 Samuel 2:13).

13When all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders with him, they were glad.

13Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.

14All the people Ishmael had taken prisoner from Mizpah turned around and went over to Johanan son of Kareah.

14So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.

15But Ishmael son of Nethaniah got away from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.

15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.

16Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders with him took charge of everyone left of the people from Mizpah, whom he had won back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. This group included soldiers, women, children, and court officials, whom he brought back from Gibeon.

16Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:

NoteThe King James "eunuchs" translates a word for a court official; such men were often, though not always, castrated, and the term came to mean a royal officer generally. These are surviving members of the Judean royal household.

17They set out and stayed at Geruth Chimham, near Bethlehem, planning to go on into Egypt

17And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,

Note"Geruth Chimham" is left untranslated because its sense is uncertain; it appears to mean a lodging place or holding belonging to Chimham, probably the son of Barzillai whom David rewarded with land near Bethlehem (2 Samuel 19:37–40). Bethlehem lies south of Jerusalem, on the road toward Egypt.

18to get away from the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the man the king of Babylon had put in charge of the land.

18Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

NoteThe fear is of Babylonian reprisal: Ishmael had murdered the governor Babylon itself installed, and the survivors expect the empire to punish the whole community for it, whether or not they took part.