Jeremiah 41:2

2 Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, got up, and attacking Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, put to death him whom the king of Babylon had made ruler over the land.

Jeremiah 41:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 41:2

Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that
were with him
After they had eat and drank well, they rose up from their seats at table: and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword,
and slew him;
they all drew their swords and thrust at him, and were assisting in the murder of him; though it is probable that it was Ishmael that gave him the mortal wound, since the phrase, "and slew him", is singular. Josephus ^F4 says that Gedaliah prepared a splendid table, and made a sumptuous entertainment for them, and being drunk himself, which they observed, took the opportunity and slew him, and all at table with him: whom the king Babylon had made governor over the land;
which mentioned; both to aggravate the crime they were guilty of, and to observe the reason of it, and what it was that prompted them to it; for so the words may be rendered, "because the king of Babylon had made him governor over the land" ^F5.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 4.
F5 (dyqph rva) "quia illum praefecerat", Vatablus. So Ben Melech.

Jeremiah 41:2 In-Context

1 Now it came about in the seventh month that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the king's seed, having with him ten men, came to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, in Mizpah; and they had a meal together in Mizpah.

2 Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, got up, and attacking Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, put to death him whom the king of Babylon had made ruler over the land.

3 And Ishmael put to death all the Jews who were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldaean men of war.

4 Now on the second day after he had put Gedaliah to death, when no one had knowledge of it,

5 Some people came from Shechem, from Shiloh and Samaria, eighty men, with the hair of their faces cut off and their clothing out of order, and with cuts on their bodies, and in their hands meal offerings and perfumes which they were taking to the house of the Lord.