Jeremiah 41:1-9

1 {And then} in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, from the offspring of the kingship, and [one of] the chief officers of the king, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [at] Mizpah, {along with} ten men. And they ate bread together there at Mizpah.

2 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah got up, {along with} the ten men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed [in an official position] over the land.

3 Then Ishmael killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, {along with} the Chaldeans who were found there, {the soldiers}.

The Massacre of the Mourners

4 {And then} on the second day of the killing of Gedaliah--and {no one} knew--

5 then men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men [with] shaven beards and torn garments, [who had] cut themselves with blades, {having} grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring [to] the {temple} of Yahweh.

6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out to meet them from Mizpah, {weeping as he came}. {And then} as [he was] meeting them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam."

7 {And then}, the moment of their coming to the middle of the city, then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, {along with} the men who [were] with him, slaughtered them [and threw them] to the middle of the pit.

8 But ten men were found among them, and they said to Ishmael, "You must not kill us, for {we have} hidden treasures in the field, wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey. So he refrained and he did not kill them in the midst of their fellow countrymen.

9 Now the pit [into] which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed {along with} Gedaliah [was the same one] that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, [who was] against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled [it with] the slain ones.

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Jeremiah 41:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 41

This chapter relates the event of the conspiracy against Gedaliah Johanan and the princes had informed him of, to which he gave no credit; but it proved true. An account is given of the murder of Gedaliah, and of the Jews and Chaldeans with him; and of the perpetrators of it, Jer 41:1-3; and of the chief of them, Ishmael's treacherous dealing with fourscore men that came from several parts to the house of God to offer sacrifice, who all perished by his hands, excepting ten, Jer 41:4-9; and of the rest of the people at Mizpah being carried away, in order to be captives among the Ammonites, Jer 41:10; and of Johanan, and the rest of the captives, hearing of all this, and coming out to fight with Ishmael; upon which the people deserted him, and he fled to the Ammonites, Jer 41:11-15; and of Johanan and the people settling in the way to Egypt, to flee there on occasion, should the Chaldeans fall on them for what was done to the governor, which they feared, Jer 41:16-18.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Footnotes 21

[a]. Literally "And it was"
[b]. Literally "and"
[c]. Literally "and"
[d]. Literally "and"
[e]. Literally "the men of the war"
[f]. Literally "And it was"
[g]. Literally "not a man"
[h]. Hebrew "beard"
[i]. Literally "and"
[j]. Hebrew "grain offering"
[k]. Hebrew "hand"
[l]. Literally "house"
[m]. Literally "coming he came and weeping"
[n]. Literally "And it was"
[o]. Literally "And it was"
[p]. Literally "and"
[q]. The Hebrew verb is singular
[r]. Or "cistern"
[s]. Literally "there is to us"
[t]. Or "cistern"
[u]. Literally "by the hand of"

Jeremiah 41:1-9

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The Massacre of the Mourners

Jeremiah 41:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 41

Footnotes 21