Jeremiah 41:1-9

Gedaliah Murdered

1 ¹In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ²Mizpah. As they ³ate bread together there at Mizpah,

2 ⁴Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, ⁵whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land.

3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at ⁶Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.

4 On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it,

5 eighty men arrived from ⁷Shechem and ⁸Shiloh and ⁹Samaria, with ¹⁰their beards shaved and ¹¹their clothes torn, and ¹²their bodies gashed, ¹³bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord.

6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from ¹⁴Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. ”

7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern.

8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ¹⁵stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields. ” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with^[a] Gedaliah was the large cistern that ¹⁶King Asa had made for defense against ¹⁷Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

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.

Cross References

• 1. 41:1 2 Kgs. 25:25
• 2. 41:1 See ch. 40:6, 8, 10
• 3. 41:1 [Ps. 41:9]
• 4. 41:2 [2 Sam. 13:28, 29]
• 5. 41:2 ch. 40:5
• 6. 41:3 [See ver. 1 above]
• 7. 41:5 Josh. 17:7
• 8. 41:5 Josh. 18:1
• 9. 41:5 1 Kgs. 16:24; See ch. 23:13
• 10. 41:5 [ch. 48:37; Deut. 14:1; Isa. 15:2]
• 11. 41:5 ch. 36:24
• 12. 41:5 [ch. 48:37; Deut. 14:1; Isa. 15:2]
• 13. 41:5 [2 Kgs. 25:9]
• 14. 41:6 ch. 40:6, 8, 10
• 15. 41:8 [Judg. 6:11]
• 16. 41:9 [1 Kgs. 15:22; 2 Chr. 16:6]
• 17. 41:9 [1 Kgs. 15:22; 2 Chr. 16:6]

Footnotes

• [a] 41:9 Hebrew 'by the hand of'