Jeremiah 41:2

2 Ishmael and his ten men jumped to their feet and knocked Gedaliah down and killed him, killed the man the king of Babylon had appointed governor of 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 But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, came. He had royal blood in his veins and had been one of the king's high-ranking officers. He paid a visit to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah with ten of his men. As they were eating together,

2 Ishmael and his ten men jumped to their feet and knocked Gedaliah down and killed him, killed the man the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land.

3 Ishmael also killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah in Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were stationed there.

4 On the second day after the murder of Gedaliah - no one yet knew of it -

5 men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, eighty of them, with their beards shaved, their clothing ripped, and gashes on their bodies. They were pilgrims carrying grain offerings and incense on their way to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.