#gedaliah

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. — 2 Kings 25:23 | English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Cross References: 2 Kings 24:14-16; 2 Kings 24:18-20; 2 Chronicles 36:20-21; Isaiah 1:9; Jeremiah 40:7-9; Jeremiah 40:13-16; Jeremiah 41:1-3; Jeremiah 42:1-3; Jeremiah 43:2-4; Jeremiah 52:16; lamentations 5:11-13; Ezekiel 33:24-26; Matthew 24:15-16; Luke 21:20-22; Acts 2:5-11;

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The Assassination of Gedaliah

1 And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, and one of the king’s chief men, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam unto Mizpah, and there they ate bread together, in Mizpah. 2 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah arose, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 3 And Ishmael smote all the Jews that were with him, with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, the men of war.

4 And it came to pass the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, and no man knew it, 5 that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves; with oblations and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Jehovah. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and it came to pass when he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. 7 And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, he and the men that were with him, slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit. 8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Do not kill us, for we have hidden stores in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbore, and did not kill them among their brethren.

9 And the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain by the side of Gedaliah was the one which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 And Ishmael carried away captive all the remnant of the people that were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the children of Ammon.

11 And 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; 12 and they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are at Gibeon. 13 And it came to pass when all the people that were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. 14 And all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon; 17 and they departed, and dwelt at Geruth-Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt, 18 because of the Chaldeans; for they feared them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had smitten Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. — Jeremiah 41 | Literal Emphasis Translation (LET) The Literal Emphasis Bible is in the public domain Cross References: Genesis 14:14; Genesis 33:18; Genesis 37:12; Judges 6:2; 1 Samuel 30:1; 1 Samuel 30:17; 2 Samuel 3:16; 2 Samuel 3:27; 2 Samuel 19:37-38; 1 Kings 20:20; 2 Kings 25:23; 2 Kings 25:25; Nehemiah 2:10; Nehemiah 2:19; Psalm 41:9; Psalm 55:23; Isaiah 14:19; Isaiah 45:3; Isaiah 51:12; Jeremiah 42:1; Jeremiah 42:8; Jeremiah 42:14; Jeremiah 43:4; Jeremiah 50:4; Luke 12:4-5; John 13:18; Hebrews 11:38

What’s striking in Jeremiah 39 is not merely that Nebuchadrezzar ordered Jeremiah’s release, but the manner and intent behind it. The king didn’t just free him; he explicitly commanded his officials to take him out of the court of the prison and place him into the care of Gedaliah. That alone signals regard, not only for Jeremiah as a prophet whose words had proven accurate, but also for Gedaliah as a man trusted to govern what remained of Judah. By this point, Jerusalem had fallen, the city burned, and the bulk of the population deported eastward, yet Judah itself was not erased. It remained occupied territory, sparsely populated by the poor and administered locally under Babylonian authority. Gedaliah’s appointment was an exception carved out by imperial pragmatism, and Jeremiah’s placement with him was part of that same calculus. The Babylonians understood power, order, and influence, and they knew Jeremiah was not a destabilizing figure. He was not a revolutionary, not a manipulator, not a man who would exploit favor for personal gain. Nebuchadnezzar knew that as surely as he knew that Jeremiah had spoken truthfully about the fall of the city.

Gedaliah himself stands out as someone of substance. His lineage, his appointment, and his ability to host and administer the remnant all point to wealth, standing, and political sense. Not the flashy kind of wealth, but the kind that survives regime change because it’s rooted in networks, land, and reputation. Jeremiah’s association with him created a quiet but real axis of authority: moral authority from the prophet, administrative authority from the governor, and imperial authority backing them both. That combination explains why Jeremiah could move freely, speak boldly, and be heard. Yet, as you note, Jeremiah never mistook favor for entitlement. He understood the difference between provision and presumption. The Lord had kept him alive, but Jeremiah knew better than to turn that into self-assurance detached from obedience.

That’s why the pivot to Abed-melech is so telling. The word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah while he is still technically in the court of the prison, even though deliverance is already unfolding. The message is not about Jeremiah at all, but about a foreigner, an Ethiopian eunuch who acted righteously when others were paralyzed by fear. The promise given to Abed-melech is layered and sober: the judgments spoken against Jerusalem will come to pass, but Abed-melech himself will be delivered, not handed over to the men he fears, not slain by the sword. Yet the final phrase matters most—his life would be “for a prey unto him.” That is not triumphal language. It doesn’t suggest ease, reward, or comfort. It suggests survival with cost, preservation without insulation from consequence. His life is spared, but it is something he must carry, guard, and live out in a changed world.

That idea resonates beyond Abed-melech. It reflects the reality Jeremiah himself lived and understood: deliverance does not mean exemption from complexity, nor does obedience eliminate risk. A spared life can still be heavy, still demand wisdom, restraint, and discernment. Dreams deferred or transformed, futures narrowed, choices sharpened. To live on after collapse is itself a calling, but it is one that exposes a person to danger from within as much as from without. A life preserved becomes something precious and vulnerable at the same time, a prey not to enemies alone, but to one’s own decisions, hopes, and limits. That tension is where Jeremiah lived, and it’s why this part of the narrative doesn’t resolve cleanly. It doesn’t offer closure so much as responsibility. And that, more than the politics or the geography, is what gives this section its weight.