2 Kings 25:26

Then all the people small and great, together with the commanders of the army, arose and fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records the immediate aftermath of Gedaliah’s assassination at Mizpah, when the remaining Judean population and military leaders react to the collapse of Babylonian-appointed governance.

The words — מִ/קָּטֹ֤ן וְ/עַד\־ גָּדוֹל (mi./ka.Ton ve./'ad- ga.dOl) translates literally as "from small to great," indicating that every social stratum participated in the departure.

The thread — This collective flight to Egypt aligns with the remnant's trajectory in Jeremiah 41:16, 42:14, and 43:4, where commanders and civilians repeatedly choose Egyptian refuge over remaining in Judah.

Why it lands — The text explicitly states that fear of the Chaldeans drove the entire community to abandon the land, demonstrating that human panic overrides institutional stability when leadership falls.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיָּקֻ֨מוּva/i.ya.Ku.muand/ they arose כָל־khol-all הָעָ֜םha./'Amthe/ people מִקָּטֹ֤ןmi./ka.Tonfrom/ [the] small וְעַד־ve./'ad-and/ unto גָּדוֹל֙ga.dOl[the] great וְשָׂרֵ֣יve./sa.Reiand/ [the] commanders of הַחֲיָלִ֔יםha./cha.ya.Limthe/ armies וַיָּבֹ֖אוּva/i.ya.Vo.'uand/ they went מִצְרָ֑יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgypt כִּ֥יkifor יָרְא֖וּya.re.'Uthey were afraid מִפְּנֵ֥יmi./pe.Neiof/ <the face of>כַשְׂדִּֽים׃ פkhas.Dim[the] Chaldeans

King James Version

And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 43:4 So Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces disobeyed the command of the LORD to stay in the land of Judah.
Jeremiah 41:16 Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him took the whole remnant of the people from Mizpah whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam: the soldiers, women, children, and court officials he had brought back from Gibeon.
Jeremiah 42:14 and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’