Bible Strands
Jeremiah 40:15
Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah at Mizpah. “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah,” he said. “No one will know it. Why should he take your life and scatter all the people of Judah who have gathered to you, so that the remnant of Judah would perish?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Johanan son of Kareah approaches Gedaliah at Mizpah to propose a covert assassination of Ishmael son of Nethaniah. This occurs immediately after Gedaliah dismisses warnings that Ishmael acts on orders from Baalis king of the Ammonites to kill him.
The words — The Hebrew phrase בַּסֵּתֶר (ba.seter) translates to "in secrecy," describing Johanan’s plan to eliminate Ishmael without public knowledge. The verb אָמַר ('amar) marks Johanan’s direct proposal to Gedaliah.
The thread — The motif of covert action against a perceived threat echoes 1 Samuel 24:4 and 1 Samuel 26:8, where David’s men urge him to strike down Saul while he is vulnerable. It also parallels 2 Samuel 21:17, where Abishai intervenes to kill a Philistine who threatens David’s life.
Why it lands — The verse presents a tactical dilemma between preemptive violence and political trust, forcing the reader to weigh immediate security against the consequences of secret assassination. It demands a clear-eyed assessment of whether hidden force preserves a community or destroys it.
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
King James Version
Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!”
- 2 Samuel 21:17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”
- 1 Samuel 24:4 So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
- 2 Samuel 18:3 But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will not care about us. Even if half of us die, they will not care. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better now if you support us from the city.”
- Job 31:31 if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—
- Jeremiah 12:3 But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.
- Jeremiah 42:2 Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.
- Ezekiel 33:24 “Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’
- John 11:50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”