Bible Strands
Jeremiah 41:2
Then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ishmael son of Nethaniah and ten men rise and strike down Gedaliah son of Ahikam immediately after a shared meal at Mizpah in the seventh month. The text records the execution of the governor whom the king of Babylon had appointed to rule the land.
The words — וַ/יָּקָם (va/i.ya.Kam) translates literally as "and he arose," marking the sudden shift from fellowship to violence. יִשְׁמָעֵאל (yish.ma.'El) identifies the perpetrator by name, distinguishing him from his father Nethaniah.
The thread — The assassination occurs in the seventh month alongside Ishmael’s royal lineage and his arrival with ten men (2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 41:1). The murdered governor Gedaliah is previously identified in Jeremiah 40:5 as the official to whom Nebuzaradan directs Jeremiah.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of how political appointments and temporary truces can collapse into sudden violence. It requires the reader to track the immediate consequences of leadership removal within a fractured community.
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 arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 25:25 In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
- Jeremiah 40:5 But before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or go anywhere else that seems right.” Then the captain of the guard gave him a ration and a gift and released him.
- 2 Samuel 3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
- 2 Samuel 20:9 “Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
- Psalms 41:9 Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
- Psalms 109:5 They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
- Jeremiah 40:7 When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children who were the poorest of the land and had not been exiled to Babylon,