Bible Strands
Jeremiah 41:7
And when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ishmael son of Nethaniah and his men slaughter a group of travelers who have entered the city after being deceived by Ishmael’s weeping greeting and false invitation to Gedaliah. This violence occurs immediately upon their arrival, prior to ten of the men pleading for their lives to save themselves.
The words — וַ/יִּשְׁחָטֵ֞/ם (va/i.yish.cha.Te/m) translates literally as "and he slaughtered them," denoting the act of cutting throats. תּ֣וֹךְ (Tokh) means "the middle of," specifying the cistern as the exact location where the bodies were deposited.
The thread — The narrative aligns with the condemnation of treacherous violence in Psalms 55:23, Isaiah 59:7, and Ezekiel 22:27, which similarly track the swift shedding of innocent blood and the ruin brought by deceit. These references collectively map a biblical pattern where political deception escalates into lethal retribution against the unsuspecting.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge how religious deception and political betrayal produce immediate, physical consequences for the vulnerable. It calls for sober discernment regarding the danger of false peace and the tangible cost of covenant treachery.
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
And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
Cross-references
- Psalms 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- 1 Kings 15:28 In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.
- 1 Kings 16:10 So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.
- 2 Kings 11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
- 2 Kings 15:25 Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king’s palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place.
- Proverbs 1:16 For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- 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.’
- Romans 3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;