2 Kings 25:22-26

B. THE APPOINTMENT AND ASSASSINATION OF GEDALIAH 25:22-26

TRANSLATION

(22) As for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. (23) When all the captains of the armies heard, they and the men, that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came unto Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, (the sons of Ephai) the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of a Maachathite, they and their men. (24) And Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, Do not fear because of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. (25) And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama of the royal seed and ten men with him came and smote Gedaliah, so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him in Mizpah. (26) And all the people from the least to the greatest, and the captains of the armies arose, and went to Egypt; for they feared because of the Chaldeans.

COMMENTS

After the fall of Jerusalem, Judah became a province of the Babylonian empire. The Holy City had been completely destroyed, reduced to a heap of ashes. But it was not the intention of Nebuchadnezzar to leave the whole land desolate. The Great King appointed Gedaliah, a member of a prominent Jewish family, as governor over the poor of the land whom he had left behind. Gedaliah was an ideal choice. He came from a God-fearing and influential family[697] which through the years had supported the contention of Jeremiah that Nebuchadnezzar had been appointed by God to be ruler of the world. Some conjectureand they are probably correctthat Gedaliah had followed the advice of Jeremiah and defected to the Chaldeans early in the siege of Jerusalem. Under the leadership of Gedaliah, Nebuchadnezzar intended to create in Judah a self-governing commonwealth under Babylonian sovereignty. The Great King hoped to maintain the loyalty of the new colony by granting to them as much freedom as possible, especially freedom of religion. Thus he hoped to create a state in western Asia upon which he could depend in any future showdown with Egypt (2 Kings 25:22).

[697] Gedaliah's father, Ahikam, had once protected Jeremiah when he was on trial for his life (Jeremiah 26:24). His grandfather Shaphan had been secretary of state under the godly King Josiah (UK 2 Kings 22:8).

The wisdom of Nebuchadnezzar's choice of Gedaliah became evident at once. Gedaliah immediately launched into a program of reconstruction. His first goal was to unite the various factions into which the remnant of the people was divided. Scattered throughout the land were small guerrilla bands which had somehow escaped capture and destruction by the Chaldean army. Once the main body of foreign troops withdrew, these guerrilla units either came voluntarily or were summoned to Mizpah. Among those named as meeting with Gedaliah at Mizpah are Ishmael who later turned traitor and murdered Gedaliah; Johanan the son of Kareah who later led the remnant to Egypt; Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth; the sons of Ephai[698] who hailed from the town of Netophah near Bethlehem; and Jaazaniah (called Jezaniah in Jeremiah 42:1) the son of Hoshaiah[699] who hailed from the Aramean region of Maachah which adjoined Bashan on the north (2 Kings 25:23).

[698] The words and the sons of Ephai have apparently dropped out of the text of Kings and are to be supplied from the parallel passage in Jeremiah 40:8.

[699] Jeremiah 42:1.

Gedaliah honestly and forthrightly presented his program to those captains, and urged them to use their influence to secure peace throughout the land. First, he assured these soldiers that they had no reason to fear serving the Chaldeans. It may be that Gedaliah used his influence to secure from Nebuchadnezzar amnesty for all those who participated in the war against Babylon. In the second place, Gedaliah called upon these leaders and their followers to dwell peacefully in the land and render service to the king of Babylon. If they continued to do this, he promised them a life of peace (2 Kings 25:24).

The tranquility of the tiny remnant in Palestine was soon shattered. Ishmael, a member of the royal family, began plotting behind the scenes to assassinate Gedaliah. Just what motivated Ishmael in this ruthless plot is not clear. It may be that he resented the fact that Gedaliah had been appointed governor rather than a member of the royal family. On the other hand, Ishmael may have despised and hated Gedaliah for collaborating with the Babylonians. Whatever the explanation for the dastardly deed which he committed, it is clear that Ishmael was being used as a political pawn of Baalis, the king of Ammon. Baalis must have coveted the territory of Judah for himself and decided that Gedaliah was standing in the way (cf. Jeremiah 40:14).

Gedaliah was warned of the treacherous plot against him but gave no heed to the report (Jeremiah 40:13-14). In the seventh month[700] Ishmael set his plan in motion. He and ten cutthroats proceeded to Mizpah. Suspecting nothing, Gedaliah entertained these men hospitably (Jeremiah 41:1). During the course of the banquet, Ishmael and his men rose up suddenly and slew the governor, the Jewish officials who served with him, and his Babylonian bodyguard (2 Kings 25:25). Josephus the Jewish historian adds the tradition that Gedaliah was intoxicated at the time he was murdered. Throughout the exile the Jews observed the third day of the seventh month as a fast day to commemorate the assassination of Gedaliah (cf. Zechariah 7:5; Zechariah 8:19).

[700] Unfortunately the narrator has failed to mention the year in which the assassination took place. Does he mean that Gedaliah was assassinated in the same year in which Jerusalem was captured and burned? If so, then Gedaliah's governorship lasted only about three months. It is perhaps better (though certainly not necessary) to think here in terms of a governorship which lasted a few years. The Babylonians attempted to avenge the death of Governor Gedaliah in 582 B.C. (Jeremiah 52:30). If Gedaliah died in the seventh month of 587 B.C. it would be difficult to explain why it took the Babylonians six years to respond to the new rebellion in Judah.

The Book of Jeremiah expands at great length on the events associated with the death of Gedaliah. On the very next day Ishmael massacred seventy innocent pilgrims who were making their way to the ruins of the Jerusalem Temple to worship (Jeremiah 41:4-9). The women, children and older men who were left in Mizpah were taken captive by Ishmael before the murderer and his men hastily made their way toward Ammon. Fortunately Johanan and the other guerrilla captains heard of what had happened and intercepted Ishmael at Gibeon. The hostages were rescued, but Ishmael and his men escaped (Jeremiah 41:10-16). Fearful of Babylonian retaliations, the scared remnant departed immediately for Egypt. At their first camping spot near Bethlehem, Jeremiah pleaded with them to trust the Lord and remain in the land (Jeremiah 41:17 to Jeremiah 42:22). But the worldly captains accused Jeremiah of attempting to deceive them, and so they pushed on toward Egypt[701] (2 Kings 25:26).

[701] On the activities of the remnant in Egypt and Jeremiah's prophecies against them, see Jeremiah 43:8 to Jeremiah 44:30.