XLI.
(1) IT CAME TO PASS IN THE SEVENTH MONTH. — It lies in the nature of
the case that the visit purported to be one of courtesy and
recognition. The remaining representatives of the house of David
(Jeremiah 40:8) would show that they were ready to welcome the new
Satrap. As the seventh month incl... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN AROSE ISHMAEL. — The narrative suggests the thought that, as in
the massacre of Glencoe, the guests murdered their host at the very
time when he was receiving them with open arms.... [ Continue Reading ]
ISHMAEL ALSO SLEW ALL THE JEWS.... — We wonder at first that ten men
were able to effect so much. It does not follow, however, that the
massacre went beyond the Jews and Chaldæan officers who were sharing
Gedaliah’s hospitality, and they may easily have been surprised,
like Gedaliah, unarmed, and in... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE CAME CERTAIN FROM SHECHEM, FROM SHILOH, AND FROM SAMARIA. —
The LXX. gives Salem instead of Shiloh, and this agrees better with
the order of the names, Salem being a tower or fortress near Shechem
(Genesis 33:18), while Shiloh lay further off. The eighty travellers
were coming apparently on a... [ Continue Reading ]
WEEPING ALL ALONG AS HE WENT. — The treacherous prince met them as
sharing in their grief. He does not tell them of the murder; but
assuming that they have heard of Gedaliah’s appointment as Satrap,
invites them to come and see him, as being now within the bounds of
his jurisdiction. The LXX., it ma... [ Continue Reading ]
ISHMAEL THE SON OF NETHANIAH SLEW THEM. — The purpose of the new
murder does not appear at first sight. The very presence of the devout
mourners may have roused him to bitterness. Their recognition of
Gedaliah may have seemed the act of traitors to their country.
Possibly also the act may have been... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT TEN MEN WERE FOUND AMONG THEM. — The stores which formed the
purchase-money by which the ten saved their lives represented probably
the produce of the previous year, which, after the manner of the East,
had been concealed in pits, far from the habitations of men, while the
land was occupied by t... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE OF GEDALIAH. — Literally, _by the hand of Gedaliah; i.e.,_
by using his name to entrap the unsuspecting pilgrims.
WHICH ASA THE KING HAD MADE FOR FEAR OF BAASHA... — See 1 Kings
15:22; 2 Chronicles 16:6. Baasha had tried to fortify Ramah as an
outpost of his kingdom. Asa called in the help... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN THE KING’S DAUGHTERS. — We find in Jeremiah 39:6 that the
sons of Zedekiah were slain at Riblah. The daughters (the word was
probably used generally for all the princesses of the royal house)
were spared, and consigned to the protection of Gedaliah. In taking
possession of them, Ishmael was ass... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THE GREAT WATERS THAT ARE IN GIBEON. — Johanan and his friends
had been unable to prevent the slaughter of which they had warned
Gedaliah (Jeremiah 41:15), but they were not too late to avenge it.
Gibeon, retaining its name with little alteration in the modern
_El-jibe,_ lay about two miles from... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY WERE GLAD. — The words are significant as implying the
popularity of Gedaliah, and the joy of those who had been under him at
seeing the prospect of his murder being avenged. They at once took
refuge with the leader of the avenging party.... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH EIGHT MEN. — He had come with ten (Jeremiah 41:1), and it is a
natural inference that two had perished in one or other of the
conflicts of Jeremiah 41:2; Jeremiah 41:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
MIGHTY MEN OF WAR... — These were apparently such as had escaped the
massacre of Jeremiah 41:2. In the women, the children, and the eunuchs
we find the survivors of the king’s harem. Ebed-melech may well have
been among the latter.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY DEPARTED, AND DWELT IN THE HABITATION OF CHIMHAM. — The word
translated “habitation “is not found elsewhere, but it is
connected with one which means “stranger,” “foreigner,” and
means probably a _caravanserai,_ or _hospitium_ for travellers. The
name of Chimham throws us back on the history of... [ Continue Reading ]