Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

40:1 Nebuzaradan. See 39:11-14. Ramah. 5 miles (8 km) north of Jerusalem. along with all the captives. By some mistake (cf. 39:11-12), Jeremiah had been taken away with the exiles.

40:2-5 Nebuzaradan recognizes the truth of Jeremiah's preaching about Jerusalem's fall. As Nebuchadnezzar ordered (39:11-12), Nebuzaradan offered Jeremiah a choice of where to live and put him under Gedaliah's protection.

40:6 Mizpah. About 5-8 miles (8-13 km) north of Jerusalem (Judg. 20:1-3; 1 Sam. 7:12-14). lived with him. In the governor's house (Jer. 39:14). among the people who were left. See 39:10, 14.

40:7-8 Some of Judah's army scattered and hid after fleeing the city (52:8). These men came to Gedaliah to learn how he would govern.

40:9 Perhaps the soldiers wanted Gedaliah to lead a revolt. If so, they were disappointed. He gave them the same advice Jeremiah gave the exiles in 29:1-9.

40:10 represent you. As a Judean trusted by Babylon. gather . . . store . . . dwell. These poorer people could now reap the harvest in their fellow citizens' absence. cities that you have taken. Those who remained had moved into the exiles' homes and towns.

40:11-12 Many Judeans fled to neighboring countries, but returned at this point and gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. All was going well for those who remained in Judea.

40:13-14 Apparently the former soldiers (vv. 7-9) appreciated Gedaliah, for they warned him of a plot against his life involving Baalis the king of the Ammonites, and Ishmael, one of the "captains of the forces in the open country" (vv. 7-8), but he did not believe the rumors. The Ammonites opposed Babylon (27:3) and would therefore oppose Gedaliah. The archaeological record confirms the existence of "Baalis, the king of the Ammonites" in the sixth century b.c. An Ammonite seal from this time reads, "Belonging to Baalis, king of the Ammonites." An inscription from Tel el-Umeiri in Jordan on a seal impression of a high-court official says, "Milqom servant of Baalis."

40:15-16 Once again Johanan warned Gedaliah of the plot against him by Ishmael (see note on vv. 13-14), this time recommending a preemptive strike. But the magnanimous (or naive) Gedaliah could not imagine that Ishmael would be guilty of treason.

41:1 seventh month. October, most likely 587 b.c., though perhaps as late as 582 (see 52:30). The Feast of Booths took place in this month, and the pilgrims mentioned in 41:4-5 may have come for that festival. Ishmael. See 40:13-16. royal family. Thus he may have harbored hopes of renewing David's lineage to power. Mizpah. See 40:6. ate bread together. Gedaliah offered hospitality to Ishmael and his ten men.

41:2 As Johanan had feared (40:13-16), Ishmael did plan to kill Gedaliah. Killing a host was considered a cowardly, heinous act. Killing the man Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor was akin to committing suicide.

41:3 Ishmael killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah, thus carrying out a political massacre.

41:4-5 Others share Gedaliah's tragedy. eighty men. Probably pilgrims for the Feast of Booths. They were from three Israelite cities: Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. Some northerners came to Jerusalem to worship even after the nations were divided in 930 b.c. beards shaved. They probably mourned the temple's destruction. grain offerings and incense. Worship continued at the temple site after 587 b.c.

41:6-8 Under the guise of offering safe passage to Gedaliah (whom he has just killed; v. 2), Ishmael slaughters 70 of the pilgrims, apparently in order to leave no witnesses of his first crime. He spares 10 because they offer precious food. He throws the dead into a cistern.

41:9 This cistern was dug when Asa of Judah fought Baasha of Israel. See 1 Kings 15:16-22.

41:10 Ishmael took hostages. king's daughters. Some prominent people had been left in the land, perhaps to pacify the local populace. whom Nebuzaradan . . . had committed. Cf. 39:13-14. Ishmael than set out to cross over to the Ammonites, who also opposed Babylon (27:3).

41:11-12 Johanan and other former soldiers (40:7-8, 13-16) pursued the treasonous Ishmael. The city of Gibeon was about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Mizpah. Ishmael took a circuitous route, perhaps to elude capture, but he did not get far.

41:13-15 Johanan rescued the hostages and killed two of Ishmael's men, but Ishmael . . . escaped to Ammon.

41:16 soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs. Defines all the people mentioned in v. 10.

41:17-18 Geruth Chimham. Location unknown. Bethlehem. About 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Jerusalem, so Johanan and his soldiers had traveled 10-15 miles (16-24 km). go to Egypt. The nation farthest from Babylon-controlled territory. because of the Chaldeans. Johanan and his soldiers obviously feared retaliation for Gedaliah's murder despite their innocence in the matter.