Jeremiah 41

Jer 41:1-18.

ISHMAEL

MURDERS

GEDALIAH AND

OTHERS,

THEN

FLEES TO THE

AMMONITES.

JOHANAN

PURSUES

HIM,

RECOVERS THE

CAPTIVES, AND

PURPOSES TO

FLEE TO

EGYPT FOR

FEAR OF THE

CHALDEANS.

1. seventh month--the second month after the burning of the city

(Jer 52:12, 13).

and the princes--not the nominative. And the princes

came, for the "princes" are not mentioned either in

Jer 41:2

or in

2Ki 25:25:

but, "Ishmael being of the seed royal and of the princes of the king"

[MAURER]. But the ten men were the "princes

of the king"; thus MAURER'S objection has no

weight: so English Version.

eat bread together--Ishmael murdered Gedaliah, by whom he was

hospitably received, in violation of the sacred right of hospitality

(Ps 41:9).

2. slew him whom the king of Babylon had made governor--This assigns

a reason for their slaying him, as well as showing the magnitude of

their crime

(Da 2:21;

Ro 13:1).

3. slew all the Jews--namely, the attendants and ministers of Gedaliah;

or, the military alone, about his person; translate, "even (not

'and,' as English Version) the men of war." The main portion of the

people with Gedaliah, including Jeremiah, Ishmael carried away captive

(Jer 41:10, 16).

4. no man knew it--that is, outside Mizpah. Before tidings of the

murder had gone abroad.

5. beards shaven, &c.--indicating their deep sorrow at the

destruction of the temple and city.

cut themselves--a heathen custom, forbidden

(Le 19:27, 28;

De 14:1).

These men were mostly from Samaria, where the ten tribes, previous to

their deportation, had fallen into heathen practices.

offerings--unbloody. They do not bring sacrificial victims, but

"incense," &c., to testify their piety.

house of . . . Lord--that is, the place where the house of the Lord

had stood

(2Ki 25:9).

The place in which a temple had stood, even when it had been destroyed,

was held sacred [PAPINIAN]. Those "from Shiloh"

would naturally seek the house of the Lord, since it was at Shiloh it

originally was set up

(Jos 18:1).

6. weeping--pretending to weep, as they did, for the ruin of the

temple.

Come to Gedaliah--as if he was one of Gedaliah's retinue.

7. and cast them into . . . pit--He had not

killed them in the pit (compare

Jer 41:9);

these words are therefore rightly supplied in English Version.

the pit--the pit or cistern made by Asa to guard against a want

of water when Baasha was about to besiege the city

(Jer 41:9;

1Ki 15:22).

The trench or fosse round the city [GROTIUS].

Ishmael's motive for the murder seems to have been a suspicion that

they were coming to live under Gedaliah.

8. treasures--It was customary to hide grain in cavities underground

in troubled times. "We have treasures," which we will give, if our lives

be spared.

slew . . . not--

(Pr 13:8).

Ishmael's avarice and needs overcame his cruelty.

9. because of Gedaliah--rather, "near Gedaliah," namely, those

intercepted by Ishmael on their way from Samaria to Jerusalem and killed

at Mizpah, where Gedaliah had lived. So

2Ch 17:15,

Ne 3:2,

Margin, literally, as here, "at his hand." "In the reign of

Gedaliah" [CALVIN]. However, English

Version gives a good sense: Ishmael's reason for killing them was

because of his supposing them to be connected with Gedaliah.

10. the king's daughters--

(Jer 43:6).

Zedekiah's. Ishmael must have got additional followers (whom the hope

of gain attracted), besides those who originally set out with him

(Jer 41:1),

so as to have been able to carry off all the residue of the people. He

probably meant to sell them as slaves to the Ammonites (see on

Jer 40:14).

11. Johanan--the friend of Gedaliah who had warned him of Ishmael's

treachery, but in vain

(Jer 40:8, 13).

12. the . . . waters--

(2Sa 2:13);

a large reservoir or lake.

in Gibeon--on the road from Mizpah to Ammon: one of the sacerdotal

cities of Benjamin, four miles northwest of Jerusalem, now Eljib.

13. glad--at the prospect of having a deliverer from their captivity.

14. cast about--came round.

16. men of war--"The men of war," stated in

Jer 41:3

to have been slain by Ishmael, must refer to the military about

Gedaliah's person; "the men of war" here to those not so.

eunuchs--The kings of Judah had adopted the bad practice of having

harems and eunuchs from the surrounding heathen kingdoms.

17. dwelt--for a time, until they were ready for their journey to

Egypt

(Jer 42:1-22).

habitation to Chimham--his "caravanserai" close by Beth-lehem. David,

in reward for Barzillai's loyalty, took Chimham his son under his

patronage, and made over to him his own patrimony in the land of

Beth-lehem. It was thence called the habitation of Chimham

(Geruth-Chimham), though it reverted to David's heirs in the year of

jubilee. "Caravanserais" (a compound Persian word, meaning "the

house of a company of travellers") differ from our inns, in that there

is no host to supply food, but each traveller must carry with him his

own.

18. afraid--lest the Chaldeans should suspect all the Jews of being

implicated in Ishmael's treason, as though the Jews sought to have a

prince of the house of David

(Jer 41:1).

Their better way towards gaining God's favor would have been to have

laid the blame on the real culprit, and to have cleared themselves. A

tortuous policy is the parent of fear. Righteousness inspires with

boldness

(Ps 53:5;

Pr 28:1).