This chapter relates the event of the conspiracy against Gedaliah Johanan and the princes had informed him of, to which he gave no credit; but it proved true. An account is given of the murder of Gedaliah, and of the Jews and Chaldeans with him; and of the perpetrators of it, Jer.

Now it came to pass in the seventh month The month Tisri, which answers to part of our September, and part of October; according to the Jewish [[1]] chronicle, it was on the third day of this month, fifty two days after the destruction of the temple, that Gedaliah was slain; on which day a fast was…

Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him After they had eat and drank well, they rose up from their seats at table: and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him; they all drew their swords and thrust at him, and were…

Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah Not only those that were at table, but that were in the city also. Josephus [[5]] says, that having slain those that were at the feast with him, he went out in the night, and slew all the Jews in the city, and the…

And it came to pass, the second day after he had slain Gedaliah That is, the day following, for it was in the night, as Josephus relates, as before observed, the murder was committed: and no man knew it; not any out of the city, or in remote parts; for those that were in the city must be sensible…

That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria Places in the ten tribes, and which belonged to the kingdom of Israel; so that it seems even at this distance of time, though the body of the ten tribes had been many years ago carried captive, yet there were still some religious…

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth to Mizpah to meet them Hearing there was such a number of men upon the road to Jerusalem, in such a habit, and upon such a design, he thought it advisable to go out and meet them, and stop them, and decoy them into the city, and there destroy them; lest,…

And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, &c.] Where Gedaliah’s house was, to which he invited them; and as they went in, he shut up the court, as Josephus [[7]] says, and slew them, as it here follows: that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the…

But ten men were found among them, that said unto Ishmael, slay us not They begged for their lives, using what follows as an argument to prevail upon him: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey; not that they had then a stock upon the ground at this…

Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies Not only of those seventy men of Samaria but of the men whom he had slain because of Gedaliah; because of their attachment to him: or, “by the hand of Gedaliah” [[9]]; not by him, as an instrument; unless, as Jarchi observes, because he…

Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah All that were not slain by him, that remained after the slaughter he had made, chiefly the unarmed people; they being men of war who fell by his sword: even the king’s daughters; whether they were the daughters of…

But when Johanan the son of Kareah The same that is mentioned (Jer. 40:8, Jer. 40:13, Jer. 40:15) ; and who had informed Gedaliah of Ishmael’s designs against him, but he would not believe him: and all the captains of the forces that were with him; his brother Jonathan, Seraiah, the sons of Ephai,…

Then they took all the men All the soldiers that were under their command; this they did at once, believing the report to be true, as they had reason to do; since they knew of Ishmael’s designs, and had given notice and warning of them to Gedaliah, though he would not listen to them: and went to…

Now it came to pass, that, when all the people which were with Ishmael That is, those which he had brought captives from Mizpah; not those that came with him thither: saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, they were glad; looking upon them as their…

So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about Or turned about, and wheeled off from Ishmael, and deserted him at once; not at all regarding his authority, nor fearing his menaces or his power; being in sight of the captains and their forces, they were determined to…

But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men Of the ten he brought with hin}, ; two of them being slain in this skirmish, or taken by Johanan, or they fled another way: and went to the Ammonites; who had put him upon, or however encouraged and assisted him in, his wicked…

Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him After Ishmael had made his escape, whom they did not think fit to pursue, and the people had committed themselves to their care and protection; and having brought them to Mizpah again, they took them from…

And they departed From Mizpah, Johanan, and the captains of the forces, and all the people rescued from Ishmael: and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem: so called perhaps from Chimham, the son of Barzillai the Gileadite, to whom David or Solomon might give this place to dwell…

Because of the Chaldeans Which clause some think should have been joined to . This is a reason given why they departed from Mizpah, and dwelt at the habitation of Chimham in the way to Egypt; and which is explained in the next words: for they were afraid of them; at least this they pretended, that…