Jeremiah 41:9

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king's chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and they ate a meal together there. ²Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the land. ³Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there. ⁴On the second day after the murder of Gedaliah, when no one yet knew about it, ⁵eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and incense to bring to the temple of the LORD. ⁶And Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When Ishmael encountered the men, he said, "Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam." ⁷And when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern. ⁸But ten of the men among them said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field-wheat, barley, oil, and honey!" So he refrained from killing them with the others. ⁹Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men he had struck down along with Gedaliah was a large one that King Asa had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.¹⁰Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people of Mizpah-the daughters of the king along with all the others who remained in Mizpah-over whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set off to cross over to the Ammonites.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the pit: This was probably a large reservoir for receiving rain water, which Asa had caused to be made in the midst of the city, in case of a siege.

because of Gedaliah: or, near Gedaliah, Heb. by the hand, or the side of Gedaliah. was it. Joshua 10:16-18, Judges 6:2, 1 Samuel 13:6, 1 Samuel 14:11, 1 Samuel 14:22, 1 Samuel 24:3, 2 Samuel 17:9, Hebrews 11:38

for fear: 1 Kings 15:17-22, 2 Chronicles 16:1-10

Reciprocal: Isaiah 14:19 - go Ezekiel 33:27 - in the caves

Cross-References

Genesis 40:14
But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison.

Genesis 40:23
The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.

Genesis 41:1
After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,

Genesis 41:3
After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the other cows on the bank of the river.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies,.... Not only of those seventy men of Samaria, c. but

of the men whom he had slain because of Gedaliah because of their attachment to him: or, "by the hand of Gedaliah" k; not by him, as an instrument; unless, as Jarchi observes, because he rejected the advice of Johanan, and provided not for his safety, and his people, it was as if they were slain by him l; rather the sense is, that they were slain by the side of him, or in the, place where he was, or along with him m; see a like phrase in Jeremiah 38:10; now both the one and the other were cast into one pit: and this

[was] that which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel; which was either a ditch that was cast up against the wall that went round the city; or a large pit or well in the midst of it, to hold water in it; and this was made by King Asa, either when he built and fortified Mizpah, 1 Kings 15:22; or, as the Targum here, when Baasha king of Israel besieged it; which he made that he might be provided for with water during the siege; or to hide himself in it; or stop the enemy from proceeding any further, should he enter:

[and] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with [them that were] slain; which shows it rather to be a pit or well within the city than a ditch about it; since it was filled with the slain, with those that were slain with Gedaliah, and those seventy other persons; and by which he made the well useless to the inhabitants hereafter.

k ביד גדליהו "in manu Gedaliae", Montanus, Vatablus. l So T. Bab. Nidda, fol. 61. 1. m "Ad latus", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "in loco", some in Munster; "cum Gedalia", De Dieu, Gataker.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Because of Gedaliah - By the side “of Gedaliah.” Ishmael now cast beside Gedaliah’s body those of the pilgrims.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 41:9. Now the pit - was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha — See 1 Kings 15:22. Asa made this cistern as a reservoir for water for the supply of the place; for he built and fortified Mizpah at the time that he was at war with Baasha, king of Israel.