Bible Commentaries

Now it came to pass in the ^a seventh month, [that] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the ^b king, even ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they ^c ate bread together in Mizpah.

(a) The city was destroyed in the fourth month and in the seventh month, which contained part of September and part of October, the governor Gedaliah was slain.

(b) Meaning, Zedekiah.

(c) They ate together as familiar friends.

That there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, [even] eighty men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes torn, and having cut themselves, with ^d offerings and incense in their hand, to bring [them] to the house of the LORD.

(d) For they thought that the temple had not been destroyed and therefore came up to the feast of tabernacles but hearing of the burning of it in the way, they showed these signs of sorrow.

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said to them, Come ^e to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

(e) For his death was kept secret, and he pretended that he lamented for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple but later slew them when they seemed to favour Gedaliah.

Now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, [was] that which Asa the king had ^f made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: [and] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with [them that were] slain.

(f) Asa fortified Mizpah for fear of the enemy, and dug ditches and trenches, (1 Kings 15:22).

But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the ^g captains of the forces that [were] with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

(g) Who had been captains under Zedekiah.

But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the ^h Ammonites.

(h) For Baalis the king of the Ammonites was the cause of this murder.

And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of ⁱ Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,

(i) Which place David of old had given to Chimham the son of Barzillai the Gileadite, (2 Samuel 19:38).