2 Kings 25:23

2Ki 25:23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

Ver. 23. And when all the captains of the army.] Palantes per agros, qui dispersi fuerant; those, likely, that were scattered from Zedekiah. {2Ki 25:5}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 25:23. When all the captains of the armies — Who escaped when Zedekiah was taken; heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor — One of themselves, and that things were put into a good posture: there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah — A place in the land of Benjamin, famous in Samuel’s time; Ishmael, Johanan, &c., they and their men — To put themselves under his protection. Gedaliah, though he had not the pomp and power of a sovereign prince, yet might have been a greater blessing to them than many of their kings had been, especially having such a privy counsellor as Jeremiah, who was now with them, and interested himself in their affairs, Jer 40:5-6.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25:23-24 Because Gedaliah came from a family experienced in civic affairs, his governorship was initially well accepted (see also Jer 40:1-12). A seal impression recovered from Lachish confirms Gedaliah’s importance as the officer “over the house” (see study note on 1 Kgs 4:6). • In addition to the army commanders, the prophet Jeremiah also went to Mizpah to support Gedaliah (Jer 40:6). This Mizpah was a border town in Benjamin; it had been prominent in Israelite history as a place of religious assembly (1 Sam 7:5-6). • The men listed here held important posts. Ishmael was from a prominent family of royal lineage (2 Kgs 25:25; Jer 36:12). Johanan served Gedaliah faithfully (Jer 40:13-16). The name Jezaniah occurs on materials recovered from excavations at Tell-en-Nasbeh.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 23. To Mizpah] This is said to have been situated on the east side of the river Jordan, and most contiguous to Babylon, and therefore the most proper for the residence of Gedaliah, because nearest to the place from which he was to receive his instructions. But there were several places of this name, and we do not exactly know where this was situated.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(23) The captains of the armies.—Rather, the army captains; or, the captains of the forces. They and their men had fled with the king, and dispersed themselves over the country (Jer_40:7). Now they came out of hiding.

Their men.—The Hebrew text has the men, but all the versions, and Jer_40:7, read rightly, their men.

Mizpah.—See 1Ki_15:22. It was well suited to be the governor’s residence, as it lay high, and was a naturally strong position. Moreover, it was the seat of an ancient sanctuary (Jdg_20:1), which might serve in some sort as a substitute for the destroyed Temple of Jerusalem (Jer_41:5).

Ishmael.—Grandson of Elishama the royal secretary (2Ki_25:25; Jer_36:12; Jer_36:20), and of royal blood (Jer_41:1).

Johanan the son of Careah.—Jer_40:8, “and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Careah.”

The Netophathite.—The words, “and the sons of Ophai,” have fallen out before this epithet (Jer_40:8), and probably the names of these sons of Ophai in both passages. Netophah is mentioned in Ezr_2:22; Neh_7:26. It may be Beit Nettif south-west of Jerusalem.

The son of a (the) Maachathite.—His father was an alien, and belonged to the Syrian state of Maachah (2Sa_10:6; 2Sa_10:8).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. And [R.V. Now] when all the captains … heard] The governorship of Gedaliah appears to have found much favour. We are told (Jeremiah 41) that when Jeremiah was set at liberty by Nebuzar-adan at Ramah he at once made his way to Gedaliah; beside that the captains of the forces gathered to him, and so did the Jews that had escaped into the countries round about, Moab, Ammon and Edom; and it is said ‘they gathered wine and summer fruits very much’. Meantime Gedaliah was warned that Baalis the king of the Ammonites had sent Ishmael to slay him, but he refused to credit the report, and when one of his friends voluntered to slay Ishmael, Gedaliah would not permit it.

captains of the armies] R.V. forces. Thus translated in Jer_40:7.

to Mizpah] See on 1Ki_15:22. Jerusalem was now in ruins. Mizpah was a strong place about six miles north of the Holy City.

Ishmael the son of Nethaniah] Jer_41:1 (see also below verse 25) adds that Nethaniah was the son of Elishama of the seed royal. How he was connected with the royal blood we cannot discover. He had been in the country of the Ammonites during the destruction of Jerusalem, and when Gedaliah was set up as governor in Mizpah he came into Judah, apparently at the instigation of Baalis, king of Ammon, with the purpose of slaying Gedaliah and occupying his place. At first he acted as if friendly to Gedaliah, but after a short time, at a banquet where he and ten friends were entertained by Gedaliah, the murder of the governor was perpetrated, and at the same time all the Jews in the house with Gedaliah were likewise slain. All this was done with such precaution and secrecy that for two days nobody outside the governor’s palace knew what had been done. After that time Ishmael, observing a party of fourscore pilgrims coming towards Mizpah, went to meet them, and bringing them into the courtyard of the house as if to see Gedaliah, had all but ten of them killed and cast into the well in the court. He now resolved on flight and taking away with him the daughters of Zedekiah, who had been put under Gedaliah’s charge, he turned his steps to the land of Ammon. But Johanan and the other captains, who had by this time discovered the atrocious murders, pursued Ishmael, yet though they came up with him and his party ‘by the great waters that were in Gibeon’, and though Ishmael’s followers were at once ready to desert him, the villain, and eight more with him, escaped into the country of the Ammonites.

Johanan the son of Careah] R.V. Kareah. This is the spelling of A.V. in Jer_40:8; Jer_41:11, &c. It was Johanan who warned Gedaliah of the plot against him. He is mentioned (Jer_43:2-4) as one of those who were prominent in the proceedings when Jeremiah was carried off into Egypt. He is there classed among ‘all the proud men’. A brother of his, Jonathan, is mentioned in Jer_40:8.

Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth] He is called here the Netophathite, but in the enumeration of Jeremiah that description is omitted, and some other persons are described as ‘the sons of Ephai, the Netophathite’.

Jaazaniah the son of a [R.V. the] Maachathite] The name is spelt Jezaniah in Jeremiah’s narrative.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The captains of the armies - i. e., the officers of the troops who had fled from Jerusalem with Zedekiah 2Ki 25:4, and had then dispersed and gone into hiding 2Ki 25:5.

For Mizpah, see Jos 18:26 note.

The Netophathite - Netophah, the city of Ephai (compare Jer 40:8), appears to have been in the neighborhood of Bethlehem Neh 7:26; Ezr 2:21-22. The name is perhaps continued in the modern Antubeh, about 2 12 miles S. S. E. of Jerusalem.

A Maachathite - Maachah lay in the stony country east of the upper Jordan, bordering upon Bashan Deu 3:14.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The captains of the armies, which escaped away when Zedekiah was taken. See Poole "2Ki 25:4", See Poole "2Ki 25:5".

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

23. The captains of the armies — The men of war who fled by night with Zedekiah from Jerusalem, (2Ki_25:4,) but soon after deserted him, and had become scattered “in the fields.” Jer_40:7.

To Mizpah — In the land of Benjamin. See on Jos_18:25, and 1Sa_7:5. The city had been strongly fortified by Asa, (1Ki_15:22,) and Gedaliah occupied it instead of Jerusalem, because the latter city was in too ruinous a condition to be any proper residence for a governor.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when all the captains of the armies; rather, the captains of the forces (Revised Version); i.e. the officers in command of the troops which had defended Jerusalem, and, having escaped from the city, were dispersed and scattered in various directions, partly in Judaea, partly in foreign countries. They and their men apparently, each of them had kept with him a certain number of the men under his commandheard that the King of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor. The news was gratifying to them. It was something to have a Jewish ruler set over them, and not a Babylonian; it was, perhaps, even more to have a man noted for his justice and moderation (Josephus, "Ant. Jud:," 10:9. who had no selfish aims, but desired simply the prosperity and good government of the country. There same to Gedaliah to Mispah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Jo-hanan the son of Careah Jer_40:8 has "Johanan and Jonathan, the sons of Kareahand Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite. in Jer_40:8 we read, "And Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netephathite," by which it would seem that some words have fallen out here. By "Netophathite" is to be understood "native of Netophah," now Antubah, near Bethlehem (see Ezr_2:22; Neh_7:26) And Jaazaniah the son of a Maschathite. Called Jezaniak by Jeremiah, and said by him (Jer_42:1) to have been the son of a certain Heshaiah. Hoshaiah was a native of the Syrian kingdom, or district, known as Maschah, or Maachathi (Deu_3:14; 1Ch_19:6, 1Ch_19:7) which adjoined Bashan towards the north. They and their men. The persons mentioned, that is, with the soldiers under them, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and placed themselves under him as his subjects.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the officers of the armies. Who had left the city to hide in the strongholds, boulders, rocks and forests.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.