Jeremiah 41:2

Jer 41:2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Ver. 2. Then arose Ishmael.] Taking the opportunity when Gedaliah and his guests were mero graves, saith Josephus, merry with wine, and so less able to resist.

And the ten men that were with.] They and their followers being pugnaces et audaces, barbarous and brutish persons, skilful to destroy. {Eze 21:31}

And smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.] See on Jer 41:1.

And slew him whom the king of Babylon had made governor.] Yea, for that very cause, per invidiam et libidinem regnandi. So true is that of the tragedian, {a}

“ Simul ista mundi conditor posuit Deus,

Odium atque regnum. ”

{a} Sen. in Thebaide.

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.

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 (Dan 2:21; Rom 13:1).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. Smote Gedaliah] See the preceding chapter, Jer 40:14.

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

(2) Then arose Ishmael.—The narrative suggests the thought that, as in the massacre of Glencoe, the guests murdered their host at the very time when he was receiving them with open arms.

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

2. Then arose Ishmael … and the ten men] Gedaliah’s retinue may not have been very large, and were probably quite unsuspecting. The murders seem to have been committed privately at the entertainment. Next day (Jer_41:4) no one knew of it. Ishmael’s action was apparently useless as well as criminal. However, he may have been prepared to go any length to shew spite at the appointment of a ruler who was not, like himself (see Jer_41:1), of the royal house, or his object possibly was to keep the land in a state of unrest, so as to help out Baalis’s ambitious wishes; also, if Baalis was going to annex Judah, Ishmael may have had an eye to the governorship.

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.

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 assisting in the murder of him; though it is probable that it was Ishmael that gave him the mortal wound, since the phrase, "and slew him", is singular. Josephus (d) says that Gedaliah prepared a splendid table, and made a sumptuous entertainment for them, and being drunk himself, which they observed, took the opportunity and slew him, and all at table with him:

whom the king Babylon had made governor over the land; which mentioned; both to aggravate the crime they were guilty of, and to observe the reason of it, and what it was that prompted them to it; for so the words may be rendered, "because the king of Babylon had made him governor over the land" (e).

(d) Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 4. (e) "quia illum praefecerat", Vatablus. So Ben Melech.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

These ten men with their retinue fall upon Gedaliah, and barbarously murder him. Their quarrel against him was, that he was deputy governor to the king of Babylon; so desperately hardened were these Jews, that they would not yet see that God had given their country into the hand of the king of Babylon, who having now a right of conquest over them, had authority to set whom he pleased as his viceroy or deputy governor over them, to whom they ought to have yielded all subjection and obedience.

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

2. Had made governor — This was his crime. It was not simply murder, but the slaying of a ruler; striking down not merely a human life but the State in him.

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

Smote Gedaliah. The day of the murder of Gedaliah (the third day of the seventh month) was kept as a fast day by the post-Captivity Jews. (see Zec_7:5 Zec_8:19) It was the day on which the hope of living a separate life in the promised land, for a time at least, vanished; and the murder was avenged by a new captivity (see above).

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