John Gill Commentary Jeremiah 41

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 ^F2 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 kept by the Jews, after their return from captivity, on this occasion, called the fast of the seventh month, (Zechariah 7:5) (8:19) ; though, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, this event happened on the first day of the month, the beginning of the new year; but the fast was kept the day following, because the first day was a festival. Josephus ^F3 says it was thirty days after Johanan had departed from Gedaliah, having given him information of the conspiracy against him.

[that] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed
royal : not the son of King Zedekiah, but one of the remoter branches of the family; whether Elishama his father was the same with Elishama the scribe is not certain, (Jeremiah 36:12Jeremiah 36:20) ; the Jews have a tradition that he descended from Jerahmeel, whose wife, Atarah, was the daughter of a Heathen king, and was a proselyte, which Kimchi on the place relates; see (1 Chronicles 2:26 1 Chronicles 2:41) ; this circumstance, of his being akin to the royal family, is mentioned, to show that he envied the governor, and bore him a grudge for the honour he had, thinking that he had a better title to it, as being of the seed royal.

and the princes of the king, even ten men with him ; some of the nobles of Zedekiah, who fled with him from Jerusalem, and deserted him when he was pursued and taken, and ever since had remained in the land; even ten of these joined with Ishmael in the conspiracy against Gedaliah, whom they bore an ill will to, for going over to the Chaldeans, and envying the power he was now possessed of. Some think these were ten ruffians, besides the princes of the king, since it may be rendered, "and the princes of the king, and ten men with him"; whom Ishmael and the princes took with them, as fit persons to assassinate the governor; and, besides, it is thought that eleven men were not sufficient to slay the Jews and the Chaldeans, as afterwards related; though it may be observed, that Ishmael, and these ten princes, did not come alone, as it can hardly be imagined they should, but with a number of servants and soldiers with them.

these came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah : they had been with him before, to whom he had swore, and given them assurance of security; and they departed from him to their respective cities, seemingly satisfied; and now return, to pay him a friendly visit, as they pretended: and there they did eat bread together at Mizpah ; had a feast, and kept holiday together, it being a new moon, the first day of the month, and the beginning of the new year too; so that it was a high festival: and perhaps this season was fixed upon the rather, to cover their design, and to perpetrate it; pretending they came to keep the festival with him, and who, no doubt, liberally provided for them; for bread here is put for all provisions and accommodations.

FOOTNOTES:

• F2: Seder Olam Rabba, c. 26. p. 76.
• F3: Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 4.

Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that
were with him
After they had ate 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 ^F4 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 of Babylon had made governor over the land ; This is 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" ^F5 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F4: Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 4.
• F5: (dyqph rva) "quia illum praefecerat", Vatablus. So Ben Melech.

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 ^F6 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 soldiers that were left by the Babylonians in it; but this cannot be understood of all the individuals there, or of the main body of the people, for they were carried captive by him, (Jeremiah 41:9) ; but of those that opposed him, or were able to avenge the death of their governor, and he might suspect would do it:

and the Chaldeans that were found there, [and] the men of war ; or, "even the men of war" ^F7 ; this describes more particularly who they were that were slain, those of the Jews, and especially the Chaldeans, who were in military service; either the bodyguards of the governor, or the city guards, or both, whom Ishmael thought it advisable to cut off, lest they should fall upon him, and revenge the death of Gedaliah, and prevent his further designs.

FOOTNOTES:

• F6: Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 4.
• F7: (hmxlmh yvna ta) "[inquam] viros belli", Schmidt; "bellatores scilicet", Piscator.

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 of it; but as yet the report of it had not reached the neighbourhood, and much less distant parts; this is observed on account of the following story, and to show how easily the persons after mentioned were drawn in by Ishmael.

That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria. Places in the ten tribes, 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 persons remaining, who had a great regard to the temple worship at Jerusalem: [even] fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, as mourners for the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the people.

The two first of these rites, shaving the beard, and rending of clothes, were agreeable to the law; but that of cutting themselves, their flesh with their nails, or knives, was forbidden by it (Leviticus 19:28, Deuteronomy 14:1). So that these people seemed to have retained some of the Heathenish customs of the places where they lived; for the king of Assyria had placed colonies of Heathens in Samaria, and the cities of it (2 Kings 17:24, 2 Kings 17:30, 2 Kings 17:31).

These came with offerings and incense in their hands: a meat offering made of fine flour, as the word signifies; and incense, or frankincense, which used to be put upon such an offering (Leviticus 2:1). They came to bring [them] to the house of the Lord. But the temple was now destroyed; wherefore either they thought there was a tabernacle or sanctuary erected at Mizpah for divine service and sacrifice; or they intended to offer these offerings on the spot where the temple of Jerusalem stood, and where they hoped to find an altar, if only of earth, and priests to sacrifice.

Though the Jewish commentators, Jarchi and Kimchi, observe, that when they first set out, they had not heard of the destruction of the temple, but heard of it in the way, and therefore came in a mourning habit, but before knew nothing of it, and therefore brought offerings with them, according to the former. But, according to the latter, they had heard before they set out of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the people, but not of the burning of the temple, until they were on their journey.