Jeremiah 41

General context

In the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, of the seed royal, comes with ten men to Gedaliah at Mizpah and eats bread with him. Ishmael and his men rise and kill Gedaliah with the sword, along with the Jews with him at Mizpah, the Chaldeans found there and the men of war. On the second day, before anyone knows, eighty men come from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria with shaven beards, torn clothes and cut bodies, carrying offerings and incense for the house of the Lord. Ishmael goes out weeping to meet them and invites them to Gedaliah, then kills them inside the city and throws them into a pit, sparing ten who say they have hidden stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey in the field. The pit is the one King Asa made for fear of Baasha king of Israel, and Ishmael fills it with the slain. He then carries off the rest of the people at Mizpah, including the king's daughters, and sets out for the Ammonites. Johanan the son of Kareah and the captains hear of it, pursue him and find him by the great waters at Gibeon. The captives are glad to see Johanan and go over to him; Ishmael escapes with eight men to the Ammonites. Johanan takes the recovered remnant, soldiers, women, children and eunuchs, and they stop at the habitation of Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to enter Egypt because they fear the Chaldeans after the killing of the governor.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 41:1, Jeremiah 41:2, Jeremiah 41:3, Jeremiah 41:4, Jeremiah 41:5, Jeremiah 41:6, Jeremiah 41:7, Jeremiah 41:8, Jeremiah 41:9, Jeremiah 41:10, Jeremiah 41:12, Jeremiah 41:13, Jeremiah 41:14, Jeremiah 41:15, Jeremiah 41:16, Jeremiah 41:17, Jeremiah 41:18

Jeremiah 41 (KJV)

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Historical context

The chapter is dated only to the seventh month, with no year, and 2 Kings records the same killing in the same month. Ishmael is called the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama and "of the seed royal"; the text does not trace the royal descent further, and an Elishama the scribe in chapter 36 is not connected to him by the text. His motive is not stated here; the previous chapter reported that the king of the Ammonites had sent him, and after the killings he goes to the Ammonites. The eighty pilgrims come from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, northern places, with mourning signs and offerings for the house of the Lord, though the chapter does not explain what house they expected after the burning. The pit is identified as one Asa made for fear of Baasha, and 1 Kings records Asa fortifying Mizpah against Baasha. Ishmael arrives with ten men and escapes with eight; the text does not account for the difference. The king's daughters were among those at Mizpah. The move toward Egypt is explained as fear of Chaldean reprisal for the governor's death, and 2 Kings reports the same departure.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 41:1, 2 Kings 25:25, Jeremiah 40:14, Jeremiah 41:15, Jeremiah 41:5, Jeremiah 41:9, 1 Kings 15:22, Jeremiah 41:10, 2 Kings 25:26

Literary context

Shared bread precedes the murder, and the narrator states it without comment. Ishmael goes out weeping to meet the pilgrims and invites them in Gedaliah's name, so the deception is shown and the reader, knowing Gedaliah is dead, hears the invitation as a lie. Ten men buy their lives with hidden food, and the narrator records the bargain and the sparing in one verse. The name "Ishmael the son of Nethaniah" is repeated in most of the chapter's verses, so the killer is named at each act. The pit that Asa dug for defence becomes a grave. The captives' response to seeing Johanan is a single word, "glad," and the reversal is quick; the pursuit ends not with Ishmael's capture but with his escape. The plenty of chapter 40, wine and summer fruits, is followed here by treasures hidden in a field and a remnant on the road to Egypt. The closing verse gives the reason for the flight and hands the story to chapter 42's request for guidance.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 41:1, Jeremiah 41:6, Jeremiah 41:8, Jeremiah 41:2, Jeremiah 41:7, Jeremiah 41:9, Jeremiah 41:13, Jeremiah 41:15, Jeremiah 40:12, Jeremiah 41:17, Jeremiah 42:3

Key moments

1. Bread together at Mizpah (Jeremiah 41:1). Ishmael and ten men eat with Gedaliah before the attack.
2. Gedaliah killed (Jeremiah 41:2). Ishmael strikes down the governor with the sword.
3. Eighty mourners arrive (Jeremiah 41:5). Pilgrims from the north come with offerings for the Lord's house.
4. Cast into the pit (Jeremiah 41:7). Ishmael kills the pilgrims and throws them into a pit.
5. Ten spared for hidden food (Jeremiah 41:8). Men with stores of grain, oil and honey are not killed.
6. The captives turn back (Jeremiah 41:14). The people taken from Mizpah go over to Johanan at Gibeon.
7. Toward Egypt (Jeremiah 41:17). The remnant stops near Bethlehem intending to enter Egypt.

For reflection

Ten men buy their lives with hidden grain and oil while seventy die beside them. What does the text let the reader see about survival here, and what does it decline to judge?

People in this chapter

• Asa
• Jacob
• Judah

Also indexed here:

• Ishmael
• Nethaniah
• Gedaliah
• Ahikam
• Johanan
• Kareah
• Baasha
• Elishama
• Nebuzaradan
• Shaphan