Jeremiah 41 commentary

Those who hate the worshippers of God, often put on the appearance of piety, that they may the easier hurt them. As death often meets men where they least expect it, we should continually search whether we are in such a state and frame of mind, as we would wish to be found in when called to appear before our Judge. Sometimes the ransom of a man's life is his riches. But those who think to bribe death, saying, Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field, will find themselves wretchedly deceived. This melancholy history warns us, never to be secure in this world. We never can be sure of peace on this side heaven.

The success of villany must be short, and none can prosper who harden their hearts against God. And those justly lose comfort in real fears, who excuse themselves in sin by pretended fears. The removal of a prudent and peaceable ruler, and the succession of another who is rash and ambitious, affects the welfare of many. Only those are happy and steady who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

It was a detestable cruelty and barbarity in Ishmael to kill Gedaliah who entertained him, and whom he found to possess a paternal regard towards him. Heathens have ever deemed hospitality sacred; and to violate it has been counted by them as the greatest atrocity; and hospitable Jupiter ever possessed among them the right of taking vengeance, if any one broke an oath given when at table. Now Ishmael had sworn, as we have seen, that he would be faithful to Gedaliah. He was again received by him, and was treated hospitably; and from his table he rose up to slay the innocent man, who was his friend, and had acted towards him, as it has been stated, the part of a father. And hence he became not only a parricide, but also the traitor of his own country; for he knew that it could not be but that Nebuchadnezzar would become more and more incensed against that miserable people, whom he had spared: but he made no account of his own fidelity, nor shewed any regard for his own brethren, whom he knew he exposed to slaughter and ruin.

But the cause of this madness is here indirectly intimated; the Prophet says, that he was of the royal seed. The royal seed was then, indeed, in the greatest disgrace; the king’s children had been slain; he himself had been taken away bound to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar had made him blind. But we see, that those who had been once in any dignity, can hardly relinquish those high notions by which they are inflated. So that when those of the royal seed are reduced to extreme poverty and want, they still aim at something royal, and never submit to the power of God. The fountain then of this madness the Prophet points out here, as by the finger, when he says, that Ishmael was of the royal seed: for he thought that it was by no means an honor to him, that Gedaliah was set over the Jews. He, no doubt, imagined that the kingdom was to be perpetual, since God had so often promised, that the throne of David would stand as long as the moon continued in the heavens. (Psalm 89:37) But mere ambition and pride led him to commit this abominable murder: and thus it was, that he suffered himself to be persuaded by the king of Ammon.

He then came together with the princes of the king, even those who were in the first rank when Zedekiah reigned. Then the Prophet adds, that they did eat bread. This phrase intimates that they were received hospitably, and were admitted to the table of Gedaliah. And this kindness and benevolence ought to have induced Ishmael and his associates to spare their host. But it follows, that they rose up. This circumstance, as to the time, enhanced their crime; for it was at the time they were eating that Ishmael slew Gedaliah; and thus he polluted his hands with innocent blood at the sacred table, having paid no regard to the rights of hospitality. Now the Prophet shews that this was fatal to the miserable remnant, who were permitted to dwell in the land. For, first, it could not have been done without exciting the highest indignation of the king of Babylon, for he had set Gedaliah over the land; and it was not expressed without reason, but emphatically, that this slaughter roused the displeasure of the king of Babylon, because the murder of Gedaliah was a manifest contempt of his authority. And then there was another cause of displeasure, for the Chal-deans in Mizpah, who had been given as protectors, were killed. For the Prophet tells us, that they were men of war, that no one might think that Chaldeans were sent there to occupy the place of the Jews, as it is sometimes the case when colonists or some such men settle in a land: they were military men, who had been chosen as a guard and protection to Gedaliah. Thus then was the wrath of the king of Babylon provoked to. vent his rage on the remnant to whom he had shewed mercy. It now follows, —

Jeremiah 41:4-5

4. And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,

4. Et factum est die postero ex quo occiderat Godoliam, ut nemo sciret,

5. That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

5. Et venerunt viri ex Sichem, e Silo et Samaria octoginta rasi barba (vel, rasa barba,) et laceris vestibus, et scissi (vel, laniati) in cute sua; oblatio autem et thus in manibus ipsorum, ut offerrent in domo Jehovae.

The Prophet skews here, that after Ishmael had polluted his hands, he made no end of his barbarity. And thus wicked men become hardened; for even if they dread at first to murder innocent men, when once they begin the work, they rush on to the commission of numberless murders. This is what the Prophet now tells us had happened; for after Gedaliah was killed, he says, that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, who brought incense and offering, to present them in the Temple, and that these were led by treachery to Mizpah, there killed and cast into a pit, as we shall hereafter see.

It is not known by what cause Ishmael was induced to commit this cruel and barbarous act, for there was no war declared, nor could he have pretended any excuse for thus slaying unhappy men, who apprehended no such thing. They were of the seed of Abraham, they were worshippers of God, and then they had committed no offense, and plotted nothing against him. Why then he was seized with such rage is uncertain, except that wicked men, as we have said, never set any bounds to their crimes; for God gives theta the spirit of giddiness, so that they are carried away by blind madness. It is, indeed, probable, that they were killed, because Ishmael thought that they carne to Gedaliah, that they might live under his protection, and that he could not have gained anything by the murder of one man, except he obtained authority over the whole land. It was then suspicion alone, and that indeed slight, which led him to such a cruelty. And the atrocity of the deed was enhanced by what the Prophet says, that they came to offer to God incense and offering, מנחה, meneche: and he says also, that they had their beards shaven, and their garments torn Such an appearance ought to have roused pity even in the most inveterate enemies; for we know, that there is an innate feeling which leads us to pity wretchedness and tears, and every mournful appearance. The fury then of Ishmael, even if he had before determined to do some grievous thing to these men, ought to have been allayed by their very sight, so as not to be even angry with them. According then to every view of the case, we see that he must have been divested of every sense of equity, and that he was more cruel than any wild beast.

But it may be asked, How did these men come for the purpose mentioned, since the report respecting the destruction of the Temple must have spread everywhere? for they are not said to have come from Persia, or from countries beyond the sea; but that they came from places not afar off. They who answer that the report of the Temple being destroyed had not reached them, only seek to escape, but the answer is not credible, and it is only an evasion. The Temple was burnt in the fifth month; could that calamity be unknown in Judea? And then we know that Shiloh was not far from Jerusalem, nor was Samaria very distant. Since then the distance of these places cannot account for their ignorance, it seems not to me probable, that these came, because they thought that the Temple was still standing, nor did they bring victims, but only incense and oblation. I then think that they came, not to offer the ordinary sacrifice, but only that they might testify their piety in that place where they had before offered their sacrifices. This conjecture has nothing inconsistent in it; nor is there a doubt, but that before they left their homes, they had put on their mean and torn garments. These were signs, as we have elsewhere seen, of sorrow and mourning among the Orientals.

But here another question is raised, for the Prophet says, that they were torn or cut; and this has been deemed as referring to the skin or body: but this was forbidden by the Law. Some answer that they forgot the Law in their extreme grief, so that they undesignedly tore or lacerated their bodies. But the prohibition of the Law seems to me to have had something special in it, even that God designed by it to distinguish his people from heathens. And we may gather from sacred history, that some artifice was practiced by idolaters, when they cut their bodies; for it is said, that the priests of Baal cut their bodies according to their usual manner or practice. God then, wishing to keep his people from every corruption, forbade them to imitate the rites of the heathens. And then there is no doubt but that God designed to correct excess in grief and mourning. I therefore do not think that anything contrary to the Law was done by these men, when they came to the ruins of the Temple with torn garments and lacerated skin, for there was in them nothing affected, for so lamentable a calamity drew forth such grief, that they spared neither themselves nor their garments.

Jeremiah says, in the first of these verses, that the death of Gedaliah was concealed, so that no one knew it; yet such a deed could have been hardly buried; for many of the Jews were killed together with Gedaliah, and also the guarding soldiers, whom Nebuchadnezzar had given to Gedaliah. But the Prophet means that it was hid, because the report had not yet gone forth. He then speaks comparatively, when he says that it was known to none. We have already stated the purpose for which the eighty men came from Samaria and other places; it was not that they might offer sacrifices, as when the Temple was standing, but only lament the destruction of the Temple and of the city; and that as they had brought from home the greatest sorrow, they might, on their return, humble themselves, after having seen so grievous a punishment inflicted on the people for their sins.

PRAYER

Grant, omnipotent God, that since our life is exposed to innumerable dangers, and thou settest before our eyes what happened to the best and choicest of thy servants, — O grant, that we may flee to thee, and resign ourselves wholly to thy will, that we may know that thou art the guardian of our life, so that not a hair of our head can fall without thy hidden permission, and that we may also learn to ask of thee the spirit of wisdom and discretion, so that thou thyself mayest guide our steps, as it is not in us to defend our life from those many intrigues by which we are on every side surrounded, the whole world being opposed to us, so that we may proceed in the course of our pilgrimage under thy care and protection, until we shall be removed into that blessed rest, which is laid up for us in heaven by Christ our Lord. — Amen.

Lecture One Hundred and Fifty-Fifth

Jeremiah 41:6-7

6. 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 unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

6. Et egressus est Ismael filius Nathaniae obviam ipsis e Mispath, ambnlans ambulando et fiens; et factum est cum occurrisset illis, tune dixit illis, Venite ad Godoliam filium Achikam.

7. And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.

7. Et factum est cum venissent in medium urbis, tunc jugulavit (vel, mactavit) eos Ismael filius Natha-niae ad medium fossae, ipse et viri qui erant cum eo.

Here Jeremiah relates another circumstance in the nefarious conduct of Ishmael, that by flatteries he enticed simple men, who feared no evil, and while pretending kindness, slew them. The slaughter was in itself very detestable, but added to it was the most abominable deceit, for he pretended to weep with them, and offered an act of kindness, to bring them to Gedaliah, and then he traitorously killed them! We hence see that it was an act of extreme wickedness. In saying that he wept, it was no doubt a sign of feigned piety, The words may be thus literally rendered, —

And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went out from Mizpah to meet them, walking, walking and weeping, etc.

He went on foot, and wept as he went out.

— Ed. He saw these good men in torn garments and in tears on account of the Temple being destroyed, he therefore pretended that he had the same feeling. This was falsely to pretend a regard for God, and his tears were those of the crocodile; for he shed tears as though he lamented the ruin of the Temple and of the city. He thus gained the confidence of the unwary men, and then after having led them into the middle of the city, he slew them. The place also is mentioned, nigh to the middle of the pit, for so I render it, rather than in the middle, for it is not credible that he killed them in the pit itself; but when led to the pit they were killed and were cast into it, as we shall see. “At the pit,” is the Sept.; “About the middle of the pool,” is the Vulg. and the Targum. It was evidently a ditch or a trench made for the defense of the city. See Jeremiah 41:9 — Ed. He then slew them at the outside of the pit, and immediately cast them in.

It may, however be asked, Whether he could with so few attack with success so many men? for it seems strange, that as they were eighty men they did not resist; they might at least have frightened their enemies. But we must, in the first place, recollect that they were, as we have seen, unarmed; for they had brought only a sacred offering with incense; but the others were armed and well trained for war; they had also been reduced to a state of hopeless despair, so that they had doubtless contracted great ferocity, as those who are continually in danger accustom themselves to acts of cruelty. Ishmael, then, and his companions were armed, but the others were without any arms, and were also simple men and in no degree accustomed to war. Hence it was that they were killed like sheep, while Ishmael and his associates were like wolves, altogether ferocious. It now follows, —

Jeremiah 41:8

8. But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

8. Decem autem homines inventi sunt in ipsis qui dixerunt (et dixerunt, copula resolvi debet hoc modo; dixerunt ergo) ad Ismael, Ne interficias nos, quia sunt nobis opes reconditae in agro, triticum et hordeum (sunt pluralis numeri, sed durum esset Latine dicere, tritica et hordea) et oleum et mel: et cessavit (vel, destitit,) et non occidit eos in medio fratrum suorum.

We here see that the barbarity of Ishmael was connected with avarice, he was indeed inflamed with ferocious madness when he slew simple and innocent men; but when the hope of gain was presented to him, he spared some of them. Thus then we see that he was a lion, a wolf, or a bear in savageness, but that he was also a hungry man, for as soon as he smelt the odor of prey, he spared ten out of the eighty, who, it is probable, thus redeemed their life and returned home. So in one man we see there were many monsters; for if he hated all those who favored Gedaliah, why did he suffer these to escape? even because avarice and rapacity prevailed in him.

It is then added, that he slew them not in the midst of their brethren, that is, when they were exposed to death and were mixed with the others, so that their condition seems to have been the same. The Prophet says, that they were spared, even because Ishmael sought nothing else but gain. And it is probable that in a state of things so disturbed he was not furnished with provisions and other things. As, then, want urged him, so he became moderate, lest his cruelty should cause a loss to him.

Here also is set before us the inscrutable purpose of God, that he suffered unhappy men to have been thus slain by robbers. They had left. their houses to lament the burning of the Temple. As then the ardor of their piety led them to Jerusalem, how unworthy it was that they should become a prey to the barbarity of Ishmael and his associates? But as we said yesterday, God has hidden ways by which he provides for the salvation of his people. He took away Gedaliah; his end indeed was sad, having been slain by Ishmael whom he had hospitably entertained. Thus God did not suffer him to be tossed about in the midst of great troubles. For John, the son of Kareah, who yet was a most faithful man, would have become soon troublesome to the holy man; for he became soon after the head and ringleader of an impious faction, and ferociously opposed Jeremiah. Had then Gedaliah lived, he would have been assailed on every side by his own people. It was then God’s purpose to free him at once from all these miserable troubles. The same thing also happened to the seventy who were slain; for the Lord removed them to their rest, that they might; not be exposed to the grievous evils and calamities which afterwards soon followed; for none could have been in a more miserable state than the remnant whom Nebuchadnezzar had spared. We have then reason in this instance to admire the secret purpose of God, when we see that these unhappy men were killed, who yet had gone to Jerusalem for the sake of testifying their piety. It was, in short, better for them to have been removed than to have been under the necessity of suffering again many miseries. It now follows, —

Jeremiah 41:9

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

9. Fovea autem in quam projecit Ismael illuc (sed abundat It is not redundant, for it is the idiom of the language: and so it is in Welsh, though the present version is not correct, which ought to be as follows, — “A’r clawdd (not pydew) yr hwn y bwriodd Ishmael iddo,” etc. — Ed. ) omnia cadavera hominum, quos percussit in plaga Godeliae (vel, propter Godoliam, ut alii vertunt) ipsa est quam fecerat rex Aza propter Baaza regem Israel; hanc replevit Ismael filius Nathaniae interfectis.

The Prophet tells us by the way that the trench was made by King Asa, when he fortified the city against the attack of Baasha, as it is related in the sixteenth chapter of Second Chronicles. For Baasha, having collected an army, made an attack on the land of Judah and began to build the city, that he might thus keep the Jews as it were besieged, and make thence daily incursions, and where he might safely take his forces together with the spoils. Asa then hired the king of Syria, and induced him to break the treaty which the two kings of Syria and Israel had made with one another. Thus Baasha was forced to leave the work unfinished, and thence Asa is said to have carried away the gathered stones, that thereby the trench might be formed. There is indeed no mention of the trench; but we may conclude that it was then formed, in order that it might interpose between the enemy and the city. But it may seem strange that the trench was in the midst of the city, except perhaps that Asa built a fortress within the town, that if he was overcome by his enemy, he might take refuge there with his men of war, as we know that citadels are often built in the middle of cities as fortresses, as places of refuge. Asa then built this trench, that should the king of Israel take the city, he might not penetrate farther, but be kept back by the interposing trench. But only in things uncertain are conjectures to be allowed.

But the Prophet increases the indignity of the deed, when he says, that the trench was filled with the slain It was formed for a very different end and purpose, even that the king of Judah, when reduced to the greatest straits, might have the trench as a defense against the violence of his enemies, so that he might protect his kingdom and his subjects. But now the slain were cast into the trench, not the Syrians nor the Israelites, but Jews themselves and God’s pious worshipers. What then had been made for the public benefit of the people, was made by Ishmael a place for the slaughter of good men. And hence, as it has been said, the atrocity of the deed was more enhanced. It afterwards follows, —

Jeremiah 41:10

10. Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

10. Et captivum cepit Ismael quod residuum erat populi, quod erat in Mispath, nempe filias regis, et totum populum qui relictus fuerat in Mispath quem commiserat Nabuzardan princeps interfectorum Godoliae filio Achikam (vel, cui residuo populi praefecerat Godoliam, eodem sensu, filium Achikam:) accepit ergo Ismael filius Nathaniae, et profectus est ut transiret ad filios Ammon.

It is not known whether Ishmael had this design at the beginning, or whether, when he saw that he had no power to stand his ground, he took the captives with him, that he might dwell with the king of Ammon. It is, however, probable that this was done according to a previous resolution, and that before he slew Gedaliah, it was determined that the remnant should be drawn away to that country. Perhaps the king of Ammon wished to send some of his own people to dwell in Judea; thus he hoped to become the ruler of Judea, and also hoped to pacify the king of Babylon by becoming his tributary. It was, however, a great thing to possess a land so fertile. However this may have been, there is no doubt but that the king of Ammon hoped for something great after the death of Gedaliah. And it is probable that for this reason the people were drawn away, to whom an habitation in Judea had been permitted.

The Prophet now tells us, that Ishmael took the remnant of the people captives. And it appears that in a short time he had a greater force than at the beginning; for he could not with a few men collect the people, for the number of those who had been left, as we have seen, was not inconsiderable: and they were dispersed through many towns; and Ishmael could not have prevailed on them by his command alone to remove to the land of Ammon. But after he had killed Gedaliah, his barbarity frightened them all, and no doubt many joined him; for an impious faction ever finds many followers when any hope is offered them. All then who were miserable among the people followed him as their leader; and thus he was able to lead away the whole people as captives.

But here again a question arises, that is, respecting the daughters of the king; for the poor and the obscure, who were of the lowest class, had alone been left; and the royal seed, as we have seen, had been carried away. But it is probable that some of the king’s daughters had escaped when the city was besieged; for Ishmael himself was of the royal seed, but he had escaped before the city was taken. Nebuchadnezzar then could not have had him as a captive. The same was the case with the daughters of the king, whom Zedekiah might have sent to some secure places. And Ge-daliah afterwards brought them together when he saw that it could be done without danger or hazard of exciting suspicion: he had indeed obtained this power, as we have before seen, from Nebuzaradan. Though then Gedaliah ruled over the poor and those of no repute, yet the daughters of the king, who had been removed to quieter places, afterwards dwelt with him; and so Ishmael, and John the son of Kareah, and other leaders of the army, came to him: the reason was the same.

But it is again repeated, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan had committed to Gedaliah, or, over whom he appointed Gedaliah, as we have before seen. But the repetition was not made without reason; for Jeremiah expressed again what was worthy of special notice, that the fury and violence of Ishmael were so great that he did not see that the mind of Nebuchadnezzar would be so exasperated as to become implacable; but his madness was so furious that he had no regard for himself nor for others.

He then says that he took away captive the people, and went that he might pass over to the children of Ammon Thus their condition was much worse than if they had been driven into exile; for the Ammonites were in no degree more kind than the Chaldeans; nay, they were exposed there, as we shall hereafter see, to greater reproaches; it would indeed have been better for them and more tolerable, had they been at once killed, than to have been thus removed to an exile the most miserable.

It hence appears that Ishmael was wholly devoid of all humane feelings, having been thus capable of the impiety of betraying the children of Abraham. For where there is ambition, it often happens that a lust for empire impels men to deeds of great enormity; but to draw away unhappy people to the Ammonites was certainly an act more than monstrous.

As to the people, we shall hereafter see that they deserved all their reproaches and miseries; and this calamity did not happen to them except through the righteous providence of God. For though they were freed, as we shall see, by the son of Kareah, yet they soon went into Egypt, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the Prophet, and his severe denunciations in case they removed there. Though then the base and monstrous cruelty of Ishmael is here set before us, let us yet know that the Jews deserved to be driven away into exile, and to be subjected to all kinds of miseries.

Oh, miserable sentence! when it is said, that there were slain seventy men in the hand of Gedaliah This is in the ninth verse. The words are omitted in the Sept.; “on account of Gedaliah,” is the Vulg. and the Targum.; which is the same with our version. “Along with Gedaliah,” is Blayney’s. The word “hand,’ often means power, authority, dominion. (Genesis 9:2; Judges 1:35) Then the rendering would be, “on account of the power of Gedaliah;” and this would give the passage the most emphatic meaning: Ishmael smote them because he envied the power given to Gedaliah, which these men, by coming to Mizpah, acknowledged and supported. — Ed. Some render “hand,” as I have noticed, “on account of Gedaliah;” and others, “in the place of Gedaliah.” But as this explanation seems forced, we may take hand for stroke or wound; and this seems the most suitable meaning, as hand is often so taken in Scripture. They were then slain in the wound of Gedaliah, that is, they were slain in like manner with him, as it were in addition to the wound he received. Let us now proceed, —

Jeremiah 41:11-12

11. But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

11. Et audivit Joannes filius Kareah et omnes duces copiarum, qui cum eo erant, omne malum quod perpetraverat Ismael filius Nathaniae;

12. Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

12. Et sumpserunt omnes homines, et profecti sunt ad proeliandum cum Ismael filio Nathaniae, et invenerunt (vel, assecuti sunt) ipsum ad aquas magnas (alii vetrunt, multas, sed non placet) quae sunt in Guibeon.

Here the Prophet informs us, that Ishmael did not attain his wishes; for he had resolved to sell; as it were, the people to the king of Ammon, but he was intercepted in his course. But he says first, that John the son of Kareah had heard the report, and that he, together with other leaders, went to meet him in order to intercept him in his journey. He says also that he collected all the men, even those who had been dispersed. All then they could have got, they enlisted, and went to fight with Ishmael. And the Prophet adds, that they found him at the great waters And I think they were so called because they were either a lake or a pool. I doubt not, then, but that it was a common name. Some say that the waters were then abundant, because there had been constant rains. But this conjecture is not probable. The simpler meaning is, that these waters were thus called, because in that part the abundance of water was not great in comparison with the lake. There was a pool in Gibeon, mentioned in 2 Samuel 2:13; and it must have been large, otherwise it would not have been called “great waters.” — Ed. Ishmael then was found there. It is now added by the Prophet, that the captives rejoiced when they saw John, and immediately came over to his side. he therefore says, —

Jeremiah 41:13-14

13. Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.

13. Et accidit cum vidisset populus, qui erat cum Ismael, Joannem filium Kareah, et omnes duces copiarum, qui erant cum eo, tunc laetati sunt.

14. So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.

14. Et conversus est totus populus quem abduxerat Ismael e Mispath, et reversi sunt et profecti sunt cum Joanne filio Kareah.

The people readily passed over to John and his army, because John, and other leaders of the forces, came to them sufficiently armed, and they were, as we have before seen, men trained up for war. And Ishmael could not have been equal to them, when the people went over to John and his associates. Thus we see that the impious man failed in his base purpose, for he thought to render himself very acceptable to the king of Ammon by bringing so many captives to dwell in his land, that he might take possession of Judea. He had then formed many plans for himself, but God frustrated them. But it was God’s will that he should remain alive; for he fled, as it appears from what follows, —

Jeremiah 41:15

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

15. Et Ismael (Ismael autem) filius Nathaniae servatus est (vel, evasit) cum octo hominibus a facie Joannis, et pro-fectus eat ad filios Ammon.

He indeed met with bad success; he fled before his enemy, when the whole people forsook him, when he lost his soldiers; and he could not come without the greatest disgrace before the king of Ammon. It seems, however, very strange that he was allowed to flee away; for how was it that God did not execute those well-known sentences, —

“He who smites with the sword shall perish by the sword;” “Whosoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed?” (Matthew 26:52; Revelation 13:10; Genesis 9:6)

Ishmael had not only killed a man, but the governor of the people, and that governor by whose protection and favor a remnant had been preserved as a seed; and he had also killed all whom he had found with him; and lastly, he had killed seventy men, with whom he had no strife, no war, no quarrel. As, then, Ishmael had so polluted himself with innocent blood, and with so many murders of good men, how was it that he was suffered to escape?

As we have before said, God does not now observe an equal, or the same course in his judgments; for he often extends the life of the most wicked, that they may be exhibited, as it were, as a spectacle; nor does the truth of the words, “Whosoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed,” become evanescent; but God has various ways by which he renders a just reward to murderers and assassins. And we ought to notice what is said in the book of Psalms,

“Slay them not, lest my people should forget.” (Psalm 59:11)

The Psalmist there asks God not to destroy immediately the wicked; for an oblivion of a remarkable punishment might easily creep in, if God executed it suddenly and instantly. But when God impresses a mark of his curse on the impious and the wicked, and prolongs their life, it is the same as though he placed them in a theater to be looked on leisurely and for a long time. Conspicuous, then, are the marks of God on the impious, when God pursues them slowly and by degrees, and summons them, in a manner, day by day before his tribunal. There is, therefore, no doubt but that God thus executed vengeance on the barbarity of Ishmael.

For how was it that he killed Gedaliah? even because he was of the royal seed, and foolish pride still filled his heart, though God by his powerful hand had broken down whatever dignity that once belonged to the royal seed, sea, he had completely torn it to pieces; and yet this man cherished his own ferocity. Hence God executed on him a two-fold punishment, by depriving him of his company; for he went to the king of Ammon, whom he had no doubt flattered with great promises, and from whom he also expected no common rewards, — he went there a fugitive with his eight companions, and also filled with confusion, and he saw no hope of a return. Thus, then, it happened that he was despised and reprobated; and this was, no doubt, more bitter to him than if he had suffered ten deaths.

Let us then learn not to form our judgment according to the present appearance of things; but let us patiently wait while God makes openly known to us the various ways he adopts in punishing the wicked; nay, this ought especially to serve as a confirmation to our faith, when we see the godly cruelly slain, and the wicked remaining in security; for it hence follows that we are to look for another judgment of God, which does not yet appear. For if God rendered to each his just reward, then the Sadducees would have some ground to boast that there is not another life; but when things are thus in a state of confusion in the world, we know that God’s judgment is suspended and deferred to another time. Then this variety or confusion, if you please, confirms our minds in the hope of the last judgment, and of a blessed resurrection. I cannot now proceed further.

PRAYER

Grant, omnipotent God, that as this world is filled with the filth of the wicked, and as we are on every side surrounded with enemies, — O grant, that we may learn to flee under thy protection, and so hide ourselves under the shadow of thy wings, that we may look nowhere else for safety but from thy defense; and that we may also know that as to everything that happens to us, our life and our death are so ordered by thy wonderful providence, that all events help forward our salvation, so that we may go onward, not only through many calamities, but, if need be, through the midst of slaughters, until we shall come to that blessed rest, which thine only-begotten Son has obtained for us by his own blood. — Amen.

Lecture One Hundred and Fifty-Sixth

Jeremiah 41:16-18

16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:

16. Et sumpsit Joannes filius Kareah et cuncti principes (duces) copiarum qui erant cum eo omnes reliquias populi, quas reduxerant ab Ismaele filio Nathaniae e Mispath, postquam percusserat Godoliam filium Achikam, viros fortes, viros belli (hoc est, bellicosos,) et mulieres et pueritiam et eunuchos quos reduxerat a Guibeon:

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

17. Et profecti sunt et sederunt (vel, substiterunt) in Geruth-Chimcham, quae est prope Bethlehem, ut proficiscerentur ad ingrediendum in Aegyptum,

18. Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon and made governor in the land.

18. Propter Chaldaeos, quia timebant ab ipsis (ad verbum, a facie ipsorum,) quia percusserat Ismael filius Nathaniae Godoliam filium Achikam, quem praefecerat rex Babylonis in terra.

The Prophet now shews, that though some kind of virtue appeared in John the son of Kareah, he was not yet of a right mind. He was an energetic and a discreet man, but he discovered his unbelief, when he led the remnant of the people into Egypt, while the Prophet was forbidding such a thing. He already knew that this was not lawful, but his obstinacy was two-fold more, when the Prophet repudiated his project, as we shall see. This passage then teaches us, that though the leaders of the forces, who had put Ishmael to flight, and avenged his perfidy, were men of courage, and shewed regard for the public good, they were destitute of faith: there was thus wanting in them the chief thing, that is piety and the fear of God.

Then the Prophet says, that John and the rest took the remnant of the people whom they had recovered from Ishmael, from Mizpah, not that they were recovered from that place, but that Ishmael had brought the unhappy people captives from Mizpah, as we have seen; but they had all been recovered at Gibeon, according to what is said at the end of the verse. But he says that they were valiant men, גברים, geberim, (he so calls them on account of their courage, for an explanation follows,) and men of war, המלחמה אנשי, anushi emelecheme. He then calls them valiant or brave, and afterwards he explains what that virtue was, even because they were warlike men. He says further, that there were women mixed with them, and children, and eunuchs, who once lived in the king’s court; and as we have before seen, there were among them the king’s daughters. Gedaliah then had collected together a considerable number of men, not only from the lower orders, but also from the higher class, whose wealth and rank were not common while the kingdom was standing.

But the Prophet immediately adds what the purpose was which they had all formed. They dwelt, he says, in Geruth; some render it, “in the peregrination;” but it seems to me to be a proper name, and I agree with those who so render it. It is given as a proper name in the Sept.; the idea of peregrination is given in the Vulgate and Targum. If it be a common noun, its proper meaning is not peregrination, but habitation or dwelling, or rather dwellings, it being in the plural number. Blayney takes it as a proper name. — Ed. But it is called the Geruth of Chimham, of whom mention is made in 2 Samuel 19:31, 37. he was the son of Barzillai, who entertained David when a fugitive from his kingdom, and entertained him bountifully. When David wished to remunerate his kindness, the good man made his age as an excuse, and said, that he was old, so that he could not enjoy the things of this life; but he presented his son to David, and it is probable that this place was given to the son as a reward. It was hence called Geruth-Chimham, the name of its possessor being attached to it. And he says that it was nigh Bethlehem. It is also probable, that when David wished to remunerate his host, he chose a place nigh his own city, where he was born.

It is added, to go, etc. Then the Prophet shews that this was not a settled habitation, but that they intended to go into Egypt They knew that this was forbidden by the Law of God, and the Prophets had often pronounced a curse on such a design. Notwithstanding God’s prohibition, they prepared themselves for the journey. Fear was the cause; but how much so ever they might have justly feared, they ought yet to have considered what God permitted: for if a sick man takes poison instead of medicine, he must suffer the punishment that necessarily follows his own presumption and madness; so they who seek to provide for themselves contrary to God’s will, gain only their own destruction. This was done, as the Prophet tells us, by the remnant of the people.

He then says, that they were there for a time, but that they looked forward to Egypt, on account, he says, of the Chaldeans, because they feared them, and for this reason, because Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had set over the land This fear was not without reason; but they might have sent persons to the king of Babylon, and have thrown the blame on the right person, and cleared themselves; and the matter might have been settled. They might then have easily obtained pardon from King Nebuchadnezzar; but as no fear of God prevailed in them, they did not consider what was lawful, and were by a blind impulse led into Egypt. Thus fear was no alleviation to their crime, for there was another remedy at hand, which God would have blessed. But when they disregarded God’s word, and followed what their own feelings dictated to them, they contrived in a very bad way for themselves. But far worse is what follows.

CHAPTER 42

Jeremiah 42:1-3

1. Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,

1. Et accesserunt cuncti duces copiarum, et Joannes filius Kareah, et Jezaniah filius Ozamae, et totus populus a parvo usque ad magnum,

2. And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)

2. Et dixerunt ad Jeremiam prophetam, Cadat Agedum precatio nostra coram facie tua, et ores pro nobis Jehovam Deum tuum pro omnibus reliquiis istis, quia relicti sumus exiguum e magno, sicuti oculi tui vident nos;

3. That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

3. Et annuntiet nobis Jehova Deus tuus viam, per quam ambulemus, et rem quam faciamus.

CHAPTER 41

Jr 41:1-18. Ishmael Murders Gedaliah and Others, Then Flees to the Ammonites. Johanan Pursues Him, Recovers the Captives, and Purposes to Flee to Egypt for Fear of the Chaldeans.

1. seventh month--the second month after the burning of the city (Jr 52:12, 13).

and the princes--not the nominative. And the princes came, for the "princes" are not mentioned either in Jr 41:2 or in 2Ki 25:25: but, "Ishmael being of the seed royal and of the princes of the king" [Maurer]. But the ten men were the "princes of the king"; thus Maurer's objection has no weight: so English Version.

eat bread together--Ishmael murdered Gedaliah, by whom he was hospitably received, in violation of the sacred right of hospitality (Psa 41:9).

2. 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 (Da 2:21; Ro 13:1).

3. slew all the Jews--namely, the attendants and ministers of Gedaliah; or, the military alone, about his person; translate, "even (not 'and,' as English Version) the men of war." The main portion of the people with Gedaliah, including Jeremiah, Ishmael carried away captive (Jr 41:10, 16).

4. no man knew it--that is, outside Mizpah. Before tidings of the murder had gone abroad.

5. beards shaven, &c.--indicating their deep sorrow at the destruction of the temple and city.

cut themselves--a heathen custom, forbidden (Le 19:27, 28; De 14:1). These men were mostly from Samaria, where the ten tribes, previous to their deportation, had fallen into heathen practices.

offerings--unbloody. They do not bring sacrificial victims, but "incense," &c., to testify their piety.

house of ... Lord--that is, the place where the house of the Lord had stood (2Ki 25:9). The place in which a temple had stood, even when it had been destroyed, was held sacred [Papinian]. Those "from Shiloh" would naturally seek the house of the Lord, since it was at Shiloh it originally was set up (Jos 18:1).

6. weeping--pretending to weep, as they did, for the ruin of the temple.

Come to Gedaliah--as if he was one of Gedaliah's retinue.

7. and cast them into ... pit--He had not killed them in the pit (compare Jr 41:9); these words are therefore rightly supplied in English Version.

the pit--the pit or cistern made by Asa to guard against a want of water when Baasha was about to besiege the city (Jr 41:9; 1Ki 15:22). The trench or fosse round the city [Grotius]. Ishmael's motive for the murder seems to have been a suspicion that they were coming to live under Gedaliah.

8. treasures--It was customary to hide grain in cavities underground in troubled times. "We have treasures," which we will give, if our lives be spared.

slew ... not--(Pr 13:8). Ishmael's avarice and needs overcame his cruelty.

9. because of Gedaliah--rather, "near Gedaliah," namely, those intercepted by Ishmael on their way from Samaria to Jerusalem and killed at Mizpah, where Gedaliah had lived. So 2Ch 17:15, "next"; Ne 3:2, Margin, literally, as here, "at his hand." "In the reign of Gedaliah" [Calvin]. However, English Version gives a good sense: Ishmael's reason for killing them was because of his supposing them to be connected with Gedaliah.

10. the king's daughters--(Jr 43:6). Zedekiah's. Ishmael must have got additional followers (whom the hope of gain attracted), besides those who originally set out with him (Jr 41:1), so as to have been able to carry off all the residue of the people. He probably meant to sell them as slaves to the Ammonites (see on Jr 40:14).

11. Johanan--the friend of Gedaliah who had warned him of Ishmael's treachery, but in vain (Jr 40:8, 13).

12. the ... waters--(2Sa 2:13); a large reservoir or lake.

in Gibeon--on the road from Mizpah to Ammon: one of the sacerdotal cities of Benjamin, four miles northwest of Jerusalem, now Eljib.

13. glad--at the prospect of having a deliverer from their captivity.

14. cast about--came round.

16. men of war--"The men of war," stated in Jr 41:3 to have been slain by Ishmael, must refer to the military about Gedaliah's person; "the men of war" here to those not so.

eunuchs--The kings of Judah had adopted the bad practice of having harems and eunuchs from the surrounding heathen kingdoms.

17. dwelt--for a time, until they were ready for their journey to Egypt (Jr 42:1-22).

habitation to Chimham--his "caravanserai" close by Beth-lehem. David, in reward for Barzillai's loyalty, took Chimham his son under his patronage, and made over to him his own patrimony in the land of Beth-lehem. It was thence called the habitation of Chimham (Geruth-Chimham), though it reverted to David's heirs in the year of jubilee. "Caravanserais" (a compound Persian word, meaning "the house of a company of travellers") differ from our inns, in that there is no host to supply food, but each traveller must carry with him his own.

18. afraid--lest the Chaldeans should suspect all the Jews of being implicated in Ishmael's treason, as though the Jews sought to have a prince of the house of David (Jr 41:1). Their better way towards gaining God's favor would have been to have laid the blame on the real culprit, and to have cleared themselves. A tortuous policy is the parent of fear. Righteousness inspires with boldness (Psa 53:5; Pr 28:1).

Now - in the seventh month - Answering to the first new moon in our month of October.

There they did eat bread together - This was the same as making a solemn covenant; for he who ate bread with another was ever reputed a friend.

Smote Gedaliah - See the preceding chapter, Jer 41:14.

Having their beards shaven - All these were signs of deep mourning, probably on account of the destruction of the city.

Weeping all along as he went - This felonious hypocrite pretended that he also was deeply afflicted, and wished to bear them company in their sorrow.

Come to Gedaliah - He will appoint you vineyards and fields.

Slew them - He kept the murder of Gedaliah secret, and no doubt had a band of his assassins lodged in Mizpah; and he decoyed these fourscore men thither that he might have strength to slay them. He kept ten alive because they told him they had treasures hidden in a field, which they would show him. Whether he kept his word with them is not recorded. He could do nothing good or great; and it is likely that, when he had possessed himself of those treasures, he served them as he had served their companions. Grain is preserved to the present day in subterranean pits, called mattamores, in different parts of the east.

Now the pit - was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha - See 1Kgs 15:22. Asa made this cistern as a reservoir for water for the supply of the place; for he built and fortified Mizpah at the time that he was at war with Baasha, king of Israel.

Carried away captive - He took all these that he might sell them for slaves among the Ammonites.

Went unto Johanan - They were weary of the tyranny of Ishmael, and were glad of an opportunity to abandon him.

The women - children, and the eunuchs - These were all most probably, persons who belonged to the palace and harem of Zedekiah: some of them his own concubines and their children.

Dwelt in the habitation of Chimham - The estate that David gave Chimham, the son of Barzillai. See 2Sam 19:37, etc. He took this merely as a resting-place; as he designed to carry all into Egypt, fearing the Chaldeans, who would endeavor to revenge the death of Gedaliah.

Now - Three months after the city was taken. Ishmael - The same Ishmael that came to Gedaliah, ver.8,9, to whom he sware protection; only here we are told he was of the royal blood, which might both raise his spirits, as having a more legal pretence to the government, and rendered him a fitter instrument, for Baalis the king or queen of the Ammonites to make use of. The princes - Some of the princes, who had escaped the army of the king of Babylon.

Slew - All those who were about the court of Gedaliah.

No man - No man who lived at any distance from Mizpah.

There came men - Who possibly had not heard of the temple being burnt. Cut themselves - With all indications of mourning used in those countries.

He forebare - His covetousness prevailed over his cruelty.

1 NOw it came to pass in the seventh month , that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama of the seed royal , and the princes of the king, even ten men with him , came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah .

That is three moneths after the City was taken, chap. 39.2.

The same Ishmael that came to Gedaliah, ver. 8.9. to whom he sware protection, only here we are told that he was of the Royal blood, which might both raise his spirits, as having a more legal pretence to the Government, and rendred him a fitter instrument, for Baalis the King or Queen of the Ammonites to make use of;

some of the Princes, who had escaped the Army of the King of Babylon, they and their Retinue came in pretended complement to Gedaliah.

Who treated them kindly, they dined or supped with him.

Marginal references: King. 25.25.

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 governour over the land .

These ten men with their retinue fall upon Gedaliah and barbarously murder him.

Their quarrel against him was, that he was Deputy-Governour to the King of Babylon, so desperately hardned were these Jews, they would not yet see that God had given their Countrey 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 Vice Roy or Deputy Governour over them to whom they ought to have yielded all sujection and obedience.

3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him , even with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.

It appeareth from ver. 10. that by all the Iews here must be understood onely all those who were about the Court of Gedaliah, for it is there said that he carried away many that were with him.

4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah and no man knew it ,

That is, no man who lived at any great distance from Mizpah, for Ishm[illegible: 1 letter]el was concerned what in him lay to keep this slaughter private for fear the newes of it should have reached the ears of the King of Babylon, or the Commanders of some of his Forces, so as he should not have had time to make his escape.

5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shilo, and from Samaria , even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves , with offerings and incense in their hands to bring them to the house of the LORD .

Samaria was the name both of a City and a Province, Shechem was a City within that Province, within the limits of the Tribe of Ephraim, Ios. 20.7. These places were now inhabited by a mixt people, partly Jews, partly such as the King of Assyria had upon his Conquest of the Ten Tribes brought to inhabit there; from thence came 80 men,

who possibly had not heard of the Temple being burnt, at least when they came out, or if they had heard of it yet thought, hearing some Iews were left, that they might have erected some Altar for Sacrifices, or it may be they brought no beasts.

For the Text speaks onely of incense and offerings, they came with all indications of mourning used in those Countries, shaven beards, clothes rent, and having cut themselves in a barbarous fashion used by the heathens, and forbidden the Jews, but yet practised by many of them.

6 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 unto them, come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam .

He cometh out weeping, the better to deceive them into his trap, that they might believe he was as they equally affected with Gods dispensations, and inviteth them to the new Governour for protection; as if he had been one of his Courtiers, and Friends; by those arts he concealeth his bloody design against them.

Marginal references: Heb. in goin[illegible: 1 letter], and weeping.

7 And it was so when they came into the midst of the city that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him .

When he had thus enticed them into Mizpah, he, and his followers slay them, and throw their dead bodies into a pit, with the assistance of those bloody men that were with him.

8 But ten men were found amongst them, that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barly, and of oyl, and of honey: So he forbare, and slew them not amongst their brethren .

He slew 70 of them, but ten of them pleading for their lives urged that they had Estates in the Country, both of Corn, Oyl and Hony. His covetousness prevailed over his cruelty, he spared their lives to become master of what they had.

9 Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men (whom he had slain because of Gedaliah ) was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel, and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, filled it with them that were slain .

The word which we translate because of [non-Latin text not transcribed] signifieth in the hand of Gedaliah, which hath given Criticks a scope to vary in their notion of it, and to translate it, in the power of. By occasion of, &c. But the learned Author of our English Annotations, saith the sense of the place is plain enough, chap. 38.10. we have the same term twice, where we have translated it, with thee, so here it doubtless signifies those who were with Gedaliah under his power or charge.

What pit this was is not so well agreed, that i[illegible: 1 letter] upon what occasion made, the Text telleth us it was digged by Asa King of Iudah, and that it was made for fear of Baasha the King of Israel, but whether it was to receive water, or to hinder Baasha's coming near some weak part of the City we are not told, and it is but vain to guess. We read 1 Kings 15.22. of Asa's fortifying Mizpah with the stones of Ramah, but of this pit we read nothing.

Marginal references: Or, near G[illegible: 1 letter] daliah.; Heb. by the hand or by the side of Gedali[illegible: 2 letters] ▪

10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people, that were in Mizpah, even the kings daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites .

By this verse appeareth that All the Iews, ver. 3. must be understood in a restrained sense concerning all those about Gedaliah. For he carried many away as Prisoners, as also Zedekiahs Daughters, who either had concealed themselves at the taking of the City, or were left behind by the Conquerors, as not like much to hurt them, and having done this he knew there was no abiding for him long there, so he hastneth away to the Ammonites, who (as we had it before) imployed him in this murder.

12 Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon .

These great waters are supposed to be a Lake or some great Pool in Gibeon, the very same that is mentioned, 2 Sam. 2.13. where Ioab and the Servants of David met, the one keeping on one side of the Pool, the other on the other side.

13 Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad .

To see a probability of their escape out of the hands of this bloody man who had slain so many of their brethren.

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

When the people whom I[illegible: 1 letter]hmael had carried away Prisoners saw Iohanan coming with greater Forces, they contrived and wheeled about and went to him, onely Ishmael and eight men which escaped and went to the Land of Ammon.

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

When Iohanan had (as was before expressed) recovered the Jews whom Ishmael had carried away as Prisoners, he came and dwelt with them in the habitation of Chimham, concerning this Chimham all that we read in Scripture is, 2 Sam. 19.37, 38, 40. he was the son of Barzillai, whom David would have had to have gone along with him to his Court, but he being 80 years old excused himself, and desired that his son Chimham might be accepted in his stead, v. 38. David agreeth it, and promiseth him, and promised to do for him, whatsoever his Father should desire on his behalf, possibly David having an estate near thereabouts might give a portion of it to him, which though it returned to the Family of David in the year of Jubilee, yet from Chimham's House there, might retain the name of the habitation of Chimham, into those parts Iohanan retired with a further design to go into Egypt.

18 Because of the Caldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governour in the land .

Here was one slain whom the Conquerour Nebuchadnezzar had made Governour in the Land of Iudah, and it was but reasonable for them to think that Nebuchadnezzar would take the affront done to himself, he being constituted Governour by him, and though Iohanan had nothing to do in that murder, yet he did not know but that the King of Babylon being ignorant of any parties amongst the Jews, might look upon them all as guilty who were Jews, and revenge Ishmaels blood upon all the remainder of that Nation, he therefore chuseth them an habitation for the present, from whence they might in a short time go down into Egypt, which was Iohanan's design as we shall read in the next Chapter.

Jer 41:1-3 Murder of Gedaliah and his followers, as well as other Jews, by Ishmael. - Jer 41:1-3. The warning of Johanan had been only too well founded. In the seventh month - only two months, therefore, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the appointment of Gedaliah as governor - Ishmael came with the men to Mizpah, and was hospitably received by Gedaliah and invited to his table. Ishmael is here more exactly described as to his family descent, for the purpose of throwing a stronger light upon the exceeding cruelty of the murders afterwards ascribed to him. He was the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama - perhaps the secretary of state mentioned Jer 36:12, or more likely the son of David who bore this name, 2Sa 5:6; 1Ch 3:8; 1Ch 14:7; so that Ishmael would belong to a lateral branch of the house of David, be of royal extraction, and one of the royal lords. ורבּי המּלך cannot be joined with Ishmael as the subject, because in what follows there is no further mention made of the royal lords, but only of Ishmael and his ten men; it belongs to what precedes, מזּרע המּלוּכּה, so that we must repeat מן before רבּי. The objections of Nägelsbach to this view will not stand examination. It is not self-evident that Ishmael, because he was of royal blood, was therefore also one of the royal nobles; for the רבּים certainly did not form a hereditary caste, but were perhaps a class of nobles in the service of the king, to which class the princes did not belong simply in virtue of their being princes. But the improbability that Ishmael should have been able with ten men to overpower the whole of the Jewish followers of Gedaliah, together with the Chaldean warriors, and (according to Jer 41:7) out of eighty men to kill some, making prisoners of the rest, is not so great as to compel us to take רבּי המּלך in such a meaning as to make it stand in contradiction with the statement, repeated twice, over, that Ishmael, with his ten men, did all this. Eleven men who are determined to commit murder can kill a large number of persons who are not prepared against such an attempt, and may also keep a whole district in terror.There is still less ground, with Hitzig, Graf, and Nägelsbach, for assuming that ורבּי המּלך is a gloss that has crept into the text. The fact that רבּים, which is used here, is elsewhere applied only to Chaldean nobles, is insufficient to show this; and even Ewald has remarked that "the last king (Zedekiah) may well be supposed to have appointed a number of grandees, after the example of the Chaldeans, and given them, too, Chaldean names." "And they did eat bread there together," i.e., they were invited by Gedaliah to his table. While at meat, Ishmael and his ten men rose and slew Gedaliah with the sword. On account of ויּמת אתו, which comes after, Hitzig and Graf would change ויּכּוּ into ויּכּוּ, he slew him, Gedaliah; this alteration is possibly warranted, but by no means absolutely necessary. The words 'ויּמת אתו וגו, "and he killed him," contain a reflection of the narrator as to the greatness of the crime; in conformity with the facts of the case, the murder is ascribed only to the originator of the deed, since the ten men of Ishmael’s retinue were simply his executioners. Besides Gedaliah, Ishmael killed "all the Jews that were with him, with Gedaliah in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, the men of war." The very expression shows that, of the Jews, only those are meant who were present in the house with Gedaliah, and, of the Chaldean soldiers, only those warriors who had been allowed him as a guard, who for the time being were his servants, and who, though they were not, as Schmidt thinks, hausto liberalius vino inebriati, yet, as Chr. B. Michaelis remarks, were tunc temporis inermes et imparati. The Jews of post-exile times used to keep the third day of the seventh month as a fast-day, in commemoration of the murder of Gedaliah; see on Zec 7:3.

Jer 41:4-5

On the next day after the murder of Gedaliah, "when no man knew it," i.e., before the deed had become known beyond Mizpah, "there came eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria," having all the tokens of mourning, "with their beards shaven, their clothes rent, and with cuts and scratches on their bodies (מתגּדדים, see on Jer 16:6), and a meat-offering and frankincense in their hand, to bring them into the house of Jahveh." The order in which the towns are named is not geographical; for Shiloh lay south from Shechem, and a little to the side from the straight road leading from Shechem to Jerusalem. Instead of שׁלו, the lxx (Cod. Vat.) have Σαλήμ; they use the same word as the name of a place in Gen 33:18, although the Hebrew שׁלם is there an adjective, meaning safe, in good condition. According to Robinson (Bibl. Res. iii. 102), there is a village named Sâlim three miles east from Nablûs (Shechem); Hitzig and Graf, on the strength of this, prefer the reading of the lxx, to preserve the order of the names in the text. But Hitzig has renounced this conjecture in the second edition of his Commentary, "because Sâlim in Hebrew would be שׁולם, not שׁלם." There is absolutely no foundation for the view in the lxx and in Gen 33:18; the supposition, moreover, that the three towns are given in their topographical order, and must have stood near each other, is also unfounded. Shechem may have been named first because the greater number of these men came from that city, and other men from Shiloh and Samaria accompanied them. These men were pious descendants of the Israelites who belonged to the kingdom of Israel; they dwelt among the heathen colonists who had been settled in the country under Esarhaddon (2Ki 17:24.), but, from the days of Hezekiah or Josiah, had continued to serve Jahveh in Jerusalem, where they used to attend the feasts (2Ch 34:9, cf. Jer 30:11). Nay, even after the destruction of Jerusalem, at the seasons of the sacred feasts, they were still content to bring at least unbloody offerings - meat-offerings and incense - on the still sacred spot where these things used to be offered to Jahveh; but just because this could now be done only on the ruins of what had once been the sanctuary, they appeared there with all the signs of deep sorrow for the destruction of this holy place and the cessation of sacrificial worship. In illustration of this, Grotius has adduced a passage from Papinian’s instit. de rerum divis. § sacrae: "Locus in quo aedes sacrae sunt aedificatae, etiam diruto aedificio, sacer adhuc manet."

Jer 41:6-7

Ishmael went out from Mizpah to meet these men, always weeping as he went (הלך הלך וּבכה, cf. Ges. §131, ab; Ew. §280, b). If they came from Ephraim by way of Gibeon (el Jîb), the road on to Jerusalem passed close by Mizpah. When Ishmael met them, he asked them to come to Gedaliah (to Mizpah). But when they had entered the city, "Ishmael slew them into the midst of the pit" (which was there), i.e., killed them and cast their corpses into the pit.

Jer 41:8-9

Only ten men out of the eighty saved their lives, and this by saying to Ishmael, "Do not kill us, for we have hidden stores in the field - wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey." מטמנים are excavations in the form of cisterns, or subterranean storehouses in the open country, for keeping grain; the openings or entrances to these are so concealed that the eye of a stranger could not perceive them. Such places are still universally employed in Palestine at the present day (Robinson’s Palestine, i. pp. 324-5), and are also to be found in other southern countries, both in ancient and modern times; see proofs of this in Rosenmüller’s Scholia ad hunc locum. It is remarked, in Jer 41:9, of the pit into which Ishmael threw the corpses, that it was the same that King Asa had made, i.e., had caused to be made, against, i.e., for protection against, Baasha the king of Israel. In the historical books there is no mention made of this pit in the account of the war between Asa and Baasha, 1Ki 15:16-22 and 2Ch 16:1-6; it is only stated in 1Ki 15:22 and 2Ch 16:6 that, after Baasha, who had fortified Ramah, had been compelled to return to his own land because of the invasion of Benhadad the Syrian king, whom Asa had called to his aid, the king of Judah ordered all his people to carry away from Ramah the stones and timber which Baasha had employed in building, and therewith fortify Geba and Mizpah. The expression מפּני בעשׁא certainly implies that the pit had been formed as a protection against Baasha, and belonged to the fortifications raised at that time. However, הבּור cannot mean the burial-place belonging to the city (Grotius), but only a cistern (cf. 2Ki 10:14); and one such as could contain a considerable store of water was as necessary as a wall and a moat for the fortification of a city, so that it might be able to endure a long siege (Graf). Hitzig, on the other hand, takes בּור to mean a long and broad ditch which cut off the approach to the city from Ephraim, or which, forming a part of the fortifications, made a break in the road to Jerusalem, though it was bridged over in times of peace, thus forming a kind of tunnel. This idea is certainly incorrect; for, according to Jer 41:7, the "ditch" was inside the city (בּתוך). The expression בּיד גּדליהוּ is obscure, and cannot be explained with any of certainty. בּיד cannot mean "through the fault of" Gedaliah (Raschi), or "because of" Gedaliah - for his sake (Kimchi, Umbreit), or "coram" Gedaliah (Venema), but must rather be rendered "by means of, through the medium of," or "at the side of, together with." Nägelsbach has decided for the rendering "by means of," giving as his reason the fact that Ishmael had made use of the name of Gedaliah in order to decoy these men into destruction. He had called to them, "Come to Gedaliah" (Jer 41:6); and simply on the authority of this name, they had followed him. But the employment of the name as a means of decoy can hardly be expressed by בּיד. We therefore prefer the meaning "at the hand = at the side of" (following the Syriac, L. de Dieu, Rosenmüller, Ewald), although this signification cannot be established from the passages cited by Rosenm. (1Sa 14:34; 1Sa 16:2; Ezr 7:23), nor can the meaning "together with" (Ewald) be shown to belong to it. On the other hand, a passage which is quite decisive for the rendering "by the hand of, beside," is Job 15:23 : "there stands ready at his hand (בּידו, i.e., close to him) a day of darkness." If we take this meaning for the passage now before us, then בּיד גּדליהוּ cannot be connected with אשׁר , in accordance with the Masoretic accents, but with השׁליך שׁם, "where Ishmael cast the bodies of the men whom he had slain, by the side of Gedaliah;" so that it is not stated till here and now, and only in a casual manner, what had become of Gedaliah’s corpse. Nothing that admits of being proved can be brought against this view.Because the lxx have, for בּיד גּדליהוּ הוּא, φρέαρ μέγα τοῦτό ἐστιν, J. D. Michaelis, Dahler, Movers, Hitzig, and Graf would change the text, and either take ryb lwdg 'wh (Dahler, Movers) or בּיר הגּדול הוּא (= בּור) as the original reading, inasmuch as one codex of De Rossi’s also has בור. But apart from the improbability of בּור גּדול or הגּדול being incorrectly changed into בּיד גּדליהוּ, we find that הוּא stands provokingly in the way; for it would be superfluous, or introduce an improper emphasis into the sentence. The lxx have but been attempting to guess at a translation of a text they did not understand. What Hitzig further supposes has no foundation, viz., that this "ditch" is identical with that mentioned 1Sa 19:22, in שׂכוּ, and with τὸ φρέαρ τὸ μέγα of 1 Macc. 7:19; for the ditch at Sechu was near Ramah, which was about four miles from Mizpah, and the large fountain 1 Macc. 7:19 was ἐν Βηζέθ, an unknown place in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

The הוּא which follows is a predicate: "the ditch wherein...was that which Asa the king had formed."

The motive for this second series of assassinations by Ishmael is difficult to discover. The supposition that he was afraid of being betrayed, and for this reason killed these strangers, not wishing to be troubled with them, is improbable, for the simple reason that these strangers did not want to go to Mizpah, but to Jerusalem. For the supposition of Thenius (on 2Ki 25:23) and of Schmieder, that the people had intended going to Mizpah to a house of God that was there, is very properly rejected by Hitzig, because no mention is made in history of a place of worship at Mizpah; and, according to the express statement of Jer 41:6., Ishmael had enticed them into this city only by inviting them to come and see Gedaliah. Had Ishmael wished merely to conceal the murder of Gedaliah from these strangers, he ought to have done anything but let them into Mizpah. As little can we regard this deed (with Graf) as an act of revenge on these Israelites by Ishmael for the murder of his relations and equals in rank by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 52:10), because these men, who had now for a long time been living together with heathens, were Assyrian and Chaldean subjects. For we cannot comprehend how he could look on these Israelites as friends of the Chaldeans, and vent his anger against the Chaldean rule by murdering them; the mournful procession which they formed, and the offerings they were carrying to present, proclaimed them faithful adherents of Judah. Nägelsbach, accordingly, is of opinion that Ishmael had simply intended robbery. As it is evident that he, a rough and wild man, had assassinated the noble Gedaliah from personal jealousy, and in order to further the political interest of his Ammonite patron, he must have been seeking to put himself in the position of his victim, or to flee. "When we find, moreover, that he soon murdered a peaceable caravan of pilgrims, and preserved the lives only of a few who offered to show him hidden treasures; when, finally, we perceive that the whole turba imbellis of Mizpah were seized and carried off into slavery, Ishmael proves himself a mere robber." But, though the fact that Ishmael spared the lives of the ten men who offered to show him hidden treasures seems to support this view, yet the supposition that nothing more than robbery was intended does not suffice to explain the double murder. The two series of assassinations plainly stand in the closest connection, and must have been executed from one and the same motive. It was at the instigation of the Ammonite king that Ishmael murdered Gedaliah; moreover, as we learn from the report brought to Gedaliah by Johanan (Jer 40:15), the crime was committed in the expectation that the whole of Judah would then be dispersed, and the remnant of them perish. This murder was thus the work of the Ammonite king, who selected the royally-descended Ishmael as his instrument simply because he could conveniently, for the execution of his plans, employ the personal envy of one man against another who had been preferred by the king of Babylon. There can be no doubt that the same motive which urged him to destroy the remnant of Judah, i.e., to frustrate the attempt to gather and restore Judah, was also at work in the massacre of the pilgrims who were coming to the temple. If Ishmael, the leader of a robber-gang, had entered into the design of the Ammonite king, then everything that might serve for the preservation and consolidation of Judah must have been a source of pain to him; and this hatred of his towards Judah, which derived its strength and support from his religious views, incited him to murder the Jewish pilgrims to the temple, although the prospect of obtaining treasures might well cooperate with this in such a way as to make him spare the ten men who pretended they had hidden stores. With this, too, we can easily connect the hypocritical dealing on the part of Ishmael, in going forth, with tears, to meet these pious pilgrims, so that he might deceive them by making such a show of grief over the calamity that had befallen Judah; fore the wicked often assume an appearance of sanctity for the more effectual accomplishment of their evil deeds. The lxx evidently did not know what to make of this passage as it stands; hence, in Jer 41:6, they have quite dropped the words "from Mizpah," and have rendered הלך הלך  by αὐτοὶ ἐπορεύοντο καὶ ἔκλαιον. Hitzig and Graf accept this as indicating the original text, since Ishmael had no ostensible ground for weeping. But the reasons which are supposed to justify this conjecture are, as Nägelsbach well remarks, of such a nature that one can scarcely believe they are seriously held.

Jer 41:10

After executing these murderous deeds, Ishmael led away into captivity all the people that still remained in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had committed to the care of Gedaliah, intending to go over with them to the Ammonites. As the object of ויּשׁבּ is very far removed through the intervention of a relative clause, the connection is resumed by ויּשׁבּם. "The king’s daughters" are not only the daughters of Zedekiah, but female members generally of the royal house, princesses, analogous to בּן־מלך, king’s son = prince, Jer 36:26; Jer 38:6.

Jer 41:11-12  - Jer 41:11. When Johanan and the rest of the captains heard of what had taken place in Mizpah, they marched out with all their men to fight Ishmael, and came on him at the great water at Gibeon, i.e., by the pool at Gibeon which is mentioned 2Sa 2:13, one of the large receptacles for water which are still found there; see on 2Sa 2:13. Gibeon, now called el Jib (see on Jos 9:3), was situated only about two miles north from Mizpah; from which we may conclude that it was soon known what had happened, and the captains quickly assembled their men and marched after Ishmael.

Jer 41:13-15

When those who had been carried off by Ishmael saw these captains, they were glad, since they had followed their captor merely because they were forced to do so. They all turned, and went over to Johanan; but Ishmael escaped from Johanan, with eight men, - having thus lost two in the fight with Johanan, - and went to the Ammonites.

Jer 41:16

After the escape of Ishmael, it was to be feared that the Chaldeans would avenge the murder of the governor, and make the Jews who remained atone for the escape of the murderer by executing them or carrying them away to Babylon. Accordingly, Johanan and the other captains determined to withdraw to Egypt with the men, women, and children that had been carried off by Ishmael; these they conducted first to Bethlehem, where they encamped for the purpose of deliberating as to the rest of the journey, and taking due precautions. The account given in Jer 41:16 is clumsily expressed, especially the middle portion, between "whom he had brought back" and "the son of Ahikam;" and in this part the words "from Mizpah" are particularly troublesome in breaking the connection: "whom he (Johanan) had brought back from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he (Ishmael) had slain Gedaliah," while it is more correctly stated in the second relative clause, "whom he had brought back from Gibeon." Hitzig and Graf accordingly suppose that, originally, instead of  אשׁר השׁיב מאת, there stood in the text אשׁר שׁבה, "whom he (Ishmael) had led captive from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah." Thus the whole becomes clear. Against this conjecture there only stands the fact that the lxx translate οὕς ἀπέστρεψεν ἀπὸ  ̓Ισμαήλ; they must thus have read אשׁר השׁיב מאת, and omitted merely המּצפּה as unsuited to the passage. However, the error may be even older than the lxx, and השׁיב מאת may easily have arisen through a scribe having glanced at the words אשׁר השׁיב of the last clause. The words from "men" to "chamberlains" form the more exact specification of the general expression "all the remnant of the people:" "men, viz., men of war, women (including the king’s daughters, Jer 40:10), and children and chamberlains" (סריסים, guardians and servants of the female members of the royal family).

Jer 41:17-18 "They marched and stopped (made a half) at the inn if Chimham, which is near Bethlehem." גּרוּת, ἅπ.λεγ., considered etymologically, must mean diversorium, hospitium, an inn, khan, or caravanserai. Instead of the Kethib כמוהם, many codices read כּמהם (like the Qeri); nor, have any of the old translators read וּ or וׁ in the word. The Qeri is evidently correct, and we are to read כּמהם, the name of a son of Barzillai the rich Gileadite, 2Sa 19:38, 2Sa 19:41, who is supposed to have built or founded this caravanserai for the convenience of travellers. The words "because of the Chaldeans" in the beginning of Jer 41:18 depend on "to go to Egypt" at the end of the preceding verse: "to go to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans," on account of the murder of Gedaliah by Ishmael. The Word of God Concerning the Flight to Egypt

At the halting-place near Bethlehem the captains and the people whom they led deem it necessary to inquire through Jeremiah as to the will of God regarding their intention; they betake themselves to the prophet with the request that he would address God in prayer for them regarding this matter, and they promise that they will, in any case, comply with the message that he may receive from God (Jer 42:1-6). Whereupon, after ten days, the word of the Lord came to the prophet, vv. 7-22, to the effect that, if they remained in the country, the Lord would take pity on them and protect them from the Chaldeans, and establish them; but, should they go to Egypt, against the will of the Lord, then the evil which they feared would follow them thither, so that they would perish by the sword, hunger, and pestilence.

The Murder of Gedaliah. (b. c. 588.)

1 Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah. 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. 3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war. 4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, 5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord . 6 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 unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. 7 And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him. 8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. 9 Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain. 10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

It is hard to say which is more astonishing, God's permitting or men's perpetrating such villanies as here we find committed. Such base, barbarous, bloody work is here done by men who by their birth should have been men of honour, by their religion just men, and this done upon those of their own nature, their own nation, their own religion, and now their brethren in affliction, when they were all brought under the power of the victorious Chaldeans, and smarting under the judgments of God, upon no provocation, nor with any prospect of advantage—all done, not only in cold blood, but with art and management. We have scarcely such an instance of perfidious cruelty in all the scripture; so that with John, when he saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, we may well wonder with great admiration. But God permitted it for the completing of the ruin of an unhumbled people, and the filling up of the measure of their judgments, who had filled up the measure of their iniquities. Let it inspire us with an indignation at the wickedness of men and an awe of God's righteousness.

I. Ishmael and his party treacherously killed Gedaliah himself in the first place. Though the king of Babylon had made him a great man, had given him a commission to be governor of the land which he had conquered, though God had made him a good man and a great blessing to his country, and his agency for its welfare was as life from the dead, yet neither could secure him. Ishmael was of the seed royal (v. 1) and therefore jealous of Gedaliah's growing greatness, and enraged that he should merit and accept a commission under the king of Babylon. He had ten men with him that were princes of the king too, guided by the same peevish resentments that he was; these had been with Gedaliah before, to put themselves under his protection (ch. xl. 8), and now came again to make him a visit; and they did eat bread together in Mizpah. He entertained them generously, and entertained no jealousy of them, notwithstanding the information given him by Johanan. They pretended friendship to him, and gave him no warning to stand on his guard; he was in sincerity friendly to them, and did all he could to oblige them. But those that did eat bread with him lifted up the heel against him. They did not pick a quarrel with him, but watched an opportunity, when they had him alone, and assassinated him, v. 2.

II. They likewise put all to the sword that they found in arms there, both Jews and Chaldeans, all that were employed under Gedaliah or were in any capacity to revenge his death, v. 3. As if enough of the blood of Israelites had not been shed by the Chaldeans, their own princes here mingle it with the blood of the Chaldeans. The vine-dressers and the husbandmen were busy in the fields, and knew nothing of this bloody massacre; so artfully was it carried on and concealed.

III. Some good honest men, that were going all in tears to lament the desolations of Jerusalem, were drawn in by Ishmael, and murdered with the rest. Observe, 1. Whence they came (v. 5)— from Shechem, Samaria, and Shiloh, places that had been famous, but were now reduced; they belonged to the ten tribes, but there were some in those countries that retained an affection for the worship of the God of Israel. 2. Whither they were going—to the house of the Lord, the temple at Jerusalem, which, no doubt, they had heard of the destruction of, and were going to pay their respects to its ashes, to see its ruins, that their eye might affect their heart with sorrow for them. They favour the dust thereof, Ps. cii. 14. They took offerings and incense in their hand, that if they should find any altar there, though it were but an altar of earth, and any priest ready to officiate, they might not be without something to offer; if not, yet they showed their good-will, as Abraham, when he came to the place of the altar, though the altar was gone. The people of God used to go rejoicing to the house of the Lord, but these went in the habit of mourners, with their clothes rent and their heads shaven; for the providence of God loudly called to weeping and mourning, because it was not with the faithful worshippers of God as in months past. 3. How they were decoyed into a fatal snare by Ishmael's malice. Hearing of their approach, he resolved to be the death of them too, so bloodthirsty was he. He seemed as if he hated every one that had the name of an Israelite or the face of an honest man. These pilgrims towards Jerusalem he had a spite to, for the sake of their errand. Ishmael went out to meet them with crocodiles' tears, pretending to bewail the desolations of Jerusalem as much as they; and, to try how they stood affected to Gedaliah and his government, he courted them into the town and found them to have a respect for him, which confirmed him in his resolution to murder them. He said, Come to Gedaliah, pretending he would have them come and live with him, when really he intended that they should come and die with him, v. 6. They had heard such a character of Gedaliah that they were willing enough to be acquainted with him; but Ishmael, when he had them in the midst of the town, fell upon them and slew them (v. 7), and no doubt took the offerings they had and converted them to his own use; for he that would not stick at such a murder would not stick at sacrilege. Notice is taken of his disposing of the dead bodies of these and the rest that he had slain; he tumbled them all into a great pit (v. 7), the same pit that Asa king of Judah had digged long before, either in the city or adjoining to it, when he built or fortified Mizpah (1 Kings xv. 22), to be a frontier-garrison against Baasha king of Israel and for fear of him, v. 9. Note, Those that dig pits with a good intention know not what bad use they may be put to, one time or other. He slew so many that he could not afford them each a grave, or would not do them so much honour, but threw them all promiscuously into one pit. Among these last that were doomed to the slaughter there were ten that obtained a pardon, by working, not on the compassion, but the covetousness, of those that had them at their mercy, v. 8. They said to Ishmael, when he was about to suck their blood, like an insatiable horseleech, after that of the companions, Slay us not, for we have treasurers in the field, country treasures, large stocks upon the ground, abundance of such commodities as the country affords, wheat and barley, and oil and honey, intimating that they would discover it to him and put him in possession of it all, if he would spare them. Skin for skin, and all that a man has, will he give for his life. This bait prevailed. Ishmael saved them, not for the love of mercy, but for the love of money. Here were riches kept for the owners thereof, not to their hurt (Eccl. v. 13) and to cause them to lose their lives (Job xxxi. 39), but to their good and the preserving of their lives. Solomon observes that sometimes the ransom of a man's life is his riches. But those who think thus to bribe death, when it comes with commission, and plead with it, saying, Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field, will find death inexorable and themselves wretchedly deceived.

IV. He carried off the people prisoners. The king's daughters (whom the Chaldeans cared not for troubling themselves with when they had the king's sons) and the poor of the land, the vine-dressers and husband-men, that were committed to Gedaliah's charge, were all led away prisoners towards the country of the Ammonites (v. 10), Ishmael probably intending to make a present of them, as the trophies of his barbarous victory, to the king of that country, that set him on. This melancholy story is a warning to us never to be secure in this world. Worse may be yet to come when we think the worst is over; and that end of one trouble, which we fancy to be the end of all trouble, may prove to be the beginning of another, of a greater. These prisoners thought, Surely the bitterness of death, and of captivity, is past; and yet some died by the sword and others went into captivity. When we think ourselves safe, and begin to be easy, destruction may come that way that we little expect it. There is many a ship wrecked in the harbour. We can never be sure of peace on this side heaven.

Johanan Pursues Ishmael; Ishmael's Retreat. (b. c. 588.)

11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon. 13 Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. 14 So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon: 17 And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Beth-lehem, to go to enter into Egypt, 18 Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

It would have been well if Johanan, when he gave information to Gedaliah of Ishmael's treasonable design, though he could not obtain leave to kill Ishmael and to prevent it that way, yet had staid with Gedaliah; for he, and his captains, and their forces, might have been a life-guard to Gedaliah and a terror to Ishmael, and so have prevented the mischief without the effusion of blood: but, it seems they were out upon some expedition, perhaps no good one, and so were out of the way when they should have been upon the best service. Those that affect to ramble are many times out of their place when they are most needed. However, at length they hear of all the evil that Ishmael had done (v. 11), and are resolved to try an after-game, which we have an account of in these verses. 1. We heartily wish Johanan could have taken revenge upon the murderers, but he prevailed only to rescue the captives. Those that had shed so much blood, it was a pity but their blood should have been shed; and it is strange that vengeance suffered them to live; yet it did. Johanan gathered what forces he could and went to fight with Ishmael (v. 12), upon notice of the murders he had committed (for though he concealed it for a time, v. 4, yet murder will out) and which way he was gone; he pursued him, and overtook him by the great pool of Gibeon, which we read of, 2 Sam. ii. 13. And, upon his appearing with such a force, Ishmael's heart failed him, his guilty conscience flew in his face, and he durst not stand his ground against an enemy that was something like a match for him. The most cruel are often the most cowardly. The poor captives were glad when they saw Johanan and the captains that were with him, looking upon them as their deliverers (v. 13), and they immediately found a way to wheel about and come over to them (v. 14), Ishmael not offering to detain them when he saw Johanan. Note, Those that would be helped must help themselves. These captives staid not till their conquerors were beaten, but took the first opportunity to make their escape, as soon as they saw their friends appear and their enemies thereby disheartened. Ishmael quitted his pray to save his life, and escaped with eight men, v. 15. It seems, two of his ten men, that were his banditti or assassins (spoken of v. 1), either deserted him or were killed in the engagement; but he made the best of his way to the Ammonites, as a perfect renegado, that had quite abandoned all relation to the commonwealth of Israel, though he was of the seed royal, and we hear no more of him. 2. We heartily wish that Johanan, when he had rescued the captives, would have sat down quietly with them, and governed them peaceably, as Gedaliah did; but, instead of that, he is for leading them into the land of Egypt, as Ishmael would have led them into the land of the Ammonites; so that though he got the command over them in a better way than Ishmael did, and honestly enough, yet he did not use it much better. Gedaliah, who was of a meek and quiet spirit, was a great blessing to them; but Johanan, who was of a fierce and restless spirit, was set over them for their hurt, and to complete their ruin, even after they were, as they thought, redeemed. Thus did God still walk contrary to them. (1.) The resolution of Johanan and the captains was very rash; nothing would serve them but they would go to enter into Egypt (v. 17), and, in order to that, they encamped for a time in the habitation of Chimham, by Bethlehem, David's city. Probably it was some land which David gave to Chimham, the son of Barzillai, which, though it returned to David's family at the year of the Jubilee, yet still bore the name of Chimham. Here Johanan made his headquarters, steering his course towards Egypt, either from a personal affection to that country or an ancient national confidence in the Egyptians for help in distress. Some of the mighty men of war, it seems had escaped; those he took with him, and the women and children, whom he had recovered from Ishmael, who were thus emptied from vessel to vessel, because they were yet unchanged. (2.) The reason for this resolution was very frivolous. They pretended that they were afraid of the Chaldeans, that they would come and do I know not what with them, because Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, v. 18. I cannot think they really had any apprehensions of danger upon this account; for, though it is true that the Chaldeans had cause enough to resent the murder of their viceroy, yet they were not so unreasonable, or unjust, as to revenge it upon those who appeared so vigorously against the murderers. But they only make use of this as a sham to cover that corrupt inclination of their unbelieving ancestors, which was so strong in them, to return into Egypt. Those will justly lose their comfort in real fears that excuse themselves in sin with pretended fears.

CHAP. XLI.

Ver. 1. NOw it came to paſſe in the ſeventh moneth] Within two or three moneths after the deſtruction of Jeruſalem. So ſoon did this wicked wretch, ſo ſpurred on by ambition (which ever rideth without reines) renew the miſerable fate of his forlorn Country. And the like did Barcocab and his ſeditions complices after the laſt devaſtation: thereby bringing upon themſelves again the Roman forces, who thereupon, under Adrian the Emperour, utterly took away both their place and their Nation.

That Iſhmael of the ſeed royal] And therefore affecting the Kingdom, or at leaſt the ruledom: and envying that Gedaliah (a new man, or muſhrom rather) ſhould be preferred before him.

And the Princes of the King] Who had been Princes, and Grandees, as the Hebrew hath it, in Zedekiak's dayes: with whom, likely, they fled and eſcaped, ſtealing away by night, though he could not, 2 King. 25.4.

Even ten men with him] Whom Iſhmael had promiſed, probably, to reſtore to their Principalities, when he ſhould be King or Viceroy at leaſt under Baalis King of Ammon, the great Engineer of all the enſuing miſchief wrought by Iſhmael and theſe ten Deſperado's together with their retinue.

Came unto Gedaliah] To whom before they had done homage: and now came, pretending to give him a friendly viſite.

Tuta frequenſque via eſt per amici fallere nomen: Tuta frequenſque licet ſit via, crimen habet.

And there they did eat bread] i. e. They feaſted. Much treachery and cruelty hath been exerciſed at feaſts. Abſolom ſlew Amnon at a feaſt: ſo did Zimri King Elah: ſo did Alexander, Philotas: ſo doth the great Turk, many of his Baſhaws; the black gown is caſt upon them as they ſit with him at ſupper, and then they are ſtrangled.

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

And the ten men that were with] They and their followers being pugnaces & audaces, barbarous and brutiſh perſons, skilful to deſtroy, Ezek. 21.31.

And ſmot Gedaliah the ſon of Ahikam] See on ver. 1.

And ſlew him whom the King of Babylon had made Governour] Yea for that very cauſe, per invidiam & libidinem regnandi: So true is that of the Tragedian, Simul iſta mundi conditor poſuit Deus, Sen. in Thebaide. Odium atque regnum. —

Ver. 3. Iſhmael alſo ſlew all the Jews that were with him] Not the Chaldaeans only: his ſword knew no difference; but, being fleſhed in blood, he killed all that came in his way; and the rather that his wickedneſſe might not be noticed (Mortui non mordent) but that he might carry on his bloody deſigne the better.

Ver. 4. And no man knew it] Heb. A man knew not. See on ver. 3.

Ver. 5. That there came cert in from Shechem and from Shilo] Innocent men, qui ne verbulo quidem immanem beſtiam offenderant, who had not ſo much as by the leaſt word offended this brutiſh butcherly man: but came in the ſimplicity of their hearts to worſhip God, and to wait upon Gedaliah, by the way: which laſt ſeemeth to be Iſhmaels main quarrel againſt them. See here Eccleſ. 9.12. with the Notes.

Having their beards ſhaven and their cloathes rent, and having cut themſelves] Theſe might be well-minded men: though partly through ignorance of the Law in thoſe blind times, and partly through exceſſe of paſſion, they went too far, Heathen-like, in their outward expreſſions of ſorrow (Levit. 19.27. Deut. 14.1.) for the publike calamity of their Country.

To bring them to the houſe of the Lord] i. e. To the place where Gods houſe lately had been, though now razed and ruined: that there they might worſhip as they could, and bewail the deſolation of the City and Temple, as Hierom ſaith the Jews did yearly the deſtruction of the ſecond Temple; hiring the Roman Souldiers, that kept it,Vide peſſimum ingenium: luget ut lugentes perdat. Oecolamp. to let them come to the place, and weep over it.

Ver. 6. And Iſhmael came forth of Mizp[illegible: 1 letter]h, to meet them] This was another manner of meeting then that at Mizpeh in Samuels dayes, 1 Sam. 7. O tempora! O mores!

Weeping all along as he went] O deep diſſimulation, and Crocodiles-tears! That creature, having killed ſome living beaſt, lyeth upon the dead body, waſheth the head thereof with her warm tears: which ſhe afterwards devouteth together with the body. Tears (ſaith the Author of the Turkiſh Hiſtory ſpeaking of Andronicus another Iſhmael) by nature were ordained to expreſſe the heavineſſe of the heart, flowing from the eyes as ſhowers of rain from the clouds: In good men, the moſt certain ſigns of greateſt grief, and ſureſt teſtimonies of inward torment; but in Andronicus you are not ſo:Turk. Hiſt. fol. 56. you proceed of joy: you promiſe not to the diſtreſſed pitty or compaſſion, but death and deſtruction. How many mens eyes have you put out? how many have you drowned? how many have you devoured? Thus He, and much more to like purpoſe.

Come to Gedaliah the ſon of Ahikam] This he ſaith fraudulently, like Sinon in the Poet, that he might fiſh and find out how they ſtood affected to Gedaliah whom he ſo deadly hated, that he ſlaughtered theſe poor folk for once owning him, or owing him any ſervice.

Ver. 7. Iſhmael the ſon of Nethaniah ſlew them] This hell-hound having once (as other hounds) dipt his tongue in blood, can put no period to his unparalleld cruelty.

He and the men that were with him] His ſlaughter-ſlaves, his Aſſaſſines to help him: for he alone could not have done this bloody execution, unleſſe he had taken as much time thereunto as that Popiſh villain did in doing to death thoſe poor Proteſtants of Calabria Anno 1550. For as Iſhmael here brought theſe Eighty innocent men into the midſt of the City as into a pound, and there ſlew them: ſo Eighty-eight poor Profeſſours of the truth according to godlineſſe, being all thruſt up in one houſe together, as in a ſheep fold, the Executioner comes in (ſaith Mr. Fox) and among them takes one and blindfolds him with a muffler about his eyes, and ſo leads him forth to a larger place; where be commandeth him to kneel down: which being done, he cutteth his throat, and ſo leaving him half dead, and taking his butchers knife and muffler all of gore blood,Act. & Mon. [illegible: 1 letter]59. commeth again to the reſt, and ſo leadeth them one after another till he had diſpatcht them all.

Ver. 8. But there were ten men found among them] Qui miro aſtu ſibi ab indigna morte provident, who pleaded for their lives, were ſpared.

Slay us not, for we have treaſures in the feild] And theſe we will willingly part with for the redemption of our lives. They knew that Souldiers would do much for mony: and what is wealth in compariſon of life? Wicked worldlings would ſay the like to Death, if their tale might be heard. Henry Beauford Cardinal, Biſhop of Wincheſter, Fox Mart. vol. 1. p. 925. and Chancellour of England, in the reign of Henry the ſixt, perceiving that he muſt dye, murmured at death, that his riches could not reprieve him, till a further time.

So he forbare and ſlew them not] Ambition and Covetouſneſſe ſtrove for maſtery in this man; and here covetouſneſſe conquereth cruelty: This alſo was it that put him upon carrying his poor country-men captive, as hoping to make prize of them.

Ver. 9. Now the pit — was it which Aſa the King had made for fear of Baaſha] He had made it for ſome unknown uſe in the wars: and now is was filled with the dead bodies of men, for a puniſhment ſay ſome, of his confederating with Benhadad King of Syria: Ʋt ſemper impiorum foedera & confilia nobis ſint ſuſpecta.

Ver. 10. Then Iſhmael carried away captive]

Auri ſacra fames quid non mortalia cogit Pectora? —

Even the Kings daughters] His own kinſwomen, whom the Babylonian had ſpared. It may be he meant to marry one of them (as our Richard the third would have done his neice Elizabeth) and ſo to have reigned in her right.

And all the people that remained in Mizpah] Who found leſſe favour from a falſe brother, then they had done from a profeſſed enemy: ſo hath the Church ever done from hereticks, then from heathens.

Ver. 11. But when Johanan the ſon of Kareah and all the Captaines—heard of all the evil] Iſhmael did what he could to conceale the wickedneſſe, till he had gotten away with his prize: but Rumour outran him, even Fama malum, quo non aliud velocius [illegible: 1 letter]llum.

Ver. 12. Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Iſhmael] This act of theirs carrieth the commendation of fortitude, of charity and of piety; like as did that of Abraham in reſcuing Lot: of Gideon and Jehoſaphat in delivering the Iſraelites from their barbarous and blood-thirſty enemies: of Scanderbeg, Hunniades, Guſtavus King of Sweden, &c. Unleſſe Iſmael and Johanan did as Iſmael the Perſian King and Selymus the great Turk, who fighting for the Empire of the Eaſt, Turk. hiſt. 515. masked their aſpiring thoughts under the veile of zeale to their Religion. It well appeareth now to the world that neither of them were right, whatever they pretended.

And they found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon] Where, in Davids dayes, thoſe youngſters of Helkath-hazzurim had ſheathed their ſwords in their fellows bowels, 2 Sam. 2.16.

Ver. 13. Then they were glad] God, when he pleaſeth, can ſuddenly and beyond all hope, exhilarate men in the midſt of miſeries, and give deliverance. Turk. hiſt. 269. The like hereunto befell the poor Chriſtian captives when Hunniades had overthrown Meſites the Turks General.

Ver. 14. So all the people — caſt about and returned] Their hearts were with Johanan before the battle, as the Athenians were with Flamimus the Roman General, who came to reſcue them, though their bodies were detained by the tyrants within the walls of their City.

Ver. 15. But Iſmael the ſon of Nethaniah eſcaped] But with what honour, with what conſcience could this Judas live among the Ammonites? ſurely this defeat could not but be more ſhame to him before the King of Ammon, and more vexation to his proud heart then death it ſelf. The like befell Stukely the Engliſh traitour in Spain.

Ver. 16. Then took Johanan — all the remnant] This evil act of theirs doth quite overturn the glory of the former: whileſt againſt the ancient command of God, the Covenant made with the Chaldees, and the conſent of the Prophets, they will needs down to Egypt, to lean upon that broken reed, that never did them good, but evil.

Ver. 17. And they departed] They rouſed from place to place: but being out of Gods precincts they were alſo out of his protection: and could expect no good.

And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham which is by Bethlehem] Where it ſeemeth that David (or Solomon, 1 King. 2.7.) had given him ſome lands, which he called by his own name (as men love to do, Pſal. 49.11.) Goruth Chimham. Joſephus ſaith there is a village near Bethlehem that is ſtill ſo called. See 2 Sam. 19.38.

To go to enter into Egypt] This was to go out of Gods bleſſing (as we uſe to ſay) into the worlds warm ſun-ſhine: this was to put themſelves into the puniſhing hands of the living God.

Ver. 18. Becauſe of the Chaldaeans, for they were afraid of them] But they ſhould rather have ſanctified the Lord God in their hearts, and made him their dread, as Eſay 8.13. The fear of man bringeth a ſnare: but whoſo putteth his trust in the Lord ſhall be ſafe, Prov. 29.25. See the Notes there.

Ob incuſtodiā. Becauſe Iſhmael the ſon of Nethaniah had ſlain Gedaliah] And together with him many Chaldaeans, whom Johanan and his captaines ſhould have cautioned and better guarded; as the King of Babylon would better tell them, they thought, and withall puniſh them for their neglect.