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Nebuchadnezzar had appointed him governorâ (Jeremiah 41:2). He may also have found
Gedaliah's confident statement that âall will be wellâ under Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 40:9) tantamount to treason, especially given Babylon's earlier treatment of the royal household (Jeremiah 39:6). Robert Carroll describes the assassination as âarmed revolt against Babylonian authority and the execution of a collaborationistâ, noting also, however, that the tale hints at a residual factionalism that had bedevilled Judah in the period before the Babylonian invasion.
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recovered following the
Babylonian invasion, which would tend to confirm an early date. However, Robert Carroll draws attention to the feasting at Mizpah, arguing that this suggests that a degree of productivity remained â confirmation, perhaps, that Babylon's objective in invading Judah was removal of the king rather than devastation of the land. For other reasons (see below), he suggests a date for the assassination some five or six years after Gedaliah's appointment.
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Ishmael's offence is further compounded by his slaughter of another group of men, pilgrims who arrive shortly afterwards from towns in the centre of the former kingdom of Israel, and are apparently in mourning (Jeremiah 41:7), possibly for the destruction of the Temple. All but ten of them are slaughtered and thrown into a
92:, a city in Benjamin, after Gedaliah is appointed governor. Although the forces were likely to have been those dispersed by the Babylonian army after the fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:5), it is possible that these âcaptainsâ had become local warlords or heads of semi-autonomous militia during the intervening period.
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The effect of
Gedaliah's assassination is to reduce the people to a state of fear â probably out of concern at the revenge that Nebuchadnezzar would wreak for the attack (Jeremiah 41:17), though any such revenge is not clearly described in the biblical accounts. Carroll has suggested that the third
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feast is in progress (2 Kings 25:25) â a gross offence against prevailing customs of hospitality at the time. Judeans and
Chaldeans with him (whether the latter are officials or soldiers is unclear â the II Kings and Jeremiah accounts differ on this point) are also slaughtered. Jeremiah suggests
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In
Jeremiah's account, Johanan son of Kareah learns of the plot, and tries to warn Gedaliah. When his warning is ignored, he urges Gedaliah, in âprivate talksâ (Jeremiah 40:15-16), to let him kill Ishmael - a request the governor refuses, believing the rumours to be a lie. Commentators have noted
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It is possible that
Jeremiah himself was part of the group taken captive by Ishmael, as they are camped near Bethlehem following the rescue. However, Carroll's study of Jeremiah sees the accounts in 40:7 â 41:18 and chapters 42 - 43 as distinct from each other, and argues that the Deuteronomist
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of the neighboring kingdom of Ammon to kill
Gedaliah. The full name of the Ammonite King Baalis (BaâalyiĹĄaâ, âBaal is salvationâ) has been attested for the first time on a seal impression dated to ca. 600 BC (see L. G. Herr, BA 48 169-72). Baalis may have seen an opportunity to grab power for
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Some commentators have suggested that
Ishmael acts out of a sense of having been slighted when passed over for the governorship himself, despite being eligible by virtue of his royal familial connections. This is one possible interpretation of the statement that Ishmael slew Gedaliah âbecause
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Commentators are uncertain when the assassination took place, but it can be argued as having happened within a year or two of
Gedaliah's appointment. It is suspected that they spared the 10 hostages because they offer access to a secret food store suggests that the rural economy has still not
116:, a place which in the time of Jeremiah already resonated with previous acts of treachery for the Israelites. Ishmael's band releases the hostages, but he himself escapes with eight of his men (Jeremiah 41:15). At this point he disappears from the biblical narrative.
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Ishmael was a soldier, described as a âcaptain of the forcesâ (2 Kings 25:23; and
Jeremiah 41:3). Together with a number of other such captains, Ishmael emerges from the surrounding open country (Jeremiah 40:7) and makes his way to
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himself in the power vacuum. The writer of Jeremiah clearly crafts the account to portray this as a significant motive for Ishmael's attack, though Carroll argues that it is not Ishamel's own reason for acting.
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editor of Jeremiah has woven two independent strands together to highlight the chaos that ensues when the community is without access to a prophet, or, as in chapters 42 - 3, ignores his advice.
108:, the ten being spared because they have access to otherwise scarce food supplies (Jeremiah 41:8). After this fresh slaughter, Ishmael and his band make their way towards
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Gedaliah's lack of political acumen in the face of the looming threat, despite his seeming desire to do the best for his beleaguered people (Jeremiah 40:9).
55:. The biblical accounts suggest that Ishmael ben Nethaniah's actions were a key factor in the subsequent flight of the people of Judah to Egypt, something
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The assassination may or may not have been the reason for the later commemorative fast referred to in Zechariah 7:5 and Zechariah 8:19 â the so-called
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However, wider political machinations also seem to have played a part. Jeremiah (though not II Kings) makes clear that Ishmael has been sent by king
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deportation of Judahites recorded in Jeremiah 52:6-30, probably occurring in 583/2 BC, should be tied to the assassination.
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of the royal familyâ. Jeremiah describes him as one of the chief officers of the (former) king
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in New Bible Commentary (3rd Edition). Leicester: IVP, 650 â 651; and Harrison. R.K. (1973)
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Ishmael is described as approaching Gedaliah with ten men, and striking him down while a
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Ishmael ben Nethaniah is described in 2 Kings 25:25 as the son of Nethaniah, âson of
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counsels strongly against (Jeremiah 42 - 43). Nonetheless, the people, led by
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251:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 231. See also Jeremiah 40:7-12
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
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From Chaos to Covenant: Use of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah
238:(3rd edition). Oxford: Lion, 452. See also 2 Samuel 2:12-16
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in New Bible Commentary (3rd Edition). Leicester: IVP, 651
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in New Bible Commentary (3rd Edition). Leicester: IVP, 651
221:. Leicester: IVP, 162; but contra Carroll, Robert (1996)
63:, ignore his advice and depart for Egypt (Jeremiah 43:6).
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Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary
344:
Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary
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Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary
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Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary
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Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary
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Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary
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Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary
47:after he was appointed governor of Judah by king
316:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 231, 234
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303:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 234-5
355:Cawley, F. and A.R.Millard (1970) Article
338:Cawley, F. and A.R.Millard (1970) Article
191:Cawley, F. and A.R.Millard (1970) Article
420:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 232
385:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 233
372:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 232
277:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 231
264:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 232
225:. London: Xpress Reprints (SCM Ltd), 233
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35:who, according to biblical accounts in
31:was a member of the royal household of
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234:Alexander, Pat and David (2002)
325:see also Harrison. R.K. (1973)
129:Aftermath of the assassination
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83:The assassination of Gedaliah
452:Assassins of heads of state
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236:Lion Handbook to the Bible
416:Carroll, Robert (1996)
407:Couturier, 1990, p. 293
381:Carroll, Robert (1996)
368:Carroll, Robert (1996)
312:Carroll, Robert (1996)
299:Carroll, Robert (1996)
273:Carroll, Robert (1996)
260:Carroll, Robert (1996)
247:Carroll, Robert (1996)
447:Ten Days of Repentance
398:. Leicester: IVP, 161
394:Harrison. R.K. (1973)
346:. Leicester: IVP, 161
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290:. Leicester: IVP, 161
286:Harrison. R.K. (1973)
217:Harrison. R.K. (1973)
208:. Leicester: IVP, 161
204:Harrison. R.K. (1973)
182:. Leicester: IVP, 161
178:Harrison. R.K. (1973)
61:Johanan son of Kareah
442:6th-century BCE Jews
457:Biblical murderers
79:(Jeremiah 41:1).
67:Ishmaelâs origins
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431:Categories
166:References
77:Jehoiakim
29:Nethaniah
357:Jeremiah
340:Jeremiah
193:Jeremiah
101:New Year
73:Elishama
57:Jeremiah
45:Gedaliah
41:Jeremiah
37:II Kings
106:cistern
53:Babylon
17:Ishmael
159:Baalis
120:Dating
114:Gibeon
90:Mizpah
110:Ammon
33:Judah
39:and
51:of
25:ben
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