Jeremias 41

BLIVRE · Chapter 41/52

1Sucedeu, porém, no sétimo mês, que Ismael filho de Netanias, filho de Elisama, da semente real, veio com alguns capitães do rei, dez homens com ele, até Gedalias filho de Aicã em Mispá; e comeram pão juntos ali em Mispá.

2Então levantou-se Ismael filho de Netanias, e os dez homens que com ele estavam, e feriram à espada a Gedalias filho de Aicã, filho de Safã, matando assim a aquele a quem o rei da Babilônia tinha posto sobre a terra.

3Assim também Ismael feriu a todos os judeus que estavam com ele, com Gedalias em Mispá, e aos soldados caldeus que ali se acharam.

4Aconteceu, pois, no dia seguinte, depois que havia matado a Gedalias, quando ninguém sabia ainda,

5Que vieram homens de Siquém, de Siló, e de Samaria, oitenta homens, tendo a barba raspada, e as roupas rasgadas, e tendo ferido seus próprios corpos; e [traziam] em suas mãos oferta de alimentos e incenso para levar à casa do SENHOR.

6E Ismael filho de Netanias saiu ao encontro deles desde Mispá, chorando; e sucedeu que, quando os encontrou, disse-lhes: Vinde a Gedalias, filho de Aicã.

7E sucedeu que, quando eles chegaram ao meio da cidade, Ismael filho de Netanias os degolou, e [os lançou] no meio de um poço, ele e os homens que com ele estavam.

8Mas entre aqueles se acharam dez homens que disseram a Ismael: Não nos mates; porque temos tesouros escondidos no campo, de trigos, e cevada, azeite, e mel. E ele os deixou, e não os matou entre seus irmãos.

9E o poço em que Ismael lançou todos os cadáveres dos homens que feriu por causa de Gedalias, era o mesmo que o rei Asa havia feito por causa de Baasa, rei de Israel. A este Ismael, filho de Netanias, encheu de mortos.

10Depois Ismael levou cativo a todo o resto do povo que estava em Mispá; às filhas do rei, e a todo o povo que em Mispá tinha restado, o qual tinha Nabuzaradã capitão da guarda havia encarregado a Gedalias filho de Aicã. Então Ismael os levou cativos, e foi embora, para passar aos filhos de Amom.

11E quando Joanã filho de Careá, e todos os comandantes dos exércitos que estavam com ele, ouviram todo o mal que Ismael filho de Netanias tinha feito,

12Tomaram a todos os homens, e foram lutar contra Ismael filho de Netanias; e o acharam junto às muitas águas que ficam em Gibeão.

13E aconteceu que, quando todo o povo que estava com Ismael viu a Joanã filho de Careá, e a todos os comandantes dos exércitos que estavam com ele, alegraram-se.

14E todo o povo que Ismael tinha levado cativo de Mispá, viraram-se, e se voltaram, e foram a Joanã filho de Careá.

15Porém Ismael filho de Netanias escapou com oito homens diante de Joanã, e se foi aos filhos de Amom.

16Então Joanã filho de Careá, e todos os comandantes dos exércitos que com ele estavam, tomaram todo o resto do povo que tinham trazido de volta de Ismael filho de Netanias, de Mispá, depois dele ter ferido a Gedalias filho de Aicã: homens valentes de guerra, mulheres, e crianças; e os eunucos, que tinha trazido de volta de Gibeão.

17E foram, e habitaram em Gerute-Quimã, que é perto de Belém, a fim de saírem [dali] para entrarem no Egito,

18Por causa dos caldeus; pois eles temiam por Ismael filho de Netanias ter ferido a Gedalias filho de Aicã, ao qual o rei de Babilônia tinha posto sobre a terra.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Ishmael, of royal blood, assassinates Governor Gedaliah and others who were with him, throwing the bodies into a cistern. Johanan responds and rescues the people captured by Ishmael before he could flee to the Ammonites.

Explanation

This brutal assassination, driven by political jealousy and possibly incited by the neighboring king of Ammon, destroys the last attempt at orderly rebuilding in Judah after the fall of Jerusalem. The cruel detail of killing even religious pilgrims who came bringing offerings to the temple (even though it lay in ruins) shows the complete breakdown of social and moral order in the period. Johanan's swift response, pursuing Ishmael and freeing the prisoners, prevents an even greater catastrophe, but the chaos it creates leads directly to the people's decision, in the following chapter, to flee to Egypt against God's counsel.

Fun facts

  • The cistern used to hide the bodies had originally been built by King Asa centuries earlier as part of his defenses against King Baasha of Israel (1 Kings 15:22), showing the reuse of ancient structures.
  • Baalis, the Ammonite king named as the instigator of the assassination, is confirmed by archaeological seals mentioning an Ammonite official from the same period, supporting the historicity of the account.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 41:1Ishmael, of royal blood and Davidic lineage, kills Gedaliah, possibly because he could not accept a governor who was not of the royal family, or at the orders of the neighboring king of Ammon (see 40:14). The assassination ends the only chance of peaceful rebuilding left in Judah.
  2. Jeremias 41:2Ishmael carries out the conspiracy: he kills Gedaliah with the sword during a meal, killing also the man the king of Babylon himself had chosen to govern -- a blow against the Babylonian authority that had been set in place.
  3. Jeremias 41:3The massacre does not stop with Gedaliah: Ishmael also kills the Jews present and the Babylonian soldiers stationed at Mizpah, eliminating any witness or immediate resistance.
  4. Jeremias 41:4The crime stays secret for an entire day before being discovered by those who arrive afterward -- a detail that explains why the next scene unfolds without suspicion.
  5. Jeremias 41:5A group of eighty pilgrims arrives from the old territory of Israel (Shechem, Shiloh, Samaria), showing signs of mourning -- shaved beards, torn clothes, cuts on their bodies -- bringing offerings for the already destroyed temple, not knowing what had happened.
  6. Jeremias 41:6Ishmael goes out pretending to weep in order to lure the pilgrims to Mizpah, hiding from them that Gedaliah was already dead -- a trap disguised as an invitation to mourn.
  7. Jeremias 41:7The pit where the bodies are thrown had been dug long before, by King Asa, nearly 300 years earlier, as part of a defense system against King Baasha of Israel -- a detail showing how the region’s geography and ancient works get mixed up with the present tragedy.
  8. Jeremias 41:8Ten of the pilgrims save themselves by offering to reveal where they had hidden stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey -- Ishmael spares them out of material interest, not mercy.
  9. Jeremias 41:9The pit where Ishmael throws the bodies had originally been dug by King Asa, generations earlier, as part of the defenses against King Baasha of Israel -- now repurposed as a mass grave.
  10. Jeremias 41:10Ishmael kidnaps the rest of the population of Mizpah, including the king’s own daughters, and sets out toward Ammonite territory, where the conspiracy had come from.
  11. Jeremias 41:11Johanan and the other military commanders receive word of everything Ishmael has done and decide to act to keep him from taking the captives out of Judah.
  12. Jeremias 41:12They pursue Ishmael and catch up with him near the great pool of water at Gibeon, a well-known landmark in the region.
  13. Jeremias 41:13When they see Johanan and the others arriving, the very captives Ishmael was leading react with relief, glad for the chance to escape.
  14. Jeremias 41:14Seizing the moment, all the kidnapped people turn their backs on Ishmael and run toward Johanan, abandoning their captor.
  15. Jeremias 41:15Ishmael escapes with only eight men, fleeing to Ammonite territory before Johanan can capture him -- the leader of the massacre is never directly punished in the narrative.
  16. Jeremias 41:16Johanan gathers the rescued people -- soldiers, women, children, eunuchs -- all who had been kidnapped from Mizpah after Gedaliah’s death.
  17. Jeremias 41:17The group decides not to return to Mizpah, but to stop near Bethlehem, already thinking of heading on to Egypt -- the start of the movement that will drag Jeremiah, against his own will, there too.
  18. Jeremias 41:18The reason for the fear is concrete: they dreaded Babylonian retaliation for Gedaliah’s death, since he was the governor Babylon itself had appointed over the land.

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