2 Kings 25:24-26

25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ¹  He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.” 25:25 But in the seventh month ²  Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, ³  came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, ⁴  as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. 25:26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left for ⁵  Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do.

¹ tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

² sn It is not altogether clear whether this is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (= early July; Jer 39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (= early August; Jer 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jer 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jer 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zech 8:19).

³ tn Heb “[was] from the seed of the kingdom.”

⁴ tn Heb “and they struck down Gedaliah and he died.”

⁵ tn Heb “arose and went to.”