Gedaliah

About Gedaliah

Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, was appointed governor of Judah by the Babylonians after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (2Ki.25.22; Jer.40.5). He established his base at Mizpah and encouraged the remaining Jews to submit to Babylonian rule and live peacefully in the land (Jer.40.9-10). Many Jews who had fled to surrounding countries returned to Judah and settled under Gedaliah's leadership (Jer.40.11-12). However, Ishmael, a member of the royal family, conspired against Gedaliah and assassinated him along with the Babylonian officials and Jews who were with him (2Ki.25.25; Jer.41.1-3). This act of treachery led to the flight of the remaining Jews to Egypt, fearing Babylonian reprisals (2Ki.25.26; Jer.41.16-18; 43.5-7). Gedaliah's assassination marked the end of Jewish self-rule in the land and the beginning of the Babylonian exile. The prophet Jeremiah, who had been released from prison by the Babylonians and entrusted to Gedaliah's care (Jer.39.14; 40.5-6), witnessed these tragic events and mourned the loss of Gedaliah and the fate of his people (Jer.41.4-6).

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.