Daily Tanach – Yirmiyahu Chapter 41 – The Murder of Gedaliah and the Flight Toward Egypt (Thursday 21st Kisleiv)

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Yirmiyahu 41 – The Murder of Gedaliah and the Flight Toward Egypt

  1. The Assassination of Gedaliah (Yirmiyahu 41:1–3)

In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, who was of royal descent, came to Mizpah with ten men to visit Gedaliah son of Ahikam. They shared a meal together, but during the meal Ishmael and his men rose up and killed Gedaliah with the sword. Gedaliah had been appointed governor over Judah by the king of Babylon. Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah in Mizpah and the Babylonian soldiers present there.

  1. The Massacre at Mizpah (Yirmiyahu 41:4–9)

The day after Gedaliah’s murder, eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, mourning and bringing offerings to the house of the Lord. Ishmael went out to meet them, pretending to weep, and invited them to see Gedaliah. When they entered the city, Ishmael and his men slaughtered them and threw their bodies into a large pit. However, ten of the men pleaded for their lives, promising hidden supplies of grain, oil, and honey, so Ishmael spared them. The pit used for the bodies was originally made by King Asa during his conflict with Baasha, and Ishmael filled it with corpses.

  1. The Captivity and Flight of Ishmael (Yirmiyahu 41:10–15)

Ishmael captured all the remaining people in Mizpah, including the daughters of the king and others whom Nebuzaradan had entrusted to Gedaliah. He set out to take them to the land of Ammon. When Johanan son of Kareah and the other army officers heard of Ishmael’s crimes, they pursued him and confronted him near the great waters of Gibeon. The captives rejoiced when they saw Johanan and turned back to him. Ishmael, however, escaped with eight men and fled to the Ammonites.

  1. The Remnant’s Fear and Decision (Yirmiyahu 41:16–18)

Johanan recovered all the people Ishmael had taken, including soldiers, women, children, and officials. They left Mizpah and settled near Bethlehem at Geruth Chimham, intending to go to Egypt. They feared retaliation from the Babylonians because Ishmael had murdered Gedaliah, the governor appointed by Babylon. This fear drove them toward a desperate plan to seek refuge in Egypt.

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.