Bible Dictionary: Gedaliah

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Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Gedaliah

God is my greatness

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Gedaliah

(God is my greatness), son of Ahikam (Jeremiah's protector, (Jeremiah 26:24) and grandson of Shaphan the secretary of King Josiah. After the destruction of the temple, B.C. 588, Nebuchadnezzar departed from Judea, leaving Gedaliah with a Chaldean guard, (Jeremiah 40:5) at Mizpah to govern the vinedressers and husbandmen, (Jeremiah 52:16) who were exempted from captivity. Jeremiah jointed Gedaliah; and Mizpah became the resort of Jews from various quarters. (Jeremiah 40:6,11) He was murdered by Ishmael two months after his appointment.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Gedaliah

Son of Ahikam, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to govern Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem. Like his father, he honored and befriended Jeremiah, Jeremiah 40:5. He began the administration of his government at Mizpeh with wisdom, but in two months was treacherously murdered by one Ishmael, 2 Kings 25:22-26 Jeremiah 39:14 40:5-41:18.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Made great by Jehovah.

(1.) the son of Jeduthum (1 Chronicles 25:3, 9).

(2.) The grandfather of the prophet Zephaniah, and the father of Cushi (Zephaniah 1:1).

(3.) One of the Jewish nobles who conspired against Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1).

(4.) The son of Ahikam, and grandson of Shaphan, secretary of king Josiah (Jeremiah 26:24). After the destruction of Jerusalem (see ZEDEKIAH), Nebuchadnezzar left him to govern the country as tributary to him (2 Kings 25:22; Jeremiah 40:5; 52:16). Ishmael, however, at the head of a party of the royal family, "Jewish irreconcilables", rose against him, and slew him and "all the Jews that were with him" (Jeremiah 41:2, 3) at Mizpah about three months after the destruction of Jerusalem. He and his band also plundered the town of Mizpah, and carried off many captives. He was, however, overtaken by Johanan and routed. He fled with such of his followers as escaped to the Ammonites (41:15). The little remnant of the Jews now fled to Egypt.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

GEDALIAH

ged-a-li'-a (gedhalyah; except in 1 Chronicles 25:3, 9 and Jeremiah 38:1, where it is gedhalyahu, "Yah(u) is great"):

(1) Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam (the friend and protector of Jeremiah) and grandson of Shaphan (the scribe in the reign of Josiah) (2 Kings 25:22-25 Jeremiah 39:14; Jeremiah 40:5-16; 41:1-18).

1. His Appointment as Governor in Judah:

After the destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying away captive of the Jews to Babylon (586 B.C.), Gedaliah was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar governor over the poor Jews who had been left in the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen (2 Kings 25:12, 22). To his charge were committed also some royal princesses (Jeremiah 43:6) and courtiers (Jeremiah 41:16) who had been allowed to remain as unlikely to cause any trouble. Gedaliah fixed his residence at Mizpah, a few miles Northwest of Jerusalem. Here he was joined by Jeremiah (40:6).

2. His Conciliatory Spirit and Wise Rule:

The Jewish soldiers who had escaped capture, having heard that the Chaldeans had departed, and that Gedaliah, one of their own nation, had been appointed governor in Judah, came with Ishmael, Johanan and other officers at their head, to Gedaliah at Mizpah (2 Kings 25:23, 14 Jeremiah 40:7-10). The governor assured them that they need have no fear of vengeance from their conquerors, and promised them on oath protection and security, if they would remain and cultivate the land and become the peaceful subjects of the king of Babylon. This assurance led to a general gathering around Gedaliah of refugees from all the neighboring countries (Jeremiah 40:11, 12). For two months (some think longer) Gedaliah's beneficent and wise rule did much to consolidate affairs in Judah and to inspire the feeble remnant of his countrymen with heart and hope.

3. His Treacherous Assassination:

But evil spirits were at work against him. Baalis, king of Ammon, had determined upon his life (Jeremiah 40:13-16). The peaceful and popular rule which was being established by the good governor stood in the way of the accomplishment of any plan of conquest he entertained. Baalis found a ready instrument for his murderous design in Ishmael who, as one of royal birth and in the counsels of the king (Jeremiah 41:1), was doubtless jealous of the man who had been chosen governor in preference to himself. Gedaliah was informed by Johanan and the other captains of the plot to assassinate him, and Johanan at a private interview expressed to him a strong desire to go himself and slay Ishmael secretly, declaring that the safety of the Jews depended upon the life of the governor. But Gedaliah refused to allow Johanan to anticipate his enemy, believing, in the generosity of his heart, that Ishmael was not capable of such an act of treachery. He soon found, however, that his confidence had been sadly misplaced. Ishmael, with ten of his companions, came on a visit to him to Mizpah, and after they had been hospitably entertained they fell upon their good host and murdered him, along with all the Jewish and the Chaldean soldiers whom he had with him for order and protection (2 Kings 25:25 Jeremiah 41:1-3). They then cast the bodies of their victims into the cistern which Asa had made (Jeremiah 41:9). Ishmael was pursued and overtaken by Johanan, but he succeeded in effecting his escape to the Ammonites (Jeremiah 41:11-15). Then Johanan and the other captains, afraid lest the Chaldeans should avenge upon them the murder of the governor (Jeremiah 41:16-18), and against the earnest entreaties of Jeremiah (chapter 42), fled to Egypt, taking the prophet and the Jewish remnant with them (43:5-7). In memory of the date of Gedaliah's assassination the Jews kept a fast (which is still retained in the Jewish calendar) on the 3rd day of the 7th month, Tishri (Zechariah 7:5; Zechariah 8:19).

4. His Noble Character:

The narratives reveal Gedaliah in a very attractive light, as one who possessed the confidence alike of his own people and their conquerors; a man of rare wisdom and tact, and of upright, transparent character, whose kindly nature and generous disposition would not allow him to think evil of a brother; a man altogether worthy of the esteem in which he was held by succeeding generations of his fellow-countrymen.

(2) (gedhalyahu): Son of Jeduthun, and instrumental leader of the 2nd of the 24 choirs in the Levitical orchestra (1 Chronicles 25:3, 1).

(3) A priest of the "sons of Jeshua," in the time of Ezra, who had married a foreign woman (Ezra 10:18).

(4) (gedhalyahu): Son of Pashhur (who beat Jeremiah and put him in the stocks, Jeremiah 20:1-6), and one of the chiefs of Jerusalem who, with the sanction of the king, Zedekiah, took Jeremiah and let him down with cords into a cistern where he sank in the mud (38:1, 4-6).

(5) Grandfather of Zephaniah the prophet, and grandson of Hezekiah, probably the king (Ze 1:1).

James Crichton

Strong's Hebrew

1436. Gdalyah -- "Yah is great," three Israelites
... 1435, 1436. Gdalyah. 1436a . "Yah is great," three Israelites. Transliteration:
Gdalyah Phonetic Spelling: (ghed-al-yaw') Short Definition: Gedaliah. Gedaliah ...
/hebrew/1436.htm - 5k

1436a. Gedalyah -- "Yah is great," three Israelites
... Gedalyah. 1436b . "Yah is great," three Israelites. Transliteration: Gedalyah
Short Definition: Gedaliah. ... NASB Word Usage Gedaliah (5). 1436, 1436a. ...
/hebrew/1436a.htm - 5k

1436b. Gedalyahu -- "Yah is great," three Israelites
... Gedalyahu. 1437 . "Yah is great," three Israelites. Transliteration: Gedalyahu
Short Definition: Gedaliah. ... NASB Word Usage Gedaliah (27). 1436a, 1436b. ...
/hebrew/1436b.htm - 5k

Library

How Nebuzaradan Set Gedaliah Over the Jews that were Left in Judea ...
... CHAPTER 9. How Nebuzaradan Set Gedaliah Over The Jews That Were Left In Judea Which
Gedaliah Was A Little Afterward Slain By Ishmael; And How Johanan After ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 9 how nebuzaradan set.htm

The Sad Fate of a Guilty Nation
... homeland. Nebuchadrezzar made Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, governor
over the people he had left in the land of Judah. Now ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/the sad fate of a.htm

The Captivity.
... All the Jews of high rank were carried away, and none left but the poorer sort,
who were to till the ground under a ruler named Gedaliah. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson x the captivity.htm

And After. (xxx, xxxi, xxxix-Xliv. )
... XXXIX.3, 14 tells us that he was fetched from the guard-court by Babylonian
officers,(609) and given to Gedaliah, the son of his old befriender Ahikam, to be ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/4 and after xxx xxxi.htm

Index of Names and Subjects.
... Freedom, the Divine, 186, 237. Future Life, no hope of, 138, 240, 334, 340, 380.
Gedaliah, 276, 291, 292; assassination, 307. Gidroth-Chimham, 308. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/index of names and subjects.htm

Chapter i.
... The panic which followed the murder of Gedaliah drove a host of Jewish fugitives
to Egypt, where they settled at Migdol (Magdolos), Tahpanhes (Taphnas = Daphne ...
/.../an introduction to the old testament in greek additional notes/chapter i.htm

The Antiquities of the Jews
... CHAPTER 9. How Nebuzaradan Set Gedaliah Over The Jews That Were Left In Judea Which
Gedaliah Was A Little Afterward Slain By Ishmael; And How Johanan After ...
//christianbookshelf.org/josephus/the antiquities of the jews/

Jeremiah
... unpatriotic proclamation of the Babylonian triumph, the pitiful vacillation of the
king, the final capture of the city, the appointment of Gedaliah as governor ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/jeremiah.htm

Faith of Sinners in Prayer
... Johanan and Jeremiah, with a small company, had been left in their native land,
and Ishmael had conspired against Gedaliah, the appointed governor of the ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bounds/prayer and praying men/xi faith of sinners in.htm

The Siege. (xxi, xxxii-xxxiv, xxxvii, xxxviii. )
... XXXVIII.1. And Shephatiah, Mattan's son, Gedaliah Pashhur's son, Jucal Shelamiah's
son, and Pashhur Malchiah's son,(587) heard the words Jeremiah was speaking ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/3 the siege xxi xxxii-xxxiv.htm

Thesaurus

Gedaliah (31 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. GEDALIAH. ged ... trouble. Gedaliah fixed his
residence at Mizpah, a few miles Northwest of Jerusalem. ...
/g/gedaliah.htm - 26k

Ahi'kam (19 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 25:22 And as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son ...
/a/ahi'kam.htm - 12k

Gedali'ah (28 Occurrences)
Gedali'ah. Gedaliah, Gedali'ah. Geddur . Multi-Version Concordance
Gedali'ah (28 Occurrences). 2 Kings 25:22 And as for the people ...
/g/gedali'ah.htm - 15k

Nethani'ah (20 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 25:23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard
that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to ...
/n/nethani'ah.htm - 13k

Kareah (14 Occurrences)
... Bald, the father of Johanan and Jonathan, who for a time were loyal to Gedaliah,
the Babylonian governor of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 40:8, 13, 15, 16). Int. ...
/k/kareah.htm - 12k

Ahikam (20 Occurrences)
... He was the son of Shaphan, the royal secretary, and the father of Gedaliah, governor
of Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25 ...
/a/ahikam.htm - 16k

Nethaniah (20 Occurrences)
... 36:14). (4) The father of Ishmael, the murderer of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 40:8,
14, 15; Jeremiah 41:11 2 Kings 25:23, 25). Some manuscripts ...
/n/nethaniah.htm - 15k

Kare'ah (14 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 25:23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard
that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to ...
/k/kare'ah.htm - 10k

Joha'nan (25 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 25:23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard
that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to ...
/j/joha'nan.htm - 13k

Ish'mael (40 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 25:23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard
that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to ...
/i/ish'mael.htm - 18k

Bible Concordance

Gedaliah (31 Occurrences)

2 Kings 25:22 As for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 25:23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 25:24 Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, "Don't be afraid because of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 25:25 But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed came, and ten men with him, and struck Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Chronicles 25:3 Of Jeduthun; the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Chronicles 25:9 Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah; he and his brothers and sons were twelve:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Ezra 10:18 Among the sons of the priests there were found who had married foreign women: namely, of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 38:1 Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 39:14 they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he lived among the people.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:5 Now while he was not yet gone back, Go back then, said he, to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go wherever it seems right to you to go. So the captain of the guard gave him food and a present, and let him go.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:6 Then went Jeremiah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:7 Now when all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, and women, and children, and of the poorest of the land, of those who were not carried away captive to Babylon;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:8 then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, to wit, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:9 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:11 Likewise when all the Jews who were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:12 then all the Jews returned out of all places where they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:14 and said to him, Do you know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam didn't believe them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Please let me go, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: why should he take your life, that all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 40:16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Ishmael.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:1 Now it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal and one of the chief officers of the king, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they ate bread together in Mizpah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:3 Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with him, to wit, with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:4 It happened the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:6 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it happened, as he met them, he said to them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:9 Now the pit in which Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had killed, by the side of Gedaliah (the same was who which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel), Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with those who were killed.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people who were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the children of Ammon.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to wit, the men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 41:18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the land.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 43:6 the men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person who Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of Yahweh which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Gedaliah

Gedaliah: A Musician

Gedaliah: A Priest, Who Divorced his Gentile Wife After the Exile

Gedaliah: A Prince Who Caused Imprisonment of Jeremiah

Gedaliah: Ancestor of Zephaniah

Gedaliah: Governor Appointed by Nebucbadnezzar After Carrying the Jews Into Captivity

Gedaliah: Governor Appointed by Nebucbadnezzar After Carrying the Jews Into Captivity: Killed by Ishmael

Gedaliah: Jeremiah Committed to the Care of

Warned of the Conspiracy of Ishmael by Johanan, and the Captains of his Army

Related Terms

Ahi'kam (19 Occurrences)