Jeremiah 40:6
in Jeremiah 40So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
KJV
Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 40
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThen went Jeremiah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah,.... A city in the tribe of Benjamin, not far from Ramathon; which, as Josephus says, was about five miles from Jerusalem.
This site's exposition
I loose thee this day from the chains
on Jeremiah 40:4-6
Nebuzaradan sets Jeremiah free with an open choice, Babylon under royal protection or the land under Gedaliah, and Jeremiah takes neither as compulsion but chooses the land, going to Gedaliah at Mizpah to dwell among the people left behind. Keil observes that the choice itself is the last kindness Babylon shows the prophet who told it the truth, food and a reward given alongside the freedom. Jeremiah's decision to stay with the poorest of the land rather than accept honor in the conqueror's court fits the pattern the book has already set, a prophet who shares his people's suffering rather than escaping it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Jeremiah indeed had never in his prophecies spoken of any such good days reserved for the Jews immediately after the captivity; but Providence seemed to raise and encourage such an expectation, and it would be to that miserable people as life from the dead. Gedaliah, one of themselves, is made governor in the land, by the king of Babylon,
The great resort of the Jews that remained scattered in the neighbouring countries to Gedaliah, who was made their governor under the king of Babylon; and the good posture they were in for a while under him,
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֧א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֛הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גְּדַלְיָ֥ה | gedalyah | Gedaliah | H1436 → | 32 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲחִיקָ֖ם | ʾachikam | Ahikam | H296 → | 20 times |
| הַמִּצְפָּ֑תָה | hamitzpatah | <the> Mizpah towards | H4709 → | 40 times |
| וַיֵּ֤שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he remained | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אִתּוֹ֙ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֖ים | hanisharim | who remained | H7604 → | 133 times |
| בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ ס | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיָּבֹ֧אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
יִרְמְיָ֛הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גְּדַלְיָ֥הGedaliah
gedalyahH1436 →32 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
אֲחִיקָ֖םAhikam
ʾachikamH296 →20 times
הַמִּצְפָּ֑תָה<the> Mizpah towards
hamitzpatahH4709 →40 times
וַיֵּ֤שֶׁבand he remained
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
אִתּוֹ֙with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
בְּת֣וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֖יםwho remained
hanisharimH7604 →133 times
בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ סin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 21:1Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
it leads to
- Judges 20:1
Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 23:12
When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
- Judges 20:1
Through
Judges 20:1Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
it leads to
- Judges 21:5
The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 11:11
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
- Joshua 22:12
And when they heard this, the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.
- 1 Samuel 3:20
So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 10:17
After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah
- Judges 21:5
Through
Jeremiah 39:14had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 38:28
And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
- Jeremiah 38:28
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.