Jeremiah 40:14
in Jeremiah 40and said to him, “Are you aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and said unto him, Dost thou know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take thy life? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.
KJV
And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.
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This verse in Jeremiah 40
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBut Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed then not - The account given of this man proves him to have been a person of uncommon greatness of soul. Conscious of his own integrity and benevolence, he took the portrait of others from his own mind; and therefore believed evil of no man, because he felt none towards any in his own breast. He may be reproached for being too credulous and confident: but any thing of this kind that may be justly charged against him serves only to show the greatness of his mind.
This site's exposition
came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
on Jeremiah 40:13-16
Johanan and the commanders warn Gedaliah that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael to kill him. Johanan offers to kill Ishmael secretly, asking why the remnant should perish, but Gedaliah answers, “What you are saying about Ishmael is a lie.” The next chapter shows the warning was true.
This site's exposition
Baalis king of the Ammonites
Albert Barnes says Baalis held a grudge against Ahikam's family. He says Ishmael son of Nethaniah, of royal blood, envied Gedaliah his rule over the land. Adam Clarke says Gedaliah did not believe them because he believed evil of no man, and calls it greatness of soul.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And said unto him, dost thou certainly know,....
6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land. The title of this part of the book, which begins the chapter, seems misapplied ( The word which came to Jeremiah ), for here is nothing of prophecy in this chapter, but it is to be referred to ch. xlii.
Nothing could be more barbarous than the design itself, nor more base than the method of compassing it. How wretchedly is human nature corrupted and degenerated (even in those that pretend to the best blood) when it is capable of admitting the thought of such abominable wickedness!
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Baalis--named from the idol Baal, as was often the case in heathen names. Ammonites--So it was to them that Ishmael went after murdering Gedaliah (Jer 41:10). slay--literally, "strike thee in the soul," that is, a deadly stroke.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It is difficult to say what object Baalis can have had in murdering Gedaliah. As an ally of Zedekiah Jer 27:3, he may have had a spite against the family of Ahikam for opposing, as most probably they did at Jeremiah’s instigation, the league proposed Jer. 27. Ishmael’s motive was envy and spite at seeing a subject who had always opposed the war now invested with kingly power, in place of the royal family.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הֲיָדֹ֤עַ | hayadoa' | ¿ really <to know> | H3045 → | 945 times |
| תֵּדַע֙ | teda' | do you know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֞י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בַּעֲלִ֣יס׀ | baalis | Baalis | H1185 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֗וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| שָׁלַח֙ | shalach | he has sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׁמָעֵ֣אל | yishmael | Ishmael | H3458 → | 48 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נְתַנְיָ֔ה | netanyah | Nethaniah | H5418 → | 20 times |
| לְהַכֹּתְךָ֖ | lehakotekha | to strike you | H5221 → | 499 times |
| נָ֑פֶשׁ | nafesh | life | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֶאֱמִ֣ין | heemin | he believed | H539 → | 106 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | <to> <the> them | ||
| גְּדַלְיָ֖הוּ | gedalyahu | Gedaliah | H1436 → | 32 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲחִיקָֽם׃ | ʾachikam | Ahikam | H296 → | 20 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
הֲיָדֹ֤עַ¿ really <to know>
hayadoa'H3045 →945 times
תֵּדַע֙do you know
teda'H3045 →945 times
כִּ֞יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
בַּעֲלִ֣יס׀Baalis
baalisH1185 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֗וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
שָׁלַח֙he has sent
shalachH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׁמָעֵ֣אלIshmael
yishmaelH3458 →48 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
נְתַנְיָ֔הNethaniah
netanyahH5418 →20 times
לְהַכֹּתְךָ֖to strike you
lehakotekhaH5221 →499 times
נָ֑פֶשׁlife
nafeshH5315 →754 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הֶאֱמִ֣יןhe believed
heeminH539 →106 times
לָהֶ֔ם<to> <the> them
lahem
גְּדַלְיָ֖הוּGedaliah
gedalyahuH1436 →32 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אֲחִיקָֽם׃Ahikam
ʾachikamH296 →20 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
Jeremiah 25:21Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:1
Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and…
- Psalms 137:7
Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
- Jeremiah 9:26
Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in…
- Isaiah 15:1–9
This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night!
- Jeremiah 48:1
Through
Jeremiah 41:10Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people of Mizpah—the daughters of the king along with all the others who remained in Mizpah—over whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had appointed Gedaliah…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 40:7
When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in…
- Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the…
- Nehemiah 2:10
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.
- Jeremiah 40:11–12
When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son…
- Jeremiah 40:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
What the record shows
1 entry- Baalis — attested in contemporary inscriptionwell-supported
Ammonite seal impression, Tell el-Umayri
Biblical figure (King of the Ammonites, late 7th-early 6th c. BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The seal impression names an official — "Milkom-ur, servant of Baalyasha" — not the king directly, and "Baalyasha" is not the same spelling as the Bible's "Baalis." Most scholars, following Larry Herr's publication, accept that the two are the same man, but there is no way to rule out a second Ammonite king bearing that name.
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.