Jeremiah 40

40:1-6 This passage provides some details about what happened to Jeremiah immediately after the fall of Jerusalem.

40:2-3 The captain of the guard quoted the prediction of the Lord through Jeremiah that had now been fulfilled.

40:6 Gedaliah’s new headquarters were in Mizpah, eight miles north of the ruined Jerusalem.

40:7-12 The new government was organized under Gedaliah, who belonged to a family of high rank. His grandfather Shaphan had taken King Josiah the scroll of the law that sparked reformation (2 Kgs 22:10). Gedaliah’s father, Ahikam, had held a high post in Jehoiakim’s close circle of officials, and he had saved Jeremiah’s life (Jer 26:24).40:7-8 News spread swiftly among the Judean guerrilla bands and the poor people who were left behind about Gedaliah’s appointment as governor. A small group of guerrilla leaders arranged to meet with Gedaliah in order to gain a better understanding of the new governor’s plans.

40:9-10 Gedaliah did his best to assure the Judean guerrillas that peaceful settlement under the rule of the Babylonians would bring prosperity.

40:11-12 The new governor’s promises encouraged people of Judah who had fled to neighboring countries to move back to their land. The mention of a great harvest indicates that the Babylonians had not destroyed the crops when they laid siege to Jerusalem.

40:14 Ammon was a small highland nation east of the Jordan Valley. • Ishmael son of Nethaniah had royal blood in his veins (2 Kgs 25:25).

40:16 Gedaliah’s response betrayed his naiveté and the lack of trust in advisers that infected the whole chaotic situation.