Verse Lens · Context pointer
Jeremiah 41:2 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 2. 2Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The prophetic word through Jeremiah carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah…” at Jeremiah 41:2 as part of “Ishmael Murders Gedaliah and Others at Mizpah.”
Read It With
- Jeremiah 41:1–10
Read Jeremiah 41:2 with 41:1–10. By itself, “Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: A royal descendant kills the governor and Judean and Babylonian companions, deceives mourners, fills a cistern with bodies, and takes captives.
Why It Needs Context
Keep the line with Jeremiah 41:1–10. The prophetic word through Jeremiah carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah…” at Jeremiah 41:2 as part of “Ishmael Murders Gedaliah and Others at Mizpah.” The literary form and this limit govern it: Political violence, deception, massacre, and hostage-taking are narrated, not endorsed; victims must not become plot devices.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Jeremiah 41:1–10 — Ishmael Murders Gedaliah and Others at MizpahSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 41:1–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 41:1–10
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗