Jeremiah 41:9
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Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men he had struck down along with Gedaliah was a large one that King Asa had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
It is a very tragical story that is related in this chapter, and shows that evil pursues sinners. The black cloud that was gathering in the foregoing chapter here bursts in a dreadful storm. Those few Jews that escaped the captivity were proud to think that they were still in their own land, when their brethren had gone they knew not whither, were fond of the wine and summer-fruits they had gathered, and were very secure under Gedaliah's protectorship, when, on a sudden, even these remains prove ruins too. I. Gedaliah is barbarously slain by Ishmael (Jer 41:1, Jer 41:2). II. All the Jews that were with him were slain likewise (Jer 41:3) and a pit filled with their dead bodies (Jer 41:9). III. Some devout men, to the number of fourscore, that were going towards Jerusalem, were drawn in by Ishmael, and murdered likewise (Jer 41:4-7). Only ten of them escaped (Jer 41:8). IV. Those that escaped the sword were taken prisoners by Ishmael, and carried off towards the country of the Ammonites (Jer 41:10). V. By the conduct and courage of Johanan, though the death of the slain is not revenged, yet the prisoners are recovered, and he now becomes their commander-in-chief (Jer 41:11-16). VI. His project is to carry them into the land of Egypt (Jer 41:17, Jer 41:18), which we shall hear more of in the next chapter.
Open source ↗41:9 dug by King Asa when he fortified Mizpah: See 2 Chr 16:1-6. That passage does not refer to cisterns, but the need for water and grain storage would have required such structures, and several cisterns have been found in the ruins of the city.
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’
Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”
The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined Saul and Jonathan in the battle.
Soon Saul came to the sheepfolds along the road, where there was a cave, and he went in to relieve himself. And David and his men were hiding in the recesses of the cave.