The Assassination of Gedaliah ( Jer

THE ASSASSINATION OF GEDALIAH ( JER. 40:7–41:18)

Eric Peels

1. Introduction

With the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple and the deporta- tion into exile in 586 bce, Judah’s history unfolds into a tale of suffering without parallel. This story takes place not only in Babylon and Egypt, the two world-powers of that time—and the two theo-political entities par excellence in the book of Jeremiah—but also, in a ﬁnal drama, in the land of Judah itself. This drama is described in Jeremiah 40:7–41:18, and rather extensively at that, should one compare it to the description of the same events in 2 Kings 25:23–26. The course of events can be summarized as follows: Nebuchadnez- zar appoints a certain Gedaliah over the affairs of Judah, or rather, what is left of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem. It appears as if a new beginning is possible under him, and that his administration based in Mizpah will bring about renewal. However, he is killed in a plot led by Ishmael, a man of Davidic descent, having ignored the earlier warn- ings of Johanan. Ishmael kills all who are with Gedaliah at Mizpah, including a number of Babylonians. In fact, he even slaughters a group of pilgrims from the ten tribes who happen to pass by. He then sets out for Ammon, taking as captives the rest of the people of Mizpah, in order to return to king Baalis who was in some way also involved in this plot. However, Johanan and his followers intervene and prevent this endeavor. Ishmael manages to escape, while Johanan sets out for Egypt, taking with him the people of Mizpah. The passage in which this event is described belongs to the largely prosaic Jeremiah 37–45, which is sometimes—but not without opposi- tion—referred to as ‘the Baruch document’ or ‘the memoirs of Baruch’.1 Within the context of these chapters, the account of the assassination of Gedaliah is somewhat unique and remarkable for two reasons. In

1 See, respectively, W. Brueggemann, A Commentary on Jeremiah. Exile and Homecoming, Grand Rapids 1998, 338; Th.C. Vriezen, A.S. van der Woude, Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish Literature, Leiden 2005, 340–41. 84 eric peels the first place because, in contrast to the chapters that both precede and follow, the character of the prophet Jeremiah is completely absent although he actually was with Gedaliah at Mizpah ‘among the people’ (39:14; 40:6). In the second place because there are so many lacunae in the account, that with each scene the reader is confronted with all kinds of questions that are not answered—questions as to the exact order of events, the background, and the position and motives of the main characters. In the present study, I will set out to elucidate the place and mean- ing of this pericope in the prophecies of Jeremiah. In doing so, I will begin by proposing a textual division and narrative structure. Thereafter I will examine the most important questions that arise from the text, focusing first on the characters and then on the issues of time and place. This will be followed by a reflection on the nature and function of the passage within the context of Jeremiah, so as to finish with a tentative observation concerning its authorship.

2. Textual Delimitation and Structure

To a certain extent, the textual delimitation of the Gedaliah-passage is self-evident, and the individual parts also form a clear unity. The beginning and end form an inclusio; ﬁrst, in terms of the names of the three main characters, viz. Gedaliah, Ishmael and Johanan (40:7–8; 41:16–18); secondly, by way of the announcement that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah over the land (40:7; 41:18); thirdly, with the allusions to the fear for the Babylonians (40:9; 41:18); and fourthly, through the references to Mizpah, to which all came (40:7–12) and from which all departed (41:16–7). On the basis of the change in person, place, time and theme, the text can be divided into ﬁve scenes, a division which is largely supported by the Masoretic text.2 Each scene further consists of two acts.

2 The MT has a setumah after 40:6, 40:16, 41:6, 41:10, 41:15 and 41:18, and a petuchah after 40:12. In this article we will follow the Hebrew text. The Greek LXX text is—as throughout Jeremiah—shorter than the Hebrew MT, yet the difference between the two is not signiﬁcant in terms of substance. The distinguishing feature of the Greek text is the omission of personal- and place-names, perhaps considered unnecessary. On the differences between the MT and LXX, see also J.R. Lundbom, Jeremiah 37–52 (AB, 21C), New York 2004, 109.