2 Kings 25:22-26--Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

2 Kings 25:22-26
English Standard Version

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

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I know I haven't been careful to post the names of the mothers of the kings so far, but it is glaringly obvious to me that this man who was made governor by King Nebuchadnezzar has no mother listed as part of his information about when he came to power and how long he ruled.  Why is that?  Because there is no need to establish that he is Jewish and had a right to inherit David's throne, because this man is not even of the royal family (we'll see that later).

Any of the fighting men that were left formed ranks when they heard the news that Babylon had put its own governor in place, and they brought with them a member of the royal family named Ishmael.  Gedaliah swore peace to them, but in the seventh month, Ishmael came up with his men and struck down Gedaliah and put to death all the Jews and Chaldeans working along with the Babylonians that were living in and working in Mizpah (which must have been the seat of power that Babylon had chosen for its governor).

Any of the men involved in this revolt then fled to Egypt to escape the Chaldeans (Babylonians).  We're almost done with the story of the kings and we have but one more passage to study tomorrow that will give us some details that we don't get in the book of Daniel, for we will get a tiny bit of information about the Babylonian king that succeeds Nebuchadnezzar.