Gedaliah

Gedaliah (meaning: God is my greatness) was the name of several biblical figures, most notably the governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar over the remnant population of Judah after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Son of Ahikam (who had protected Jeremiah from death) and grandson of Shaphan the royal secretary, Gedaliah came from a prominent Judean family with a record of supporting the prophetic word. Nebuchadnezzar appointed him governor at Mizpah, where he encouraged the scattered Judeans to submit to Babylon and cultivate the land in peace (Jeremiah 40:7–12).

Gedaliah's governorship was tragically brief. Despite warnings from Johanan son of Kareah about an assassination plot, Gedaliah refused to believe that Ishmael son of Netaniah harbored murderous intentions. Ishmael killed Gedaliah at a meal, along with his Babylonian escort and many Judeans, in an act motivated by Ammonite intrigue (Jeremiah 41:1–3). The assassination scattered the surviving remnant in fear of Babylonian reprisal and led directly to the unauthorized flight to Egypt that Jeremiah warned against. The fast of the seventh month commemorating Gedaliah's death was maintained in post-exilic Jewish observance (Zechariah 7:5; 8:19).