And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Ishmael left Mizpah and went out to meet them, crying the whole way. When he reached them, he said, 'Come with me to see Gedaliah.'
Sometimes the person crying the loudest is the one you should trust the least.
📚 Historical Context
During the Babylonian conquest of Judah in the 6th century BC, after the destruction of Jerusalem, Gedaliah was appointed as governor by the Babylonians to oversee the remnant of the Jewish people in Mizpah. Ishmael, son of Nethaniah and likely a member of the royal family, opposed this foreign-appointed leadership and was involved in a rebellion that included assassination plots. In this verse, Ishmael uses deceptive tactics, such as feigned weeping, to lure unsuspecting travelers under the pretense of meeting Gedaliah, setting the stage for his violent intentions.
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