Gedaliah, Gedalia, Gedallah
[Hirsch, E. G. and Greenstone, J. H. (1906)]
Gedallah
Jewish Encyclopedia or Gedalya(h) ( or ; he, גְּדַלְיָּה ''Gəḏalyyā'' or ''Gəḏalyyāhū'', meaning "
Jah
Jah or Yah ( he, , ''Yāh'') is a short form of (YHWH), the four letters that form the tetragrammaton, the personal name of God: Yahweh, which the ancient Israelites used. The conventional Christian English pronunciation of ''Jah'' is , even th ...
has become Great") was, according to the narratives in the
Hebrew Bible's
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah ( he, ספר יִרְמְיָהוּ) is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the boo ...
and
Second Book of Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...
, appointed by
Nebuchadnezzar II
Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...
of
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
as governor of
Yehud province, which was formed after the defeat of the
Kingdom of Judah and the destruction of
Jerusalem, in a part of the territory that previously formed the kingdom. He was supported by a
Chaldea
Chaldea () was a small country that existed between the late 10th or early 9th and mid-6th centuries BCE, after which the country and its people were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of Babylonia. Semitic-speaking, it was ...
n guard stationed at
Mizpah. On hearing of the appointment, the Jews that had taken refuge in surrounding countries returned to Judah.
Gedaliah was the son of
Ahikam (who saved the life of the prophet
Jeremiah) and the grandson of
Shaphan (who is mentioned in relation to the discovery of the scroll of Teaching that some scholars identify as the core of the
book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
).
He zealously began to encourage the people to cultivate the fields and vineyards, and thus lay the foundation of security. Many who had fled to neighboring lands during the war of destruction were attracted by the news of the revival of the community. They came to Gedaliah in Mizpah and were warmly welcomed by him.
Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, murdered Gedaliah, together with most of the Jews who had joined him and many Babylonians whom Nebuchadnezzar had left with Gedaliah (). The remaining Judeans feared the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar and fled to Egypt. Although the dates are not clear from the Bible, this probably happened about 582/1 BCE (,), some four to five years and three months after the destruction of Jerusalem and the
First Temple in 586 BCE.
Fast of Gedaliah
To lament the assassination of Gedaliah, which left Judah devoid of any Jews and Jewish rule and completed the destruction of the First Temple, the Jewish Sages established the third day of
Tishrei as the
Fast of Gedaliah. Although Gedaliah's assassination perhaps occurred on the first day of Tishrei,
[See ] the fast is observed on the third day so as not to coincide with
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
.
References
{{Authority control
580s BC deaths
Assassinated Jews
Assassinated politicians
6th-century BCE Jews
Ten Days of Repentance
Book of Jeremiah
Books of Kings people
Biblical murder victims