Gedaliah (son of Pashur)

Gedaliah the son of Pashur was an official of Judah who appears only once, in Jeremiah 38. His name is commonly interpreted to mean "the Lord is great." Several people named Gedaliah appear in the Bible. Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of Judah (Jeremiah 40–41), is a different person.

Biblical Account

Jeremiah 38:1 names Gedaliah together with Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah. These men heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to the people: those who remained in Jerusalem would die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, while those who went out and surrendered to the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) would live, and the city would ultimately be given into the hand of the Babylonian army (Jeremiah 38:2-3).

The "princes" (officials) then asked the king to put Jeremiah to death, on the grounds that he was weakening the hands of the soldiers and people who remained in the city and that he "seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt" (38:4). King Zedekiah did not restrain them, saying, "Behold, he is in your hand." The officials let Jeremiah down with cords into the dungeon of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the court of the prison. The pit held no water, only mire, and Jeremiah sank into the mire (38:5-6). Afterward, Ebed-melech the Ethiopian appealed to the king and drew Jeremiah out (38:7-13).

The usual reading is that the "princes" of 38:4 are the four men named in verse 1. The text, however, does not record any words or actions of Gedaliah individually, and Scripture records nothing else about his life or later activities.

Significance Within the Bible

Gedaliah appears in a scene set just before the fall of Jerusalem, in which those in power reject and persecute a prophet who proclaims the word of God. This episode is regarded as one of the defining events among the sufferings Jeremiah endured. Jucal, who appears alongside him, is called "Jehucal the son of Shelemiah" in 37:3, where Zedekiah sends him to ask Jeremiah to pray. The New Testament does not mention Gedaliah directly.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• His father Pashur: Jeremiah 20:1-6 tells of Pashur the son of Immer, a priest who struck Jeremiah and put him in the stocks (a frame used to fasten a prisoner's feet). Some hold that this Pashur was Gedaliah's father, but the text does not say so.
• The officials' motives: Interpreters differ on how to evaluate the officials' petition. Readings within the tradition of faith see it as a rejection of God's word. Historical readings see it as a political judgment that treated calls for surrender within a besieged city as treason. Some scholars also suggest that a faction at the royal court at the time favored resisting Babylon.
• The pit: Because Jeremiah was lowered into a pit rather than killed outright, many interpreters read the action as a de facto death sentence that left him to die of starvation.