Jeremiah 40:14

“And said unto him, dost thou certainly know, etc.] Not that they thought he did know, or that the thing was so flagrant that he must know it; but that he might be assured of the truth of it, from the information they were now about to give him: or, “dost thou [not] in knowing know?”f743 it is most certainly true; and thou mayest depend upon it that it is real matter of fact: that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? very probably Ishmael, with the forces under him, fled to the king of the Ammonites upon the taking of Jerusalem; who, out of ill will to the Jews, always bore them by the Ammonites, envying their reestablishment under Gedaliah,…”

“Baalis--named from the idol Baal, as was often the case in heathen names. Ammonites--So it was to them that Ishmael went after murdering Gedaliah (Jer 41:10). slay--literally, "strike thee in the soul," that is, a deadly stroke. Ishmael--Being of the royal seed of David (Jer 41:1), he envied Gedaliah the presidency to which he thought himself entitled; therefore he leagued himself with the ancient heathen enemy of Judah. believed . . . not--generous, but unwise unsuspiciousness (Ecc 9:16).”

“It is difficult to say what object Baalis can have had in murdering Gedaliah. As an ally of Zedekiah Jeremiah 27:3, he may have had a spite against the family of Ahikam for opposing, as most probably they did at Jeremiah’s instigation, the league proposed Jeremiah 27:0. Ishmael’s motive was envy and spite at seeing a subject who had always opposed the war now invested with kingly power, in place of the royal family. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical Information Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Jeremiah 40". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/jeremiah-40.html. 1870.…”

“40:14 Ammon was a small highland nation east of the Jordan Valley. • Ishmael son of Nethaniah had royal blood in his veins (2 Kgs 25:25).”

“Ammonites: Jer 25:21, Jer 41:10, Jer 49:1-6; Sa1 11:1-3; Sa2 10:1-6; Eze 25:2-6; Amo 1:13-15 Ishmael: Jer 40:8, Jer 41:2, Jer 41:10; Pro 26:23-26; Isa 26:10; Mic 7:5 slay thee: Heb. strike thee in soul believed: Co1 13:5-7 Jeremiah 40:15”