Jeremiah 41:8

“But ten men were found among them, that said unto Ishmael, slay us not, etc.] They begged for their lives, using what follows as an argument to prevail upon him: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey; not that they had then a stock upon the ground at this time; for this being the seventh month, not only the barley and wheat harvests had been over long ago, but the rest of the fruits of the earth were gathered in: but this either means storehouses of such things in the field; or else that these things were hid in cells under ground, the land having been invaded, to secure them from the enemy, as is common to do in time of war; and so Josephus…”

“treasures--It was customary to hide grain in cavities underground in troubled times. "We have treasures," which we will give, if our lives be spared. slew . . . not-- (Pro 13:8). Ishmael's avarice and needs overcame his cruelty.”

“Treasures - Hidden stores; which would be of great value to Ishmael in his retreat back to Baalis. return to 'Top of Page'”

“He forebare - His covetousness prevailed over his cruelty. Next: Jeremiah Chapter 42”

“41:8 The surviving ten men had quick wits and saved their lives by promising to provide what Ishmael’s men needed most: wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey.”

“Slay: Job 2:4; Psa 49:6-8; Pro 13:8; Mat 6:25, Mat 16:26; Mar 8:36, Mar 8:37; Phi 3:7-9 treasures: These "treasures hid in the field" were doubtless laid up in subterranean pits, similar to the mattamores in Barbary, in which, Dr. Shaw informs us, they deposit the grain when winnowed; two or three hundred of them being sometimes together, and the smallest holding four hundred bushels. The same mode of keeping corn prevails in Syria and the Holy Land. Jeremiah 41:9”

“Only ten men out of the eighty saved their lives, and this by saying to Ishmael, "Do not kill us, for we have hidden stores in the field - wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey." מטמנים are excavations in the form of cisterns, or subterranean storehouses in the open country, for keeping grain; the openings or entrances to these are so concealed that the eye of a stranger could not perceive them. Such places are still universally employed in Palestine at the present day (Robinson's Palestine, i. pp. 324-5), and are also to be found in other southern countries, both in ancient and modern times; see proofs of this in Rosenmller's Scholia ad hunc locum. It is remarked, in Jer 41:9, of the pit…”