2 Raja-raja 22:3

22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders: ¹ 

2 Raja-raja 25:25

25:25 But in the seventh month ²  Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, ³  came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, ⁴  as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.

¹ tn Heb “with these orders, saying.”

² sn It is not altogether clear whether this is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (= early July; Jer 39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (= early August; Jer 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jer 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jer 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zech 8:19).

³ tn Heb “[was] from the seed of the kingdom.”

⁴ tn Heb “and they struck down Gedaliah and he died.”