What Does Jeremiah 41:18 Mean in the King James?
Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
One murder leaves a whole community afraid of the power connected to the man who was killed.
THE MEANING
You know how a killing can reach beyond its victim: the people left alive begin to fear the authority tied to the dead. Here the fear has a clear object, the Chaldeans, and a clear spark, the murder of Babylon’s appointed governor.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that a killing ends with its victim is undone here: the living carry its danger forward as fear.
THE ROOT
יָרְאוּ
yare'u
GROWS FROM
ירא
y-r-ʾ
To fear, dread, or revere.
“afraid” in this verse is yare'u. This root can describe fear or awe; here its object is the Chaldeans, so the word carries dread of a real and powerful threat. The same Hebrew seed holds different responses to power, while this verse makes the danger unmistakable.
ALSO GROWS
yir'ah: Fear or awe.
יִרְאָה
This noun shows that the verb’s fear belongs to a wider word-family for responses to what holds power over someone.
mora: Dread or terror.
מוֹרָא
This related form brings out the sharper edge of the fear the people feel after the governor’s murder.
הִכָּה
hikkah
GROWS FROM
נכה
n-k-h
To strike, smite, or inflict a blow.
“slain” in this verse is hikkah. The word-family holds the image of a blow within the account of Gedaliah’s death. A related noun can name a blow or affliction, showing how the word-family can carry the force of a strike beyond the moment it lands.
ALSO GROWS
makkah: A blow, wound, or plague.
מַכָּה
The related noun shows how a strike can also be named by the harm it leaves behind.
mukkeh: Struck or beaten.
מֻכֶּה
This form keeps attention on the person bearing the force of the blow.
הִפְקִיד
hifqid
GROWS FROM
פקד
p-q-d
To attend to, oversee, appoint, or entrust.
“made governor” in this verse is hifqid. The word-family includes attending to, overseeing, and appointing; Gedaliah is the one Babylon has placed in charge. That connection makes the people’s fear political and concrete: the man killed is tied to the power they dread.
ALSO GROWS
pequddah: Appointment, charge, or oversight.
פְּקֻדָּה
This noun echoes the office and responsibility entrusted to Gedaliah.
paqīd: An official or overseer.
פָּקִיד
This related word names the kind of person who carries authority over others.
THE PATTERN
A killing widens danger beyond its victim, leaving the living to fear, flee, or scatter.
Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles.THE THREAD
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.Both verses use forms of ירא (y-r-ʾ), “to fear,” as a group faces a powerful threat. In Exodus the Egyptians are closing in; here fear follows the killing of a man appointed by Babylon.
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