Ged´uh-li´uh
Tthe son of Ahikam son of Shaphan; he was appointed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar as governor of Judah after its capture in 586 BCE (2Kgs 25:22). Gedaliah was a member of a prominent Jerusalem family; his father and grandfather had served in Josiah’s court (2Kgs 22:3; 2Kgs 22:14). Though viewed with suspicion by his contemporaries as being a Babylonian collaborator, Gedaliah succeeded in restoring order to the countryside with the support of former army officers and the prophet Jeremiah. But his tenure at Mizpah, the provincial capital, was cut short by a conspiracy led by Ishmael, son of Nataniah, of the royal line. Despite prior warnings, Gedaliah and his entourage were slaughtered; the conspirators escaped across the Jordan to Ammon (Jer 40-41). A national day of fasting and mourning was inaugurated among the exiles to mark his murder (Zech 7:5).
