Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;

JEREMIAH 40:11KJV
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Jeremiah 40:11 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 40:11 mean?

Jeremiah 40:11 describes news reaching Jews who were living outside Judah after the Babylonian conquest. They heard that some people remained in Judah and that the Babylonian king had placed Gedaliah in charge of them. The news gave these scattered people reason to consider returning to their homeland.

The verse is part of a narrative, not a speech. Its sentence continues into verse 12, where the people respond to the news by returning to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 40:11

  • “remnant” — שְׁאֵרִית (sheʾerit): The word means a group left behind. Here it points to those still in Judah after the conquest, rather than to everyone who had belonged to Judah before it.
  • “set” — פָּקַד (paqad): This word can carry the sense of appointing someone to a responsibility. Here Gedaliah’s position comes from the Babylonian king’s decision.

Why Jeremiah 40:11 matters

  • The news reached Jews in several neighboring lands, not just one place. The verse names Moab, the land of the Ammonites, and Edom, as well as “all the countries.”
  • Gedaliah’s family connections help identify him. He is called the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan; earlier, Ahikam had protected Jeremiah from being put to death (Jeremiah 26:24).
  • The return in verse 12 follows a change in Judah’s political situation. The people heard both that a group remained in the land and that a governor had been appointed over them.

Where else these words appear

“Ahikam” Hebrew H296 · used in 20 verses

  • 2 Kings 22:12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying,
  • Jeremiah 40:5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go.
  • Jeremiah 41:1 Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.

“Shaphan” Hebrew H8227 · used in 28 verses

  • Leviticus 11:5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
  • 2 Chronicles 34:8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
  • Jeremiah 36:10 Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house, in the ears of all the people.

“Gedaliah” Hebrew H1436 · used in 31 verses

  • 2 Kings 25:22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
  • Jeremiah 40:6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
  • Jeremiah 41:2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

“remnant” Hebrew H7611 · used in 66 verses

  • Genesis 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
  • Jeremiah 15:9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.
  • Ezekiel 11:13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?