Who is…
Gedaliah

Meaning: made great by Jehovah

This is the name of 4 biblical men.

  1. Gedaliah, son of Jeduthum

    Brothers: Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah

    They were “under the direction of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising the Lord” —1 Chr. 25:3, 9.

  2. Gedaliah, grandfather of the prophet Zephaniah

    He is the father of Cushi (Zeph. 1:1).

  3. Gedaliah, son of Pashhur

    He is one of the Jewish officials who conspired against the prophet Jeremiah who delivered the word of God to the people (Jer. 38).

    “Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and struck him, and they put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe because they had made that house into the prison. For Jeremiah had come into the pit, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.” —Jeremiah 27:15-16

    Later, they said to King Zedekiah,

    “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is making the hands of the men of war who remain in this city as well as the hands of all the people limp, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking peace for this people but rather calamity.” —Jer. 38:4

    Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mire, and Jeremiah sank into the mire. —Jer. 38:6

    Q & A

  4. Gedaliah, son of Ahikam

    He is a grandson of Shaphan, secretary of king Josiah (Jer. 26:24).

    After the destruction of Jerusalem (see ZEDEKIAH), Nebuchadnezzar left him to govern the country as tributary to him (2 Kings 25:22; Jer. 40:5; 52:16).

    Ishmael, however, at the head of a party of the royal family, “Jewish irreconcilables,” rose against him, and killed him and “all the Jews that were with him” (Jer. 41:2-3) at Mizpah about three months after the destruction of Jerusalem.

    He and his band also plundered the town of Mizpah, and carried off many captives. He was, however, overtaken by Johanan and routed.

    He fled with such of his followers as escaped to the Ammonites (Jer. 41:15). The little remnant of the Jews then fled to Egypt.

Article Version: March 21, 2025