Jeremiah 40:15
“Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, “Please let me go, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man will know it. Why should he take your life, that all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?””
What does Jeremiah 40:15 mean?
Johanan is warning Gedaliah about a genuine threat: Ishmael, a member of the royal family, is planning to assassinate him. Rather than let this happen, Johanan offers to eliminate Ishmael first in secret, asking a reasonable question about why Gedaliah would risk his life and the safety of all the Jewish refugees who depend on him. This moment captures the tension between self-preservation and trust, between taking preventive action and believing in God's protection, which becomes the turning point in this difficult chapter of Judah's history. Gedaliah refuses the warning (as the next verse shows), and the tragedy that follows makes Johanan's concern look tragically prescient.