Jeremiah 41:12
“then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.”
What does Jeremiah 41:12 mean?
After the assassination of Judah's governor, a man named Johanan rallied the remaining leaders and soldiers to pursue Ishmael, who had carried out the killing and kidnapped many people. This verse captures the moment they caught up with him near a large pool or spring in Gibeon, finally positioning themselves to confront him. It's a turning point in a tragic chain of events where political violence had shattered what little stability remained after Babylon's conquest of Jerusalem. The "great waters" likely refers to the pool of Gibeon, an important landmark that would have made it easier for them to track Ishmael's movements through the territory.