Gedaliah

Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, is mentioned inJeremiah 38:1as one of the officials who heard the prophet Jeremiah's message during the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. Jeremiah had been prophesying that the Babylonians would conquer Jerusalem and that those who surrendered to them would live, while those who remained in the city would die (Jeremiah 38:2-3). Gedaliah, along with other officials named Jucal, Shephatiah, and Pashhur, reported Jeremiah's words to King Zedekiah and urged the king to put Jeremiah to death, accusing him of discouraging the soldiers and the people (Jeremiah 38:4). Zedekiah handed Jeremiah over to the officials, who lowered him into a cistern, where he sank into the mud (Jeremiah 38:5-6). However, Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, rescued Jeremiah with the king's permission (Jeremiah 38:7-13). Gedaliah's opposition to Jeremiah reflects the political and religious tensions in Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege and the prophet's unpopular message of surrender.