Gedaliah גְּדַלְיָ֫הוּ

Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, is mentioned in Jer.38.1 as 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 (Jer.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 (Jer.38.4). Zedekiah handed Jeremiah over to the officials, who lowered him into a cistern, where he sank into the mud (Jer.38.5-6). However, Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, rescued Jeremiah with the king's permission (Jer.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.