מלכים ב, פרק כ״ה, פסוק כ״ה

The assassination of the final leader of the surviving remnant in Judah marks a dramatic breaking point for the people. This brief account serves as a short summary of a much larger tragedy, the full details of which are recorded extensively in the Book of Jeremiah [מלבי״ם].

The timing of this betrayal adds to its severity. The murder took place in the seventh month, Tishrei, and likely occurred right in the middle of the holiday of Rosh Hashanah [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The assassin, Ishmael, was a man of royal descent, a detail that explains the motive behind his actions. Because of his royal bloodline, Ishmael believed that he was rightfully entitled to rule over the remaining people. He felt the leadership belonged to him by law rather than to Gedaliah, prompting him to rise up and eliminate his rival [מצודת דוד].

The violence did not stop with the assassination of the appointed leader. Ishmael and the ten men who accompanied him went on a killing spree, slaughtering not only Gedaliah but also the Jews and the Chaldeans who were stationed together with him in the city of Mizpah [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].