Ishmael Son of Nethaniah

Ishmael Son of Nethaniah is the biblical person named among the army officers who came to Gedaliah at Mizpah; Jeremiah identifies him as Nethaniah’s son, of royal descent, and one of the king’s chief officers (2 Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 41:1).

At Mizpeh, Gedaliah was warned that Baalis king of the Ammonites had sent Ishmael to strike him down, but Gedaliah did not believe the report and refused Johanan’s proposal to kill Ishmael (Jeremiah 40:14; Jeremiah 40:16). Ishmael and ten men later struck down Gedaliah with the sword. The passage also says that he killed the Judeans with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Chaldean soldiers there (Jeremiah 41:2; Jeremiah 41:3).

Ishmael met other men outside Mizpah and directed them to Gedaliah; when they entered the city, he and his men killed them, though ten men who pleaded on account of stored provisions were spared (Jeremiah 41:6; Jeremiah 41:7; Jeremiah 41:8). He took captives from Mizpah, but they returned to Johanan; Ishmael escaped with eight men to the Ammonites (Jeremiah 41:10; Jeremiah 41:14; Jeremiah 41:15).

His name occurs in at least 21 verses across 2 books, from 2 Kings 25:23 to Jeremiah 41:18.