But ten men were found among those who said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey.” So he stopped, and didn’t kill them among their brothers.
Parallel Translations
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But ten men were found among those who said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey.” So he stopped, and didn’t kill them among their brothers.
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But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
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But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael: 'Slay us not; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey.' So he forbore, and slew them not among their brethren.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Jeremiah 41:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 2:4 Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
- Proverbs 13:8 The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, but the poor hear no threats.
- Psalms 49:6-8 Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches— none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,
- Isaiah 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name, even the God of Israel.
- Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
- Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?
- Mark 8:36-37 For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what will a man give in exchange for his life?
- Philippians 3:7-9 However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ. Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain We here see that the barbarity of Ishmael was…
We here see that the barbarity of Ishmael was connected with avarice, he was indeed inflamed with ferocious madness when he slew simple and innocent men; but when the hope of gain was presented to him, he spared some of them. Thus then we see that he was a lion, a wolf, or a bear in savageness, but that he was also a hungry man, for as soon as he smelt the odor of prey, he spared ten out of the eighty, who, it is probable, thus redeemed their life and returned home. So in one man we see there were many monsters; for if he hated all those who favored Gedaliah, why did he suffer these to escape? even because avarice and rapacity prevailed in him.
It is then added, that he slew them not in the midst of their brethren, that is, when they were exposed to death and were mixed with the others, so that their condition seems to have been the same. The Prophet says, that they were spared, even because Ishmael sought nothing else but gain. And it is probable that in a state of things so disturbed he was not furnished with provisions and other things. As, then, want urged him, so he became moderate, lest his cruelty should cause a loss to him.
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Here also is set before us the inscrutable purpose of God, that he suffered unhappy men to have been thus slain by robbers. They had left. their houses to lament the burning of the Temple. As then the ardor of their piety led them to Jerusalem, how unworthy it was that they should become a prey to the barbarity of Ishmael and his associates? But as we said yesterday, God has hidden ways by which he provides for the salvation of his people. He took away Gedaliah; his end indeed was sad, having been slain by Ishmael whom he had hospitably entertained. Thus God did not suffer him to be tossed about in the midst of great troubles. For John, the son of Kareah, who yet was a most faithful man, would have become soon troublesome to the holy man; for he became soon after the head and ringleader of an impious faction, and ferociously opposed Jeremiah. Had then Gedaliah lived, he would have been assailed on every side by his own people. It was then God’s purpose to free him at once from all these miserable troubles. The same thing also happened to the seventy who were slain; for the Lord removed them to their rest, that they might; not be exposed to the grievous evils and calamities which afterwards soon followed; for none could have been in a more miserable state than the remnant whom Nebuchadnezzar had spared. We have then reason in this instance to admire the secret purpose of God, when we see that these unhappy men were killed, who yet had gone to Jerusalem for the sake of testifying their piety. It was, in short, better for them to have been removed than to have been under the necessity of suffering again many miseries. It now follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jer 41:8 But ten men were found among them…
Jer 41:8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
Ver. 8. But there were ten men found among them.] Qui miro astu sibi ab indigna morte provident, who pleaded for their lives, were spared.
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Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field.] And these we will willingly part with for the redemption of our lives. They knew that soldiers would do much for money, and what is wealth in comparison with life? Wicked worldlings would say the like to death, if their tale might be heard. Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Bishop of Winchester, and Chancellor of England, in the reign of Henry VI, perceiving that he must die, murmured at death, that his riches could not reprieve him till a further time. {a}
So he forbare, and slew them not.] Ambition covetousness strove for mastery in this man, and here covetousness conquereth cruelty. This also was it that put him upon carrying his poor countrymen captive, as hoping to make prize of them.
{a} Foxe’s Mart., vol. i. p. 925
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He slew seventy of them, but ten of them…
He slew seventy of them, but ten of them pleading for their lives, urged that they had estates in the country, both of corn, oil, and honey. His covetousness prevailed over his cruelty, he spared their lives to become master of what they had.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But ten men were found among them, that said…
But ten men were found among them, that said unto Ishmael, slay us not,.... They begged for their lives, using what follows as an argument to prevail upon him:
for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey; not that they had then a stock upon the ground at this time; for this being the seventh month, not only the barley and wheat harvests had been over long ago, but the rest of the fruits of the earth were gathered in: but this either means storehouses of such things in the field; or else that these things were hid in cells under ground, the land having been invaded, to secure them from the enemy, as is common to do in time of war; and so Josephus says (i), they promised to deliver to him things hid in the fields, household goods, clothes, and corn:
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so he forbore, and slew them not among their brethren; but saved them, and kept and carried them with him, in order to take these hidden treasures, which lay in his way to Ammon; for between Gibeon, where he was found, Jer 41:12; and Ammon, lay Samaria, Sichem, and Shiloh; at least it was not far out of his way to take that course; and thus he appears to be a covetous man, as well as a cruel one.
(i) Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 4.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain He forebare - His covetousness prevailed over his cruelty.
He forebare - His covetousness prevailed over his cruelty.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Treasures - Hidden stores; which would be of great…
Treasures - Hidden stores; which would be of great value to Ishmael in his retreat back to Baalis.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Field. It was usual to cover them up carefully.…
Field. It was usual to cover them up carefully. (Chardin.) --- Avarice sometimes will set bounds to cruelty, when nothing else will. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain treasures--It was customary to hide grain in cavities underground…
treasures--It was customary to hide grain in cavities underground in troubled times. "We have treasures," which we will give, if our lives be spared.
slew . . . not-- (Pro 13:8). Ishmael's avarice and needs overcame his cruelty.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Treasures — In Isa_45:3, the same original word…
8. Treasures — In Isa_45:3, the same original word is translated “hid den riches.” Doubtless at this troublous and dangerous time the practice of concealing the choicest products of the earth in caves or subterranean chambers must have been quite common.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. we have stores hidden] In the East it…
8. we have stores hidden] In the East it is to this day a common custom to use “wells or cisterns for grain. In them the farmers store their crops of all kinds after the grain is threshed and winnowed. These cisterns are cool, perfectly dry, and tight. The top is hermetically sealed with plaster, and covered with a deep bed of earth.” See Thomson, The Land and the Book, pp. 509 f.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) But ten men were found among them.—The stores…
(8) But ten men were found among them.—The stores which formed the purchase-money by which the ten saved their lives represented probably the produce of the previous year, which, after the manner of the East, had been concealed in pits, far from the habitations of men, while the land was occupied by the Chaldæan armies.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Slay us not, etc. Bishop Callaway refers to this…
Slay us not, etc. Bishop Callaway refers to this passage in his "Zulu Nursery Tales" (1:242), in illustration of a Zulu form of deprecating death on the ground of having some important work in hand which absolutely requires the life of the person in danger. But the "ten men" do not, as the bishop supposes, beg their lives on the ground that they had not yet harvested, but rather offer a bribe. We have treasures (literally, hidden things) in the field. The allusion is to the "wells or cisterns for grain," in which "the farmers store their crops of all kinds after the grain is threshed and winnowed. These cisterns are cool, perfectly dry, and tight. The top is hermetically sealed with plaster, and covered with a deep bed of earth; and thus they keep out rats, mice, and even ants, the latter by no means a contemptible enemy .... These ten men had doubtless thus hid their treasures to avoid being plundered in that time of utter lawlessness" (Thomson, "The Land and the Book," p. 509). Honey. Probably that obtained from wild bees.
Sin hindered by sin.
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"So he forbare," etc. This was a case of bloodthirsty cruelty versus greed. Ishmael would have killed these men but for his greed of the wealth they had. It is satisfactory to think he never gained possession of it. Nevertheless, his greed made him guilty of one sin less. This story suggests that
I GOD HAS MANY WAYS OF HINDERING SIN. There is:
1. The best way of all. By granting a true repentance and his Holy Spirit, creating the clean heart and renewing the right spirit.
2. But there are other ways. By keeping the opportunity and the will apart. How much of our freedom from sin do we owe to this blessed providential severance! By fear of present evil consequences of our sin.
3. And sometimes, as here, by one sin getting in the way of another. Thus pride holds back not a few; not love of God, gratitude to Christ, love of holiness, but pride. And coveteousness checks the sinner in many sins he would be guilty of but for this. Anger, breaking up the alliances of transgressors; as when, in the days of Jehoshaphat, the Ammonites who were coming against him fell out one with the other. (2Ch_20:22) The old saying is, "When thieves fall Out, honest men come by their rights." Sensual self-indulgence. The vilest Romans emperors were those who least persecuted the Church Tiberius, Commodus, etc. They were too absorbed in their own indulgences to trouble about the Christians.
II BUT THESE OTHER WAYS LEAVE MEN AS GREAT SINNERS AS BEFORE. The question is not as to your freedom from transgression so much, but What kept you free? Only the first and best way is accepted of God.
III NEVERTHELESS, LET US BE THANKFUL THAT SIN IS SELFDESTRUCTIVE IN ITS VERY NATURE. It is a blessed anarchy, for it protects many who would otherwise suffer.
IV BUT FOR OURSELVES LET US SEEK THAT SIN MAY BE DESTROYED BY CHRIST. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain So he forbare, and slew them not among their,…
Jer_41:8
So he forbare, and slew them not among their, brethren.
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Sin hindered by sin
Ishmael would have killed these men but for his greed of the wealth they had. It is satisfactory to think he never gained possession of it. Nevertheless, his greed made him guilty of one sin less. This story suggests that--
I. God has many ways of hindering sin. There is--
1. The best way of all. By granting a true repentance and His Holy Spirit, creating the clean heart and renewing the right spirit.
2. But there are other ways. By keeping the opportunity and the will apart. How much of our freedom from sin do we owe to this blessed providential severance! By fear of present evil consequence of our sin.
3. And sometimes, as here, by one sin getting in the way of another. Thus pride holds back not a few; not love of God, gratitude to Christ, love of holiness, hut pride. And covetousness checks the sinner in many sins he would be guilty of but for this. Anger, breaking up the alliances of transgressors; as when, in the days of Jehoshaphat, the Ammonites who were coming against him fell out one with the other (2Ch_20:22). When thieves fall out, honest men come by their rights. (W. Clarkson, B. A.)
Sensual self-indulgence
The vilest Roman emperors were those who least persecuted the Church--Tiberius, Commodus, &c. They were too absorbed in their own indulgences to trouble about the Christians.
II. But these other ways leave men as great sinners as before. The question is not as to your freedom from transgression so much, but--what kept you free? Only the first and best way is accepted of God.
III. Nevertheless, let us be thankful that sin is self-destructive in its very nature. It is a blessed anarchy, for it protects many who would otherwise suffer.
IV. But for ourselves let us seek that sin may be destroyed by Christ. (W. Clarkson, B. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 ten men among them
ten men among them
The word "them" refers to the 80 men.
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for there are provisions of ours in a field
It is implied that they would give their provisions to Ishmael and his men. AT: "for we will give you our provisions that we have hidden in a field" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
provisions
supplies to be used to provide for future needs
The cistern where Ishmael ... against King Baasha of Israel
This is background information about the cistern that Ishmael used. King Asa had his men dig the cistern so his people would have a water supply when King Baasha attacked them. (See: Background Information)
that King Asa dug
Here King Asa represents his men. AT: "that King Asa ordered his men to dig" (See: Metonymy)
against King Baasha of Israel
Here King Baasha represents himself and his army. AT: "against Baasha, king of Israel, and his army" (See: Synecdoche)
Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it
Here Ishmael represents himself and all of his men. AT: "Ishmael and his men filled it" (See: Synecdoche)
with the dead
This nominal adjective can be stated as an adjective. AT: "with those who were dead" or "with those they had killed" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
translationWords
wheat
barley
oil
honey
companion
Asa
Baasha
kingdom of Israel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 41:8 The surviving ten men had quick wits and…
41:8 The surviving ten men had quick wits and saved their lives by promising to provide what Ishmael’s men needed most: wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.