Johanan
whom Jehovah graciously bestows. (1.) One of the Gadite heroes
who joined David in the desert of Judah (1 Chr. 12:12).
(2.) The oldest of King Josiah's sons (1 Chr. 3:15).
(3.) Son of Careah, one of the Jewish chiefs who rallied round
Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had made governor in Jerusalem (2
Kings 25:23; Jer. 40:8). He warned Gedaliah of the plans of
Ishmael against him, a warning which was unheeded (Jer. 40:13,
16). He afterwards pursued the murderer of the governor, and
rescued the captives (41:8, 13, 15, 16). He and his associates
subsequently fled to Tahpanhes in Egypt (43:2, 4, 5), taking
Jeremiah with them. "The flight of Gedaliah's community to Egypt
extinguished the last remaining spark of life in the Jewish
state. The work of the ten centuries since Joshua crossed the
Jordan had been undone."
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