Man living at the time of Divided Monarchy
Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch in King Zedekiah's service, rescued the prophet Jeremiah from a cistern and was promised safety by God for his faith.
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Also known as Ebed-Melek
Ebed-melech was an Ethiopian eunuch who served in the court of King Zedekiah during the final days of the kingdom of Judah. He played a significant role in rescuing the prophet Jeremiah from a life-threatening situation.
When Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern by the officials who opposed his prophetic message, Ebed-melech learned of the prophet's plight (Jer.38.7). Recognizing the injustice of the situation, Ebed-melech courageously went to King Zedekiah and interceded on Jeremiah's behalf (Jer.38.8-9).
The king granted Ebed-melech permission to rescue Jeremiah, and the Ethiopian eunuch took thirty men with him to the cistern (Jer.38.10). Ebed-melech showed compassion and resourcefulness by lowering old rags and worn-out clothes for Jeremiah to use as padding under the ropes.
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A servant of the king; probably an official title, an Ethiopian, “one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house;” i.e., in the palace of Zedekiah, king of Judah. He interceded with the king in Jeremiah’s behalf, and was the means of saving him from death by famine (Jer. 38:7-13: comp. 39:15-18).
the king's servant
E'BED-ME'LECH (slave of the king), an Ethiopian eunuch of Zedekiah, king of Judah, who was instrumental in saving the prophet Jeremiah from death by famine, and who for his kindness in his behalf was promised deliverance when the city should fall into the enemy's hands, Jer 38:7; Jer 39:15-18. His name seems to have been an official title.
E'BED-ME'LECH (slave of the king), an Ethiopian eunuch of Zedekiah, king of Judah, who was instrumental in saving the prophet Jeremiah from death by famine, and who for his kindness in his behalf was promised deliverance when the city should fall into the enemy's hands, Jer 38:7; Jer 39:15-18. His name seems to have been an official title.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
6 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5663
Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
Ebed-melech went out from the kingʼs palace and said to the king,
So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
Then Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the kingʼs palace, to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Put these worn-out rags and clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,
“Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.