Man living at the time of Divided Monarchy
Kareah was the father of Johanan and Jonathan, two military leaders who joined Gedaliah after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.
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Also known as Careah
Kareah is mentioned in 2Kings 25 and Jeremiah 40-43 as the father of Johanan and Jonathan, two military leaders who played a significant role in the events following the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC.
After the Babylonians appointed Gedaliah as governor over the remnant of Judah, Johanan and Jonathan, along with other army officers, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah (2Ki.25.23; Jer.40.8). They pledged their allegiance to Gedaliah and agreed to serve the Babylonians (Jer.40.9-10).
Later, when Johanan learned of a plot by Ishmael to assassinate Gedaliah, he warned the governor, but Gedaliah did not believe him (Jer.40.13-16). After Ishmael carried out the assassination and fled with captives, Johanan and his men pursued Ishmael and rescued the captives (Jer.41.11-16).
Following these events, Johanan, his brother Jonathan, and the other military leaders sought the advice of Jeremiah the prophet, asking whether they should stay in Judah or flee to Egypt (Jer.42.1-3). Despite Jeremiah's warning to stay in the land, Johanan and the others disobeyed and took the remnant of Judah, including Jeremiah, to Egypt (Jer.43.2-7).
Throughout these passages, Kareah is consistently mentioned as the father of Johanan and Jonathan, highlighting their family connection and the significance of their roles in the events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem and its aftermath. The actions of Johanan and Jonathan, as well as their disobedience to Jeremiah's prophetic word, had far-reaching consequences for the remnant of Judah.
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Bald, the father of Johanan and Jonathan, who for a time were loyal to Gedaliah, the Babylonian governor of Jerusalem (Jer. 40:8, 13, 15, 16).
(bald), the father of Johanan and Jonathan, who supported Gedaliah’s authority and avenged his murder. (Jeremiah 40:8,13,15,16; 41:11,13,14,16; 42:1,8; 43:2,4,5) (B.C. before 588.)
KARE'AH (bald), father of Johanan and Jonathan, adherents of Gedaliah. Jer 40:8,Jer 40:13, Jer 40:15-16; Jer 41:11, Jer 41:13-14, Gen 41:16; Jer 42:1, Jer 42:8; Jer 43:2, Jer 43:4-5. In 2 Kgs 25:23 it is Careah.
KARE'AH (bald), father of Johanan and Jonathan, adherents of Gedaliah. Jer 40:8,Jer 40:13, Jer 40:15-16; Jer 41:11, Jer 41:13-14, Gen 41:16; Jer 42:1, Jer 42:8; Jer 43:2, Jer 43:4-5. In 2 Kgs 25:23 it is Careah.
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.
14 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H7143
When all the commanders of the armies and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, as well as their men.
they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.
Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah at Mizpah. “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah,” he said. “No one will know it. Why should he take your life and scatter all the people of Judah who have gathered to you, so that the remnant of Judah would perish?”
But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is a lie.”
When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him heard of all the crimes that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed,
When all the people with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the army with him, they rejoiced,
and all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah.
Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him took the whole remnant of the people from Mizpah whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam: the soldiers, women, children, and court officials he had brought back from Gibeon.
Then all the commanders of the forces, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached
and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.
Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to reside there.’
So Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces disobeyed the command of the LORD to stay in the land of Judah.
Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the whole remnant of Judah, those who had returned to the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been scattered,
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.