Ishmael must have received reports that the group of men were approaching Mizpah and so he goes out to meet them. Possibly from the reports or by simply noting their appearance, Ishmael realizes that they are mourning and so he weeps as he comes to them. This is clearly an act of deception as he lures them into a false sense of security by pretending to be overcome by grief himself. The deception continues as he invites them to: Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
He invites them to come and show their respect to the newly appointed governor of Judah who lies dead under a pile of bodies in a cistern. The unsuspecting men follow him into the city where Ishmael and his gang of bandits slaughter them and throw their bodies onto the growing pile in the cistern. Ten of the men manage to escape death by saying that they have stored some wheat, barley, oil and honey
in the fields outside Mizpah. These are precious commodities in a land ravaged by war and perhaps this group of travellers had hidden some of their supplies as a precaution. Ishmael spares the lives of the ten men in exchange for the supplies.
There is no indication in the narrative as to why Ishmael killed this group of men. Was he trying to make sure that news of Gedaliah’s assassination did not spread? If so, then why did he allow the ten men to live? It may be that he simply wanted to do something so violent and atrocious that the Babylonians would respond. Creating as much chaos in the land as possible might aid his cause of taking over the rule of Judah.1 The reader is left to speculate regarding his motives, but what is clear is that he is a violent, bloodthirsty man who, just like Gedaliah, offers no hope at all for the future of those left in the land.
7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern.