Gedaliah (/ɡɛdəˈlaɪ.ə/ or /ɡɪˈdɑːliə/; Hebrew: גְּדַלְיָּה Gəḏalyyā or גְּדַלְיָהוּ Gəḏalyyāhū; also written Gedalia, Gedallah, [1] Gedalya, or Gedalyah) means "Yah(weh) is Great".
[2] Gedaliah was the son of Ahikam[3] (who saved the life of the prophet Jeremiah)[4] and the grandson of Shaphan (who is mentioned in relation to the discovery of the scroll of Teaching that some scholars identify as the core of the book of Deuteronomy).
[5][1] Gedaliah was according to the narratives in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Jeremiah and Second Book of Kings, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon as governor of Yehud province,[6] which was formed after the defeat of the Kingdom of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem, in a part of the territory that previously formed the kingdom.
[8] He zealously began to encourage the people to cultivate the fields and vineyards, and thus lay the foundation of security.
Many who had fled to neighboring lands during the war of destruction were attracted by the news of the revival of the community.