Nebuchadnezzar took all the people of Jerusalem to the land of Babylon as prisoners. That included all the officers and fighting men. It also included all the skilled workers. The total number of prisoners was 10,000. Only the poorest people were left in the land.
Some of Judah’s army officers and their men were still in the open country. They heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor over Judah. Gedaliah was the son of Ahikam. The king had put Gedaliah in charge of the men, women and children who were still there. They were the poorest people in the land. They hadn’t been taken to Babylon.
Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, left some of the poor people of Judah behind. They didn’t own anything. So at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
“ Son of man, here is what the people living in Israel’s broken- down buildings are saying.‘ Abraham was only one man. But he owned the land. We are many people. The land must certainly belong to us.’