Meaning
Johanan whom Jehovah graciously bestows. (1.) One of the Gadite heroes who joined David in the desert of Judah (1Chr 12:12).
(2.) The oldest of King Josiah's sons (1Chr 3:15).
(3.) Son of Careah, one of the Jewish chiefs who rallied round Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had made governor in Jerusalem (2Kings 25:23; Jer 40:8). He warned Gedaliah of the plans of Ishmael against him, a warning which was unheeded (Jer 40:13, 16). He afterwards pursued the murderer of the governor, and rescued the captives (41:8, 13, 15, 16). He and his associates subsequently fled to Tahpanhes in Egypt (43:2, 4, 5), taking Jeremiah with them. "The flight of Gedaliah's community to Egypt extinguished the last remaining spark of life in the Jewish state. The work of the ten centuries since Joshua crossed the Jordan had been undone."
