Ebed-Melech sees Jeremiah in the cistern. (Jim Padgett, 1984)

Ebed-Melech (Hebrew: עֶבֶד-מֶלֶךְ ‘Eḇeḏmeleḵ; Latin: Abdemelech; Ge'ez: አቤሜሌክ) is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah chapter 38 as an Ethiopian official at the palace of king Zedekiah of Judah during the Siege of Jerusalem (597 BCE). The name is translated as Servant of the King, and as such may not be his proper name but a royal title. The text relates that he was a Cushite.[1] Ebed-Melech is notable for rescuing the prophet Jeremiah from the cistern into which he had been cast to his death.[2] Later Jeremiah relayed God's message to him saying that he, Ebed-Melech, would "not fall by the sword" during the Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians[3] because he had put his trust in Him (God). There are parallels between the story of Ebed-Melech and that of the Ethiopian eunuch in the Acts of the Apostles.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jeremiah 38:7
  2. ↑ Jeremiah 38:4–13
  3. ↑ Jer 39:15–18
  4. ↑ Estigarribia, Juan Vicente (1992). "Commentaries on the Historicity of Acts of the Apostles 8, 26–39". Beiträge zur Sudanforschung. 5: 39–46.


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