Out of the court of the prison. — There is a slight apparent discrepancy between this statement and that in Jeremiah 40:1, that the prophet was set free at Ramah. It seems likely that, at first, he was sent back to the prison where he had been found, till he could be placed under the protection of Gedaliah.
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan. — The reason of the choice lies almost on the surface. Gedaliah was the representative of a house which for three generations had been true to the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Shaphan had been the king’s scribe in the early years of Josiah, and had taken an active part in the restoration of the Temple (2 Kings 22:3-7). He was the first to read the newly-found lost copy of the Law, which we identify with the Book of Deuteronomy (2 Kings 22:8-14), and his son Ahikam acted with him. The latter protected Jeremiah in the reign of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 26:24). His brother Gemariah gave the prophet the use of his chamber in the Temple (Jeremiah 36:10), and tried to turn aside the king’s wrath (Jeremiah 36:25). And now the son of Ahikam appears as the prophet’s friend and protector.