Having their beards shaven, &c.— These were tokens of great mourning, by which they expressed their grief for the destruction of their city and temple: such expressions of sorrow were forbidden to be used at funeral obsequies (see Leviticus 19:27-28.), but might be lawfully used upon other mournful occasions. See Isaiah 15:2. Some suppose, that these devout persons brought their oblations to the place where the altar formerly stood, which they looked upon as consecrated ground; a custom which they think countenanced by the words of Baruch, ch. Jeremiah 1:10 where the exiles of Babylon are supposed to send money to buy offerings for the altar of the Lord, after Jerusalem was taken and burnt. Compare Jeremiah 41:2. Others understand the house of the Lord, of an altar or place of worship erected by Gedaliah at Mizpah, in imitation of that which was formerly set up there by Samuel, 1 Samuel 7:7-9 which place continued to be a proseucha or place of worship in after-times, as appears from Genesis 3:46. There were many such sanctuaries or places of worship both in Judaea and elsewhere among the Jewish dispersions. See Lowth and Calmet. Ishmael went weeping along with them, as if he sympathised in their affliction, Jeremiah 41:6. He appears to have been a thorough-paced hypocrite.
Related Commentaries of Jeremiah 41:5
Jeremiah 41:5
5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.