because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.I'm fuzzy on some of the names here, but as best as I can figure it out, Ishmael had killed the appointed regional governor for Israel, and the people now expected a harsh response. They think that the Babylonians will take revenge on the whole people for the acts of a few. Since they think they're going to be killed by the Babylonians, they've decided to flee to Egypt, which is beyond Babylon's control at this point.
Why are they abandoning the land? Is it because they think that even though they've been spared, this act of defiance will cost them what little they have left? Or is it that they see their chance to escape and maybe be their own people again? The nation survived centuries under the Egyptians before, so maybe this was supposed to be Round 2.
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