Jeremiah 40-43 – These men of Ishmael were not only trained assassins; everyone was surprised. 2017

Jer 41:6
Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went; and it came about as he met them that he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!"

Jer 41:7
Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him slaughtered them, and cast them into the cistern.

These men of Ishmael were not only trained assassins, but they had the upper hand in that they caught everyone by surprise.

Jer 41:8
But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, "Do not put us to death; for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the field." So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

The men apparently had hidden food in subterranean pits. This was a common practice where they would store at least four hundred bushels at a time. This same mode of keeping corn is done today in Syria and areas near Israel.