41:5 from Shechem . . . Shiloh . . . Samaria. These cities were important religious centers in the former northern kingdom that fell in 722 b.c. The men are a remnant of Israel’s population who had made pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the great feasts (in accordance with Ex. 23:14–17). The time of year (the “seventh month,” see v. 1) was the Feast of Booths.

with their beards shaved . . . bodies gashed. These actions are signs of mourning for the fall of Jerusalem.

the temple of the Lord. Although the temple had been destroyed, the temple mount was still regarded as holy.