Baalis

Baalis was king of the Ammonites at the time of the Babylonian-appointed governor Gedaliah. He is named in connection with a plot against Gedaliah's life, which Gedaliah fatally refused to believe (Jer 40:14).

The Plot Against Gedaliah

After the fall of Jerusalem, officers of the remaining forces warned Gedaliah: "Do you know that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your soul? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them" (Jer 40:14). Baalis thus appears as a foreign instigator of the assassination conspiracy, using Ishmael as his instrument against the Judahite remnant's leadership.