His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah;
Parallel Translations
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His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah;
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And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
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And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him; now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah;
Cross-references (24)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 16:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh.
- Genesis 39:4 Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and Potiphar made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
- 1 Kings 18:3 Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly;
- Daniel 5:1-4 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded that the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem be brought to him; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of God’s house which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
- Genesis 15:2 Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- Genesis 24:10 The servant took ten of his master’s camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master’s with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
- Genesis 39:9 No one is greater in this house than I am, and he has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
- 1 Samuel 25:36-38 Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. About ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.
- 2 Samuel 13:28-29 Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “Mark now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine; and when I tell you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I commanded you? Be courageous, and be valiant!” The servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man got up on his mule, and fled.
- 1 Kings 15:27 Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon.
- 1 Kings 20:16 They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.
- 2 Kings 9:14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria;
- 2 Kings 9:30-33 When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out at the window. As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?” He lifted up his face to the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. Then he trampled her under foot.
- 2 Kings 12:20 His servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.
- 2 Kings 15:10 Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
- 2 Kings 15:25 Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him and attacked him in Samaria, in the fortress of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites. He killed him, and reigned in his place.
- 2 Kings 15:30 Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, attacked him, killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
- Proverbs 23:29-35 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who stay long at the wine; those who go to seek out mixed wine. Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will imagine confusing things. Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the middle of the sea, or as he who lies on top of the rigging: “They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I don’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I can find another.”
- Jeremiah 51:57 I will make her princes, her wise men, her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men drunk. They will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up,” says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.
- Daniel 5:30 In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.
- Nahum 1:10 For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.
- Habakkuk 2:15-16 “Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies! You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed! The cup of Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
- Matthew 24:49-51 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards, the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it, and in an hour when he doesn’t know it, and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.
- Luke 21:34 “So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The Chaldea text hath thus, Drinking till he was…
The Chaldea text hath thus, Drinking till he was drunken in the Temple of Arza the idol by his house in Tirzah.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half…
1Ki 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half [his] chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of [his] house in Tirzah.
Ver. 9. And his servant Zimri.] Perhaps he of Saul’s posterity. {1Ch 8:36}
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Drinking himself drunk.] Haply to put away the fear of death, like as Tacitus saith, Vitelius trepidus, dein temulentus.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Captain of half his chariots, i.e. of all his…
Captain of half his chariots, i.e. of all his military chariots, and the men belonging to them; the chariots for carriage of necessary things being put into other and meaner hands.
As he was in Tirzah; whilst his forces were elsewhere employed, 1Ki 16:15, which gave Zimri advantage to execute his design.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it came to pass when he began to…
And it came to pass when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne,.... Perhaps the very first day,
that he slew all the house of Baasha; his whole family, all the children that he had, that there might be none to make pretensions to the throne:
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he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks nor of his friends; not any that might avenge the blood of his family, that might have a right or inclination to do it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Chariots - Of all his military chariots, and the…
Chariots - Of all his military chariots, and the men belonging to them: the chariots for carriage of necessary things, being put into meaner hands. Tirzah - Whilst his forces were elsewhere employed, ver. 15, which gave Zimri advantage to execute his design.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. Captain of half his chariots] It is…
Verse 9. Captain of half his chariots] It is probable that Zimri, and some other who is not here named, were commanders of the cavalry.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The conspiracy of Zimri - Elah’s “servant” (i. e.,…
The conspiracy of Zimri - Elah’s “servant” (i. e., “subject”) - was favored by his position, which probably gave him military authority in the city, by the absence of a great part of the people and of the officers who might have checked him, at Gibbethon 1Ki 16:15, and by the despicable character of Elah, who, instead of going up to the war, was continually reminding men of his low origin by conduct unworthy of royalty.
Steward - The office was evidently one of considerable importance. In Solomon’s court it gave the rank of שׂר śar, prince. In Persia the “steward of the household” acted sometimes as a sort of regent during the king’s absence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Horsemen. Hebrew, "chariots." (Septuagint) (Calmet) --- But Josephus styles…
Horsemen. Hebrew, "chariots." (Septuagint) (Calmet) --- But Josephus styles him, Hipparchon, "general of the horse." (Menochius) --- Rebelled. Hebrew, "conspired." (Haydock) --- He acted privately at first. (Menochius) --- Governor. Hebrew, "steward of his house." Chaldean and Arabic, "in the temple of the idol Arsa," the earth, whom the pagans worshipped as the mother of gods and men; unless Arsa be put for Asera, or Astarte. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain ZIMRI'S CONSPIRACY. (Kg1 16:9-22)
ZIMRI'S CONSPIRACY. (Kg1 16:9-22)
Zimri . . . conspired against him--"Arza which was over his house." During a carousal in the house of his chamberlain, Zimri slew him, and having seized the sovereignty, endeavored to consolidate his throne by the massacre of all the royal race.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 9. Captain of half his chariots — So, then,…
9. Captain of half his chariots — So, then, this northern kingdom had added to its other sins the transgression of the law forbidding the multiplication of horses, for chariots required their service. The whole cavalry force seems to have been divided into two portions, one or which served the army at the siege of Gibbethon, the other remained near Tirzah, and over it Zimri had command.
Drinking himself drunk — Surely it is not well for kings thus to drink wine. Pro_31:4. Here we find that Elah was a drunken, licentious profligate, whose very debasement was a temptation for daring hands to take his life.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 9. And his servant Zimri] The LXX. omits ‘his…
9. And his servant Zimri] The LXX. omits ‘his servant.’ The expression is used of any officer who served under the king, and has no mean signification. Here ‘the servant’ was a chief commander of the royal troops.
as [now R.V.] he was in Tirzah] The strongest stop in the Hebrew occurs immediately before these words. It is therefore well to make them, in the English also, to begin a new clause.
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Arza steward of his house] R.V. (see also A.V. margin): Arza which was over the household. Cf. for a similar officer over the household of Joseph, Gen_43:16; Gen_43:19. It would almost seem that this major domo was mixed up in the plot for the murder of his master. The opportunity of the absence of the troops at Gibbethon would seem very favourable for carrying out such a scheme.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (9) Drinking himself drunk.—There seems an emphasis of half-contemptuous…
(9) Drinking himself drunk.—There seems an emphasis of half-contemptuous condemnation in the description of Elah’s debauchery, evidently public, and in the house of a mere officer of his household, while war was raging at Gibbethon. On the other hand, Zimri—noted emphatically as “his servant”—was apparently the high officer left in special charge of the palace and the king’s person, while the mass of the army was in the field. Hence his name passed into a proverb for unusual treachery. (See 2Ki_9:31.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And his servant Not only "subject," as Rawlinson, but…
And his servant Not only "subject," as Rawlinson, but officer. The same word is used of Jeroboam; 1Ki_11:26, note. We may almost trace here a lex talionis. Baasha was Nadab"s "servant," as Jeroboam was Solomon"s Zimri From the occurrence of this name among those of the descendants of Jonathan, (1Ch_8:36) it has been supposed (Stanley) that this was a last effort of the house of Saul to regain the throne, captain of half his chariots bk,r, as in 1Ki_9:19 1Ki_10:26. The violation of the law of, Deu_17:16 brings its own retribution conspired against him precisely as Elah"s father had "conspired" (1Ki_15:27) against Nadab, as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of Heb. which was over; (cf. 1Ki_4:6 1Ki_18:3; 2Ki_10:5 2Ki_18:37) his house in Tirzah. Several points present themselves for notice here.
1. the example of Jeroboam has clearly had its full influence on the nation. "The Lord"s anointed "is no longer had in reverence, as in the days of 1Sa_24:6, 10 26:9, 16; (2Sa_1:14) nor is it accounted a sin to grasp at the crown.
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2. Zimri only does what Baasha had done before him. That prince was "hoist with his own petard.
3. Elah would seem to have been a dissolute and pusillanimous prince. His place was clearly with his army at Gibbethon (ver. 15; cf. Jos_8:4). And as clearly it was not in the house of one of his subjects, even the intendant of his palace. "An Oriental monarch is precluded by etiquette from accepting the hospitality of his subjects Rawlinson, who further remarks that the low tastes which we here find Elah indulging" had probably been formed before his father was exalted out of the dust." As probably they were inherited direct from his father. Anyhow, they led to his destruction. It is clear that Elah"s want of character, like Nadab"s, suggested the conspiracy of Zimri.
4. It is extremely probable, though not absolutely certain, as Bahr affirms, that Arza was one of the conspirators, and that the wretched prince had been decoyed to his house and made drunk, with a view to his murder there.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 16:9-10 Elah’s drunkenness in Tirzah while his army risked…
16:9-10 Elah’s drunkenness in Tirzah while his army risked their lives at the Philistine-controlled city of Gibbethon (16:15) displayed his debased character; he was even less fit to reign than his father, Baasha (see 16:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.