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; and Zimri went in and struck him, and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.
When he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, he attacked all the house of Baasha. He didn’t leave him a single one who urinates on a wall among his relatives or his friends. Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned, and with which they made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. The people who were encamped heard that Zimri had conspired, and had also killed the king. Therefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the fortified part of the king’s house, and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and died, for his sins which he sinned in doing that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he committed, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 12, 15, 17, 18 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 On vv9–20 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}
Read full note →
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 On vv9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19 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.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v15 Solomon observes (Pro 28:2) that for the transgression of…
Solomon observes (Pro 28:2) that for the transgression of a land many were the princes thereof (so it was here in Israel), but by a man of understanding the state thereof shall be prolonged - so it was with Judah at the same time under Asa. When men forsake God they are out of the way of rest and establishment. Zimri, and Tibni, and Omri, are here striving for the crown. Proud aspiring men ruin one another, and involve others in the ruin. These confusions end in the settlement of Omri; we must therefore take him along with us through this part of the story.
I. How he was chosen, as the Roman emperors often were, by the army in the field, now encamped before Gibbethon. Notice was soon brought thither that Zimri had slain their king (Kg1 16:16) and set up himself in Tirzah, the royal city, whereupon they chose Omri king in the camp, that they might without delay avenge the death of Elah upon Zimri. Though he was idle and intemperate, yet he was their king, and they would not tamely submit to his murderer, nor let the treason go unpunished. They did not attempt to avenge the death of Nadab upon Baasha, perhaps because the house of Baasha had ruled with more gentleness than the house of Jeroboam; but Zimri shall feel the resentments of the provoked army. The siege of Gibbethon is quitted (Philistines are sure to gain when Israelites quarrel) and Zimri is prosecuted.
Read full note →
II. How he conquered Zimri, who is said to have reigned seven days (Kg1 16:15), so long before Omri was proclaimed king and himself proclaimed traitor; but we may suppose it was a longer time before he died, for he continued long enough to show his inclination to the way of Jeroboam, and to make himself obnoxious to the justice of God by supporting his idolatry, Kg1 16:19. Tirzah was a beautiful city, but not fortified, so that Omri soon made himself master of it (Kg1 16:17), forced Zimri into the palace, which being unable to defend, and yet unwilling to surrender, he burnt, and himself in it, Kg1 16:18. Unwilling that his rival should ever enjoy that sumptuous palace, he burnt it; and fearing that if he fell into the hands of the army, either alive or dead, he should be ignominiously treated, he burnt himself in it. See what desperate practices men's wickedness sometimes brings them to, and how it hurries them into their own ruin; see the disposition of incendiaries, who set palaces and kingdoms on fire, though they are themselves in danger of perishing in the flame.
III. How he struggled with Tibni, and at length got clear of him: Half of the people followed this Tibni (Kg1 16:21), probably those who were in Zimri's interest, with whom others joined, who would not have a king chosen in the camp (lest he should rule by the sword and a standing army), but in a convention of the states. The contest between these two lasted some years, and, it is likely, cost a great deal of blood on both sides, for it was in the twenty-seventh year of Asa that Omri was first elected (Kg1 16:15) and thence the twelve years of his reign are to be dated; but it was not till the thirty-first year of Asa that he began to reign without a rival; then Tibni died, it is likely in battle, and Omri reigned, Kg1 16:22. Sir Walter Raleigh, in his History of the World (2.19.6), enquires here why it was that in all these confusions and revolutions of the kingdom of Israel they never thought of returning to the house of David, and uniting themselves again to Judah, for then it was better with them than now; and he thinks the reason was because the kings of Judah assumed a more absolute, arbitrary, and despotic power than the kings of Israel. It was the heaviness of the yoke that they complained of when they first revolted from the house of David, and the dread of that made them ever after averse to it, and attached to kings of their own, who ruled more by law and the rules of a limited monarchy.
IV. How he reigned when he was at length settled on the throne. 1. He made himself famous by building Samaria, which, ever after, was the royal city of the kings of Israel (the palace at Tirzah being burnt), and in process of time grew so considerable that it gave name to the middle part of Canaan (which lay between Galilee on the north and Judea on the south) and to the inhabitants of that country, who were called Samaritans. He bought the ground for two talents of silver, somewhat more than 700l. of our money, for a talent was 353l. 11s. 10 1/2d. Perhaps Shemer, who sold him the ground, let him have it considerably the cheaper upon condition that the city should be called after his name, for otherwise it would have borne the name of the purchaser; it was called Samaria, or Shemeren (as it is in the Hebrew), from Shemer, the former owner, Kg1 16:24. The kings of Israel changed their royal seats, Shechem first, then Tirzah, now Samaria; but the kings of Judah were constant to Jerusalem, the city of God. Those that cleave to the Lord fix, but those that leave him ever wander. 2. He made himself infamous by his wickedness; for he did worse than all that were before him, Kg1 16:25. Though he was brought to the throne with much difficulty, and Providence had remarkably favoured him in his advancement, yet he was more profane, or more superstitious, and a greater persecutor, than either of the houses of Jeroboam or Baasha. He went further than they had done in establishing iniquity by a law, and forcing his subjects to comply with him in it; for we read of the statutes of Omri, the keeping of which made Israel a desolation, Mic 6:16. Jeroboam caused Israel to sin by temptation, example, and allurement; but Omri did it by compulsion.
V. How he ended his reign, Kg1 16:27, Kg1 16:28. He was in some repute for the might which he showed. Many a bad man has been a stout man. He died in his bed, as did Jeroboam and Baasha themselves; but, like them, left it to his posterity to fill up the measure, and then pay off the scores, of his iniquity.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–20 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:
Read full note →
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 On vv9, 11, 13, 15, 19 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 On vv9, 11, 13, 15 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.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11, 15, 18, 19 1Ki 16:11-13. He slew all the house of Baasha,…
1Ki 16:11-13. He slew all the house of Baasha, &c. — He not only destroyed all that were descended from Baasha, as Baasha had destroyed the families of Jeroboam, but he extended the destruction, and increased it, as Abarbinel speaks, for he killed all that were of kin to Baasha, with all his friends, which Baasha did not when he seized the kingdom from Jeroboam. According to the word of the Lord — Thus fulfilling the divine threatening, but undesignedly by him, and merely for his own ends. In provoking the Lord to anger with their vanities — Idols, called vanities, because they are but imaginary deities, and mere nothings, having no power to do either good or hurt.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19 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 On vv9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19 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 On vv9, 15, 19 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 On vv9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 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 On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 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.
Read full note →
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 On vv9, 13, 16, 18, 19 (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 On vv9–20 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.
Read full note →
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.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v11 As far as we can understand from our meager…
THE KINGS OF ISRAEL FROM ZIMRI TO AHAB
1Ki_16:11-34
Read full note →
As far as we can understand from our meager authorities-and we have no independent source of information-we infer that Elah, son of the powerful Baasha, was a self-indulgent weakling. The army of Israel was encamped against Gibbethon-originally a Levitical town of the Kohathites, in the territory of Dan-which they hoped to wrest from the Philistines. It was during the interminable and intermittent siege of this town that Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, had been murdered. Whatever may have been his sins, he was in his proper place leading the armies of Israel. Elah was not there, but in his beautiful palace at Tirzah. It was probably contempt for his incapacity and the bad example of Baashas successful revolt, that tempted Zimri to murder him as he was drinking himself drunk in the house of his chamberlain Arza. Zimri was a commander of half the chariots, and probably thinking that he could secure the throne by a coup de main he slew not only Elah, but every male member of his family. To extinguish any possibility: of vengeance, he even massacred all who were known to be friends of the royal house. It was a consummate crime, and it was followed by swift and condign judgment. Through that sea of blood Zimri only succeeded in wading to one weeks royalty, followed by a shameful and agonizing death. We are told that he did evil in the sight of the Lord by following the sin of Jeroboams calf-worship. The phrase must be here something of a formula, for in seven days he could hardly have achieved a religious revolution, and every other king of Israel, some of whom have long and prosperous reigns, maintained the unauthorized worship. But Zimris atrocious revolt had been so ill-considered that it furnished a proverb of the terrible fate of rebels. {2Ki_9:31} He had not even attempted to secure the assent of the army at Gibbethon. No sooner did the news reach the camp than the soldiers tumultuously refused to accept Zimri as king, and elected Omri their captain. Omri instantly broke up the camp, and led them to besiege the new king in Tirzah. Zimri saw that his cause was hopeless, and took refuge in the fortress (birah) attached to the palace. When he saw that even there he could not maintain himself, he preferred speedy death to slow starvation or falling into the hands of his rival. He set fire to the palace, and, like Sardanapalus, perished in the flames.
The swift suppression of his treason did not save the unhappy kingdom from anarchy and civil war. However popular Omri might be with the army, he was unacceptable to a large part of the people. They chose as their king a certain Tibni, son of Ginath, who was supported by a powerful brother named Joram. For four years the contest was continued. At the end of that time Tibni and Joram were conquered and killed, and Omri began his sole reign, which lasted eight years longer.
He founded the most conspicuous dynasty of Israel, and so completely identified his name with the Northern Kingdom that it was known to the Assyrians as Beit-Khumri, or "the House of Omri." They even speak of Jehu the destroyer of Omris dynasty, as "the son of Omri."
Incidental allusions in the annals of his son show that Omri was engaged in incessant wars against Syria. He was unsuccessful, and Benhadad robbed him of Ramoth Gilead and other cities, enforcing the right of Syrians to have streets of their own even in his new capital of Samaria. On the other hand, he was greatly successful on the southeast against the Moabites and their warrior-king Chemosh-Gad, the father of Mesha.
Few details of either war have come down to us. {1Ki_20:34} We learn, however, from the famous Moabite stone that he began his assault on Moab by the capture of Mediba, several miles south of Heshbon, overran the country, made the king a vassal, and imposed on Moab the enormous annual tribute of 100,000 sheep and 100,000 rams. {2Ki_3:4} Mesha in his inscription records that Omri "oppressed Moab many days," and attributed this to the fact that Chemosh was angry with his chosen people. He stamped his impress deep upon his subjects. It must have been to him that the alliance with the Tyrians was due, which in his sons reign produced consequences so momentous. He "did worse we are told than all the kings that were before him." {1Ki_16:25} Although he is only charged with walking in the way of Jeroboam, the indignant manner in which the prophet Micah speaks of "the statutes of Omri" as still being kept, {Mic_6:16} seems to prove that his influence on religion was condemned by the prophetic order on special grounds. It is clear that he was a sovereign of far greater eminence and importance than we might suppose from the meagerness of his annals as here preserved; indeed, for thirty-four years after his accession the history of the Southern Kingdom becomes a mere appendix to that of the Northern. One conspicuous service he rendered to his subjects by providing them with the city which became their permanent and famous capital. This he did in the sixth year of his reign. The burning of the fortress-palace of Tirzah, and the rapidity with which the town had succumbed to its besiegers, may have led him to look out for a site, which was central, strong, and beautiful. His choice was so prescient that the new royal residence superseded not only Penuel and Tirzah, but even Shechem. It was, says Dean Stanley, "as though Versailles had taken the place of Paris, or Windsor of London?" He fixed his eye on an oblong hill, with long flat summit, which rose in the midst of a wide valley encircled with hills, near the edge of the plain of Sharon, and six miles northwest of Shechem. Its beauty is still the admiration of the traveler in Palestine. It gave point to the apostrophe of Isaiah: "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which is on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under foot: and the fading flower of his glorious adornment, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall become as a fading flower and as an early fig." {Isa_28:1-4} All around it the low hills and rich ravines were clothed with fertility. They recall more nearly than any other scene in Palestine the green fields and parks of England
It commanded a full view of the sea and the plain of Sharon on the one band, and of the vale of Shechem on the other. The town sloped down from the summit of this hill; a broad wall with a terraced top ran round it. "In front of the gates was a wide open space or threshing floor, where the kings of Samaria sat on great occasions. The inferior houses were built of white brick, with rafters of sycamore, the grandeur of hewn stones and Isa_9:9-10. Its soft, rounded, oblong platform was, as it were, a vast luxurious couch, in which the nobles securely rested, propped and cushioned up on both sides, as in the cherished corner of a rich divan."
Far more important in the eyes of Omri than its beauty was the natural strength of its position. It did not possess the impregnable majesty of Jerusalem, but its height and isolation, permitting of strong fortifications, enabled it to baffle the besieging hosts of the Aramaeans in B.C. 901 and in B.C. 892. For three long years it held out against the mighty Assyrians under Sargon and Shalmanezer. Its capture in B.C. 721 involved the ruin of the whole kingdom in its fall, {1Ki_20:1; 2Ki_6:24} Nebuchadnezzar took it in B.C. 554 after a siege of thirteen years. In later centuries it partially recovered. Alexander the Great took it, and massacred many of its inhabitants B.C. 332. John Hyrcanus, who took it after a years siege, tried to demolish it in B.C. 129. After various fortunes it was splendidly rebuilt by Herod the Great, who called it Sebaste, in honor of Augustus. It still exists under the name of Sebastiyeh.
When Omri chose it for his residence it belonged to a certain Shemer, who, according to Epiphanius, was a descendant of the ancient Perizzites or Girgashites. The king paid for this hill the large sum of two talents of silver, and called it Shomeron. The name means "a watch tower," and was appropriate both from its commanding position and because it echoed the name of its old possessor.
The new capital marked a new epoch. It superseded as completely as Jerusalem had done the old local shrines endeared by the immemorial sanctity of their traditions; but as its origin was purely political it acted unfavorably on the religion of the people. It became a city of idolatry and of luxurious wealth; a city in which Baal-worship with its ritual pomp threw into the shade the worship of Jehovah; a city in which corrupted nobles, lolling at wine feasts on rich divans in their palaces inlaid with ivory, sold the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes. Of Omri we are told no more. After a reign of twelve years he slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city which was to be for so many centuries a memorial of his fame.
The name of Omri marks a new epoch. He is the first Jewish king whose name is alluded to in Assyrian inscriptions. Assyria had emerged into importance in the twelfth century before Christ under Tiglath-Pileser I, but during the eleventh and down to the middle of the tenth century it had sunk into inactivity. Assurbanipal, the father of Shalmanezer II (884-860), enlarged his dominions to the Mediterranean westwards and to Lebanon southwards. In 870, when Ahab was king, the Assyrian warriors had exacted tribute from Tyre, Sidon, and Bibles. It is not impossible that Omri also had paid tribute, and it has even been conjectured that it was to Assyrian help that he owed his throne. The Book of Kings only alludes to the valor of this warrior-king in the one word his might; but it is evident from other indications that he had a stormy and checkered reign.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v15 1Ki_16:15. Did Zimri reign seven days—A brief possession of…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
1Ki_16:15. Did Zimri reign seven days—A brief possession of a throne won by such criminal deeds! The Israelites repudiated the villainous usurper.
Read full note →
1Ki_16:18. Into the palace of the king’s house—אֲרְמוֹן means the highest place in the king’s house; “the fortress of the palace, the securest and inmost place; for the royal palace contained a great number of buildings” (Gesenius). Burnt the king’s house over him—The Syriac says, the besiegers fired the royal house over his head.
1Ki_16:19. For his sins … and in walking in the way of Jeroboam—As he only reigned “seven days,” this must refer to his previous career, although “the sins which he sinned” well describe his sanguinary deeds in seizing the throne.
1Ki_16:22. So Tibni died, and Omri reigned—According to Josephus (Antiq. viii. 12, 5), Tibni was slain; which seems the necessary termination of the struggle. The phrase, “So he died,” does not allow of the thought of a natural death, whereby Tibni conveniently left the position unchallenged to Omri; but a forced conclusion of the rivalry by the death of Tibni. However, וַיָּמָת does not definitely indicate a violent death.
1Ki_16:24. Bought the hill Samaria of Shemer—The “two talents of silver” purchase price equal less than £700. Thus this hill became the site of the royal residences of the kings of Israel, and Samaria the capital of the kingdom of Israel, until Israel was dispersed and the kingdom ceased. Stanley says of this site: In the centre of a wide amphitheatre of mountains, about six miles from Shechem, rises an oblong hill, with steep yet accessible sides, and a long flat top extending east and west, and rising 500 or 600 feet above the valley. Knobel says: It was a beautiful round mountain, covered with splendid trees, commanding a lorious prospect of the fruitful valley and the heights and villages surrounding it. Layard tells us a tablet was dug from the ruins of Nineveh relating to Samaria, thereon called Beth-Khumri, the house of Omri.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_16:15-28
SIN THE PROLIFIC SOURCE OF NATIONAL CALAMITIES
I. It degrades the throne and vitiates its authority (1Ki_16:15-20). It places the crown at the disposal of ambitious adventurers. At this period in the history of Israel there is a remarkable resemblance to the events which led to the accession of the Flavian dynasty at Rome; and the character and career of the Roman Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian bear a curious similarity to the Israelitish Elah, Zimri, Tibni, and Omri. Whoever could best succeed in bribing the army was sure to gain the crown; and the monarch for the time being used his exalted position and power for purposes of personal indulgence and debauchery. “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness; for the throne is established by righteousness” (Pro_16:12).
He’s a king,
A true, right king, that dare do aught save wrong;
Fears nothing mortal but to be unjust:
Who is not blown up with flattering puffs
Of spongy sycophants; who stands unmoved
Despite the jostling of opinion.
But where sin is triumphant, and justice and righteousness are disregarded, no throne can be stable. The very army which has elevated the monarch may be the instrument of his fall and ruin. Sin tarnishes the crown, breaks the sceptre of authority, and weakens the whole nation. The usurper is often the dupe of his own wickedness. You smile when you see a child trying to grasp its own shadow; but how many have been grasping shadows all their lives, and will continue to reach out and grasp as long as breath and eyesight last!
II. It divides the people, and introduces all the horrors of civil war (1Ki_16:21-22). For four years the rival claimants of the crown carried on the fratricidal contest, and in all probability Tibni suffered a violent death. As soon as Zimri—Sardanapalus-like—came to such a suicidal end, it would appear that the authorities at Tirzah, disliking a military despotism, elected Tibni as king, and as the army had already elected Omri, the nation was plunged into all the miseries of civil war, which was terminated by Omri gaining the supremacy. Bitterly do the seceding tribes reap the fruits of evil sowing; for not only are they given up to idolatry, but are half swallowed up in anarchy. Both Tibni and Omri would have done well to refuse these proffered honours, considering what had befallen the kings that had gone before them. Macro, captain of the guard, and Laco, knight of the watch, Romans who had been active in ruining Sejanus, had great honours bestowed upon them by the Senate. But they refused them; and Dion attributed the reason of their refusal to the terrors of an example so fresh in their memories. “The nation from whose heart rectitude is gone, in whose soul vice runs riot, has its throne built on moral gunpowder.”
III. It encourages the ruling power to perpetrate acts of unexampled wickedness (1Ki_16:25-26). Omri “did worse than all that were before him.” Worse than Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, and Elah. He was an idolater in principle and in practice. He led the people to idolatry by precept and example; and he went beyond all his predecessors in legalising and enforcing idolatry upon his subjects by statutes, for we read in Mic_6:16, of “the statutes of Omri, the keeping of which made Israel a desolation.” Taking this in connection with the character which the historian ascribes to him, we cannot doubt, remarks Kitto, that these “statutes of Omri,” which were but too well maintained by his successors and observed by the subjects of his kingdom, were measures adopted for more completely isolating the people of Israel from the services of the House of the Lord at Jerusalem, and for perpetuating, perhaps increasing, their idolatrous practices. Jeroboam made Israel to sin by temptation, example, and allurement; but Omri did it by compulsion. Thus when a people forsake God, they go from worse to worse, till destruction comes upon them to the uttermost.
LESSONS:—
1. The frequent end of ambitious projectors is to perish in the flames they have themselves kindled.
2. Envy and revenge, even in death, forsake not the wicked.
3. Of all inflictions on a nation, none are more terrible than civil wars.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki_16:15-20. The vanity of an ill-gotten success. I. An ill-gotten success is evanescent in its character (1Ki_16:15). II. Creates numerous enemies (1Ki_16:16). III. Has to contend with violent opposition (1Ki_16:17). IV. Drives to acts of desperation (1Ki_16:18). V. Brings its own inevitable punishment (1Ki_16:19). VI. Acquires an unenviable notoriety (1Ki_16:20).
1Ki_16:18. Despair. I. Often the result of baffled ambition. II. Is one of the sharpest stings of a guilty conscience. III. Is associated with the bitterest feelings of hatred and revenge. IV. Frequently ends in suicide.
—The doom of despair is the end of a life given over to sin, which has lost sight of the living God, and can never again find Him. Frequently what the world regards as heroism and contempt of death is simply cowardice and crime in the sight of God. The Lord has no pleasure, &c. (Eze_18:23). It requires more courage and bravery to bear the merited punishment of one’s sins than to escape from it by suicide.
—Zimri’s desperate act has been repeated more than once in the world’s history. That the last king of Assyria, the Sardanapalus of the Greeks, thus destroyed himself, is almost the only fact which we know concerning him. Herodotus gives a similar account of a contemporary of his, a certain Boges, a Persian general left by Xerxes to defend Eïon when he retired from Europe after Salamis. He also relates that the Xanthians, when pressed by Harpagus, burnt their wives, their children, and their slaves in the Acropolis, and then threw themselves on the Persian swords.
1Ki_16:21-22. Anarchy. I. The inevitable consequence of national irreligion. II. Is fomented and sustained by incompetent and unscrupulous rulers. III. Is not suppressed without much cruelty and suffering.
1Ki_16:23-28. The power of a wicked life. I. Is the more dangerous when associated with material prosperity (1Ki_16:24). II. Transforms a king into a tyrant (1Ki_16:25-26). III. Is the less excusable in a man of valour and capacity (1Ki_16:27). IV. Is transmitted to succeeding generations (1Ki_16:28).
1Ki_16:24-26. Omri built Samaria, making it the strong centre of the kingdom; but he walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, and did worse than all who went before him. It is not said in what respect he was worse, but it certainly implies that he maintained the anti-theocratic institutions of Jeroboam with great zeal and decision. It appears that he stood well as captain of the army, for it was in the camp that he was elected to the throne. Yet, however valiant he may have been as a warrior, in the chief thing—namely, in his relation to Jehovah and the theocratic fundamental law—he stood worse than any of his predecessors, and was furthest from being what was especially required of a theocratic king, that is, a servant of Jehovah. A man may be skilful and useful to himself and others in all material and worldly things, whilst in spiritual and divine things he works only mischief and destruction. What, without religion, is so-called civilization?—Lange.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v11 kinsfolks Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa…
kinsfolks Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v15 The Rule of Zimri in Israel
The Rule of Zimri in Israel
v. 15. In the twenty and seventh year of Asa, king of Judah, did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah, so long he was in undisturbed possession of the throne. And the people, the army of Israel, were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, and which Nadab had already tried to recover from the hands of the enemy.
Read full note →
v. 16. And the people that were encamped heard say, the rumor or the report came to the army, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king; wherefore all Israel, as represented in the army, the military party, made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp, they proclaimed him ruler over the northern nation.
v. 17. And Omri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him, he went on a campaign against the usurper of the throne, and they besieged Tirzah.
v. 18. And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, it being impossible for him to hold out against the besieging force, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, the citadel, the highest and strongest of the buildings included in the royal palace, and burned the king’s house over him with fire and died, preferring this death to that at the hands of the victorious army,
v. 19. for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did to make Israel to sin; for even in these few days he had shown that he had no intention of doing away with the calf-worship introduced by Jeroboam.
v. 20. Now, the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, the manner in which he planned the removal of Baasha, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
v. 21. Then were the people of Israel, the entire northern nation, divided into two parts, the faction represented by the army and the party of the people: half of the people, the nonmilitary party, followed Tibni, the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half, the military party, followed Omri.
v. 22. But the people that followed Omri prevailed, his party gained the ascendancy, against the people that followed Tibni, the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, either by assassination or in battle, and Omri reigned, the opposition having no other man to take his place. All men who are blinded by sin act like the kings of Israel here described. They have warning examples in great number before their eyes, but they obstinately continue on their way to their own destruction.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 14, 15, 18 He did not leave alive a single male
He did not leave alive a single male
This means that he killed all the men and boys. AT: "He did not leave even one male alive"
Read full note →
the word of Yahweh
"the message of Yahweh" or "Yahweh's message"
which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet
Speaking "by" a prophet represents telling a prophet to speak and the prophet speaking. AT: "that Yahweh told Jehu the prophet to speak against Baasha" (See: Idiom)
they had led Israel to sin
Leading people to do something represents influencing them to do it. AT: "they had influenced Israel to sin" (See: Metaphor)
they had led Israel to sin
Here the word "Israel" refers to the ten northern tribes of Israel. Baasha and Elah had been their king.
they provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their idols
God became angry with the people because they worshiped idols. The meaning of this can be made clear. AT: "they made Yahweh, the God of Israel, angry because they worshiped idols" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
the God of Israel
Here the word "Israel" refers to all of the twelve tribes descended from Jacob.
translationWords
throne
life
Yahweh
God
Israel
false god
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11, 15, 18 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.