1 Kings 16

Then the LORD's message came to Jehu son of Hanani. It was a message against Baasha, king of Israel, and it said:

1Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

NoteJehu son of Hanani is a prophet, not the later King Jehu who seized Israel's throne (2 Kings 9). The two are different men separated by about fifty years.

2"I lifted you up out of the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. But you have lived the same way Jeroboam lived. You have led my people Israel into sin, and their sins have made me angry.

2Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;

Note"Out of the dust" was a stock phrase for raising someone from low or powerless status. Baasha came from no royal line: he was an army officer who assassinated King Nadab and took the throne (1 Kings 15:27-28). "The way of Jeroboam" is the standard measuring stick this book uses for the northern kings. Jeroboam, Israel's first king after the kingdom split, set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan so his people would not travel to the temple in Jerusalem; every later northern king is judged by whether he kept that system going.

3So I am going to sweep away Baasha and his family. I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

3Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

NoteThe family of Jeroboam had been wiped out by Baasha himself, every last member killed (1 Kings 15:29). Being made "like the house of Jeroboam" means total extinction of the line.

4Anyone in Baasha's family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs. Anyone who dies out in the open country will be eaten by birds."

4Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.

NoteTo be left unburied and eaten by scavengers was the worst disgrace imaginable in this culture, worse than the death itself. A proper burial in the family tomb was the minimum a person expected.

5The rest of what Baasha did, all he accomplished and how powerful he was, is written in the official record book of the kings of Israel.

5Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

NoteThis is not the biblical books of 1-2 Chronicles. It refers to the royal annals kept by the northern kingdom's court, a record that no longer survives. The writer repeatedly points readers to it for the political and military details he is leaving out. "His might" means his military record.

6Baasha died and was buried in the city of Tirzah. His son Elah became king in his place.

6So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.

Note"Buried with his ancestors" (King James: "slept with his fathers") is the standard formula for dying a natural death rather than being killed, and for being laid in the family tomb. Tirzah was the capital of the northern kingdom at this time, roughly seven miles northeast of Shechem; Samaria did not yet exist.

7The LORD's message against Baasha and his family came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. It came because of all the evil Baasha did in the LORD's sight, making the LORD angry with the things he made and did. He had become just like the family of Jeroboam, and he had also struck down that family.

7And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.

NoteThe last clause is genuinely unclear in Hebrew. "Because he killed him" most likely means Baasha was punished partly for slaughtering Jeroboam's family, even though that slaughter had itself been foretold as judgment. Some read it instead as referring to Jehu the prophet being struck down. The ambiguity is in the original.

8In the twenty-sixth year of Asa's reign as king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel. He ruled from Tirzah for two years.

8In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.

NoteReigns in Israel and Judah are cross-dated against each other because there was no shared calendar era. Regnal years were often counted inclusively, so "two years" can mean parts of two calendar years rather than twenty-four full months.

9One of Elah's own officers, Zimri, plotted against him. Zimri was the commander of half the king's chariots. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the house of Arza, the man in charge of the palace there.

9And 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.

NoteChariots were the elite and most expensive arm of an Iron Age army, so commanding half of them made Zimri one of the kingdom's most powerful officers. The "steward of his house" ran the royal household and estates, a senior post. That the king was drinking himself insensible in a subordinate's house, away from the palace, is the narrator's way of showing him off guard.

10Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. This was in the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign as king of Judah. Zimri then became king in Elah's place.

10And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.

11As soon as Zimri became king and sat on the throne, he killed everyone in Baasha's family. He did not leave a single male alive, not a relative and not a friend.

11And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.

NoteThe King James "him that pisseth against a wall" is a blunt Hebrew idiom meaning every male. Killing the entire family of a deposed king, including relatives and dependents, was standard practice for a usurper: any surviving male could later claim the throne or take revenge.

12So Zimri destroyed all of Baasha's family, just as the LORD had said through the prophet Jehu when he spoke against Baasha.

12Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,

13This happened because of all the sins that Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because they had led Israel into sin. Their worthless idols made the LORD, the God of Israel, angry.

13For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

Note"Vanities" in the King James does not mean pride. The Hebrew word means puffs of breath, things empty and without substance, and it is used as a contemptuous term for idols.

14The rest of what Elah did, and everything he accomplished, is written in the official record book of the kings of Israel.

14Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

15In the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign as king of Judah, Zimri ruled in Tirzah for seven days. At that time Israel's army was camped outside Gibbethon, a town that belonged to the Philistines.

15In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

NoteThe Philistines were a people settled along the southern coastal plain, in five main cities, and had been Israel's rivals for generations. Gibbethon was a border town the northern army had been trying to take for decades; an earlier king, Nadab, was assassinated while besieging the same place (1 Kings 15:27). With the whole army away at the front, the capital was thinly defended.

16The soldiers in the camp heard the report that Zimri had plotted against the king and had killed him. So that very day, right there in the camp, all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, their king.

16And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.

NoteAn army in the field proclaiming its own general king was a recognized route to power in the ancient Near East. Israel's monarchy had no fixed rule of succession in the north, and popular or military acclamation could make a king.

17Omri and all the Israelites with him marched up from Gibbethon and surrounded the city of Tirzah to attack it.

17And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.

18When Zimri saw that the city had been captured, he went into the strongest part of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire around himself, and he died.

18And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died,

NoteThe word behind "the strongest part of the royal palace" (King James: "the palace of the king's house") refers to a fortified inner tower or keep, the last defensible point of a citadel.

19This happened because of the sins he had committed. He did what the LORD said was evil, living the same way Jeroboam had lived and repeating the sin Jeroboam used to lead Israel into sin.

19For 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.

20The rest of what Zimri did, and the plot he carried out, is written in the official record book of the kings of Israel.

20Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

21At that time the people of Israel were split into two groups. Half of them backed Tibni son of Ginath and wanted to make him king, and half backed Omri.

21Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.

NoteNothing more is known about Tibni. The split lasted roughly four years: Zimri died in Asa's twenty-seventh year (verse 15) but Omri's reign is dated from Asa's thirty-first year (verse 23), the gap covering the civil war.

22But Omri's supporters proved stronger than the supporters of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king.

22But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

NoteThe text simply says Tibni died and does not say how, whether killed in the fighting, executed, or otherwise. The Greek version adds that his brother Joram died with him.

23In the thirty-first year of Asa's reign as king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel. He ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.

23In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.

NoteThe twelve years are counted from Zimri's death, so they include the four years of civil war against Tibni; the six years in Tirzah are the remainder before Samaria was ready.

24Omri bought the hill of Samaria from a man named Shemer for two talents of silver. He built a city on the hill and named it Samaria, after Shemer, who had owned the hill.

24And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.

NoteA talent was a weight of roughly seventy-five pounds (about thirty-four kilograms), so two talents is around a hundred and fifty pounds of silver, a very large sum. Buying the site outright made the hill the king's personal property rather than tribal land, much as David had bought Jerusalem's threshing floor. The Hebrew name of the city, Shomron, echoes the name Shemer. The hill stood alone above a broad valley and was easy to defend; Samaria remained the northern capital until the Assyrians destroyed it.

25But Omri did what the LORD said was evil. He acted worse than every king before him.

25But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him.

26He lived exactly as Jeroboam son of Nebat had lived. He repeated the sin Jeroboam used to lead Israel into sin, and their worthless idols made the LORD, the God of Israel, angry.

26For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

27The rest of what Omri did, all he accomplished and the power he used, is written in the official record book of the kings of Israel.

27Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

28Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.

28So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.

29In the thirty-eighth year of Asa's reign as king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel. Ahab ruled over Israel from Samaria for twenty-two years.

29And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.

30Ahab son of Omri did what the LORD said was evil, more than every king before him.

30And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.

31It was as if living in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat were a small thing to him. He also married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. Then he went and served the god Baal and worshiped him.

31And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

NoteThe Sidonians were the Phoenicians, seafaring traders based in the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre, north of Israel. A marriage between royal houses sealed a political and trading alliance, and the bride would normally bring her own gods and priests with her. Ethbaal's name means "with Baal" or "Baal is alive"; ancient writers describe him as a priest of the goddess Astarte who seized the throne of Tyre. Baal means "lord" or "master" and was the title of the Canaanite and Phoenician storm god, credited with rain, crops, and fertility.

32He set up an altar for Baal inside the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.

32And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

Note"Temple of Baal" is literally "house of Baal": a god's temple was thought of as the place where he lived. An altar was a raised platform where animals were slaughtered and burned as offerings. Building a state-sponsored temple for a foreign god in the capital made Baal worship official policy, not merely a private preference of the queen.

33Ahab also set up a wooden pole for the goddess Asherah. He did more to make the LORD, the God of Israel, angry than all the kings of Israel before him.

33And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

NoteThe King James "grove" is a mistranslation. The Hebrew word is Asherah, the name of a Canaanite mother goddess, used also of the wooden pole or carved tree-trunk that stood for her at a place of worship, often set up beside an altar.

34While Ahab was king, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the city of Jericho. Laying its foundation cost him his oldest son, Abiram, and setting up its gates cost him his youngest son, Segub. This happened just as the LORD had said through Joshua son of Nun.

34In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.

NoteJericho had lain in ruins, and Joshua had pronounced a curse on anyone who rebuilt it, saying it would cost him his firstborn and his youngest son (Joshua 6:26). "Rebuild" here means refortifying it as a walled town with gates, not merely living on the site. The Hebrew of "laid the foundation at the cost of Abiram" is ambiguous: it may mean the two sons died during the work as the curse took effect, or it may hint at the practice, known from elsewhere in the ancient Near East, of burying a child in a new building's foundations. The verse is placed here to show how far Israel had drifted under Ahab.