The big picture
The northern kingdom of Israel is ruled by Baasha, who destroyed his rivals but copied their worship. A prophet now warns that his own house faces the same end. Murder, a brief reign, and rival claims follow. Omri, an army commander who gains the throne, builds a new capital. Ahab, his son, then takes the kingdom further into worship of other gods. New rulers and a new city do not bring faithfulness.
In this chapter
- Baasha Receives the Same Warning 1 Kings 16:1-7
God sends Jehu, a prophet and son of Hanani, to Baasha.
- Zimri Kills the King and His House 1 Kings 16:8-14
Elah reigns for two years.
- A Seven Day Reign Ends in Fire 1 Kings 16:15-20
Zimri holds the throne for only seven days.
- Omri Builds a New Capital 1 Kings 16:21-28
Israel divides between supporters of Tibni and supporters of Omri.
- Ahab Leads Israel Further Away 1 Kings 16:29-34
Ahab rules from Samaria for twenty-two years and exceeds earlier kings in evil.
Central truth
Israel's rulers replace one another through violence while the nation's worship moves further from God under each new royal house.
Scripture beside the summary
1 Kings · King James Version · 341 Kings 16:1-7
Baasha Receives the Same Warning
God sends Jehu, a prophet and son of Hanani, to Baasha. He reminds the king that God raised him from a low place to lead Israel. Yet Baasha has followed Jeroboam's sins and drawn the people after him. His family will therefore meet the same end. Dogs and birds will eat their unburied bodies. Baasha dies and is buried in Tirzah, with his son Elah succeeding him. The warning condemns both his false worship and his killing of the earlier royal house.
In everyday life
A prison visitor listens through the glass as an inmate describes fresh threats from the man who promised to protect his family. She writes down the names and tries to arrange help outside. A changed leader has brought the same fear. Jehu announces God's sentence, including disgrace after death.
Notice
1 Kings 16:7 Baasha is blamed for killing as well as false worship. Fulfilling the earlier warning against Jeroboam does not make his own acts innocent.
1 Kings 16:1-7
King James Version1Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
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;
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.
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.
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?
6So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
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.
1 Kings 16:8-14
Zimri Kills the King and His House
Elah reigns for two years. While he drinks himself drunk in a royal steward's house, Zimri, one of his chariot commanders, kills him. Zimri takes the throne and destroys Baasha's family. He leaves no male relative or friend alive. The account connects this slaughter with God's warning through Jehu. Baasha and Elah had sinned and led Israel into idol worship. Their line ends through another servant's attack, repeating the violent pattern by which Baasha himself first gained the kingdom.
In everyday life
A shelter volunteer lays out blankets as frightened friends of a fallen ruler arrive seeking safety. Each knock at the door interrupts her work. They fear that closeness to the former household now places them at risk. Zimri's purge actually destroys the family and its friends as the warning foretold.
Notice
1 Kings 16:11 Zimri kills friends as well as relatives of the former king. The violence reaches beyond direct heirs who might claim the throne against him.
1 Kings 16:8-14
King James Version8In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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?
1 Kings 16:15-20
A Seven Day Reign Ends in Fire
Zimri holds the throne for only seven days. The army is besieging a Philistine town when it hears of his treason and the king's death. The soldiers choose their commander Omri as king. He brings them to Tirzah and captures the city. Seeing defeat, Zimri goes into the royal palace and sets it on fire around himself. He dies there. His brief reign is judged for the same sins as the others. Seizing the palace did not give him lasting support.
In everyday life
A town librarian lowers the shutters as news of a change of ruler reaches the street. Within days, another force arrives and the first announcement is torn down. She keeps patrons inside while control of the town remains uncertain. Zimri's defeat ends in his death by a fire he sets.
Notice
1 Kings 16:15 Seven days separate Zimri's seizure of power from its end. Control of the palace proves far weaker than the army's choice of another king.
1 Kings 16:15-20
King James Version15In 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.
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.
17And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.
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,
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.
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?
1 Kings 16:21-28
Omri Builds a New Capital
Israel divides between supporters of Tibni and supporters of Omri. Omri's side wins, Tibni dies, and Omri rules. He buys a hill from Shemer and builds a city there, naming it Samaria after the former owner. This becomes his royal base. His reign is marked by strength, but the account says he does more evil than the kings before him. He continues Jeroboam's worship and leads the people into sin. After his burial in Samaria, Ahab his son becomes king.
In everyday life
A station developer lays the deed for a new transport hub beside plans for its central hall. The project gives her firm a visible home after years of internal disputes. New walls do not answer complaints about how the firm behaves. Omri's lasting capital does not alter God's judgment of his worship.
Notice
1 Kings 16:24 The new city's name preserves the name of the hill's former owner. A land purchase stands behind the capital that later events will often name.
1 Kings 16:21-28
King James Version21Then 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.
22But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.
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.
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.
25But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him.
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.
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?
28So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
1 Kings 16:29-34
Ahab Leads Israel Further Away
Ahab rules from Samaria for twenty-two years and exceeds earlier kings in evil. He marries Jezebel, daughter of the ruler of the Zidonians, a coastal people. He serves Baal, their god, and builds him a temple and altar. He also makes a sacred grove for forbidden worship. During his reign, Hiel rebuilds Jericho, a town under an old warning from God through Joshua. His eldest and youngest sons die as he lays its foundation and sets its gates. The old warning proves true.
In everyday life
A trusted neighbour sits beside an unopened building permit while the parents grieve. What had promised a fresh beginning is now bound to loss, and she cannot bring herself to discuss the completed work. Ordinary success no longer describes the project. Hiel's losses fulfil a specific warning spoken through Joshua.
Notice
1 Kings 16:34 The deaths mark the foundation and the gates, the project's two ends. The account ties them to God's earlier word rather than treating them as chance.
1 Kings 16:29-34
King James Version29And 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.
30And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before 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.
32And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
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.
34In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
1 Kings 16:1 begins with “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,”
Where the chapter turns
1 Kings 16:18 forms a natural hinge: “And 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…”
The final note
1 Kings 16:34 leaves the reader with “In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Israel, house, Omri, Baasha, LORD, king help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- posterity
- The children and later descendants who come after a person.
- vanities
- Worthless things, here the false gods and idols the kings follow.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
