Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 16:23
In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.
23. over Israel, twelve years ] The R.V. inserts in italics ‘ and reigned,’ after ‘Israel’ to make the sense clear. See on 1Ki 15:33.
six years reigned he ] The four years of the struggle for the throne are not counted either to Tibni or to Omri. For the commencement of Ahab’s reign is put (see 1Ki 16:29) in the 38th year of Asa.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 23. In the thirty and first year of Asa] There must be a mistake here in the number thirty-one; for, in ver. 10 and 15, 1Kg 16:10; 1Kg 16:15 it is said that Zimri slew his master, and began to reign in the twenty-seventh year of Asa; and as Zimri reigned only seven days, and Omri immediately succeeded him, this could not be in the thirty-first, but in the twenty-seventh year of Asa, as related above. Rab. Sol. Jarchi reconciles the two places thus: “The division of the kingdom between Tibni and Omri began in the twenty-seventh year of Asa; this division lasted five years, during which Omri had but a share of the kingdom. Tibni dying, Omri came into the possession of the whole kingdom, which he held seven years; this was in the thirty-first year of Asa. Seven years he reigned alone; five years he reigned over part of Israel; twelve years in the whole. The two dates, the twenty-seventh and thirty-first of Asa, answering, the first to the beginning of the division, the second to the sole reign of Omri.” Jarchi quotes Sedar Olam for this solution.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Began Omri to reign over Israel twelve years, i.e. and he reigned twelve years, not from this thirty-first year of Asa, for he died in his thirty-eighth year, 1Ki 16:29; but from the beginning of his reign, which was in Asas twenty-seventh year, 1Ki 16:15,16. So he reigned four years in a state of war with Tibni, and eight years peaceably.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. In the thirty and first year ofAsa . . . began Omri to reignThe twelve years of his reign arecomputed from the beginning of his reign, which was in thetwenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign. He held a contested reign forfour years with Tibni; and then, at the date stated in this verse,entered on a sole and peaceful reign of eight years.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
In the thirty first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel twelve years,…. Which are to be reckoned not from the thirty first of Asa; for Ahab the son of Omri began to reign in his thirty eighth year, and so his reign would be but seven or eight years; but they are reckoned from the twenty seventh of Asa, the beginning of it, when Elah was slain by Zimri, and he died, which to the end of the thirty eight of Asa make twelve years; for the division, according to the Jewish chronology d, lasted four years; Jarchi says five e; and from the beginning of that his reign is reckoned, though he did not reign over all Israel, or completely, until the thirty first of Asa, when Tibni died:
six years reigned he in Tirzah; the royal city of the kings of Israel, from Jeroboam to this time, and the other six he reigned in Samaria, built by him, as in the next verse.
d Seder Olam Rabba, c. 17. p. 45. e So Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 11. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Reign of Omri. – 1Ki 16:23. Omri reigned twelve years, i.e., if we compare 1Ki 16:15 and 1Ki 16:23 with 1Ki 16:29, reckoning from his rebellion against Zimri; so that he only possessed the sole government for eight years (or, more exactly, seven years and a few months), viz., from the 31st to the 38th years of Asa, and the conflict with Tibni for the possession of the throne lasted about four years. “At Thirza he reigned six years,” i.e., during the four years of the conflict with Tibni, and after his death two years more.
1Ki 16:24 As soon as he had obtained undisputed possession of the throne, he purchased the hill Shomron (Samaria) from Shemer ( Semer) for two talents of silver, about 5200 thalers (780 – Tr.), built houses upon it, and named the town which he built after the former owner of the hill , rendered by the lxx here, but everywhere else (Samaria), after the Chaldee form (Ezr 4:10, Ezr 4:17). This city he made his seat ( Residenz, place of residence, or capital), in which he resided for the last six years of his reign, and where he was buried after his death (1Ki 16:28). Samaria continued to be the capital of the kingdom of the ten tribes from that time forward, and the residence of all succeeding kings of Israel until the destruction of this kingdom after its conquest by Salmanasar (2Ki 18:9-10). The city was two hours and a half to the north-west of Sichem, upon a mountain or hill in a mountain-hollow ( Bergkessel, lit., mountain-caldron) or basin of about two hours in diameter, surrounded on all sides by still higher mountains. “The mountains and valleys round about are still for the most part arable, and are alive with numerous villages and diligent cultivation.” The mountain itself upon which Samaria stood is still cultivated to the very top, and about the middle of the slope is surrounded by a narrow terrace of level ground resembling a girdle. And even higher up there are marks of smaller terraces, where streets of the ancient city may possibly have run. After the captivity Samaria was retaken and demolished by John Hyrcanus, and lay in ruins till Gabinius the Roman governor rebuilt it (Joseph. Ant. xiii. 19, 2, 3, and iv. 5, 3). Herod the Great afterwards decorated it in a marvellous manner, built a temple there to the emperor Augustus, and named the city after him , i.e., Augusta, from which arose the present name Sebuste or Sebustieh, borne by a village which is still standing on the ancient site: “a pitiable hamlet consisting of a few squalid houses, inhabited by a band of plunderers, notorious as thieves even among their lawless fellow-countrymen” (V. de Velde, i. p. 378). – But by the side of this there are magnificent ruins of an ancient Johannite church, with the reputed grave of John the Baptist and remains of limestone columns at the foot of the mountain (cf., Robinson, Pal. iii. p. 136ff.; Van de Velde, Syria and Pal. i. p. 374ff.; and C. v. Raumer, Pal. pp. 159,160).
1Ki 16:25-28 Omri also walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and acted worse than his predecessors upon the throne. – For 1Ki 16:26 and 1Ki 16:27, compare 1Ki 16:13 and 1Ki 16:14.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(23) Began Omri to reign over Israel.The accession of Omri after this long civil war opened a new epoch of more settled government and prosperity for about forty-eight years. Omri had (as appears from 1Ki. 20:34) to purchase peace with Syria by some acknowledgment of sovereignty and cession of cities. He then allied himself with the royal house of Tyre, probably both for strength against Syria, and for revival of the commercial prosperity of the days of Solomon, and proceeded to found a new capital in a strong position. That he was a warrior is indicated by the phrase, the might that he shewed. Probably, like Jeroboam and Baasha, he also had his opportunity of restoring the spiritual strength of his people by returning to the pure worship of God, and threw it away, doing worse than all who were before him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
OMRI’S REIGN, 1Ki 16:23-28.
23. Twelve years Six at Tirzah and six at Samaria. With Omri began the third dynasty in the history of the kingdom of Israel; and from hints given in other parts of Scripture, and from the recently discovered inscription of Mesha, king of Moab, we infer that his reign was filled with many important events which our narrator passes over in utter silence. From 1Ki 20:34, we infer that he had wars with Ben-hadad of Damascus, in which he lost some cities of his kingdom, perhaps Ramoth in Gilead among others. (Compare 1Ki 22:3.) The prophet Micah (Mic 6:16,) speaks of the statutes of Omri probably commands for the people to observe his idolatrous worship, contrary to the statutes of Jehovah. And in the inscription above mentioned (on which see note 2Ki 3:4) the name of Omri occurs several times. “Omri was king of Israel, and he afflicted Moab many days.” “Omri held possession of the land of Medeba.” He may have oppressed Moab while captain of the host of Israel (1Ki 16:16) under Baasha or Elah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Rule of Omri and of Ahab
v. 23. In the thirty and first year of Asa, king of Judah, began Omri to reign over Israel, v. 24. And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer, v. 25. But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him, v. 26. For 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, v. 27. Now, the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, v. 28. So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab, his son, reigned in his stead.
v. 29. And 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. v. 30. And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil In the sight of the Lord above all that were before him, v. 31. And 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, v. 32. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, v. 33. And Ahab made a grove, v. 34. In his days,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
(23) In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. (24) And 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. (25) But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. (26) For 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. (27) Now 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? (28) So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
As a king of Judah, the good king, had a long and prosperous reign, while all these troubles were going on in Israel. And Omni though successful over Tibni, had but a short triumph, and full of evil. Nay, the Holy Ghost records of him that he did worse than all that were before him: Is it possible that his iniquity could exceed Jeroboam’s? Alas! alas! if the Reader be desirous to know the price for which Samaria was bought, it may not be amiss to observe that a talent of silver was in value of our money somewhat about 350. This hill, as it is here called, is the memorable city of Samaria, where our Lord Jesus directed his steps for the conversion of a poor adulteress there. Joh 4:5 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 16:23 In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.
Ver. 23. Began Omri to reign. ] Without a competitor.
Twelve years,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 Kings
THE RECORD OF TWO KINGS
1Ki 16:23 – 1Ki 16:33
Jeroboam’s son and successor was killed by Baasha, Baasha’s son and successor was killed by Zimri, who reigned for a week, and then burned the palace and died in the flames. A struggle for the throne followed between Omri, the commander-in-chief, and Tibni, ‘Tibni died, and Omri reigned.’ So, in fifty years, the kingdom that was to relieve Israel from oppression staggered through seas of blood, and four kings, or would-be kings, died by violence.
Omri’s dynasty lasted about as long, namely, through the reigns of four kings, and was then swept away like the others, in blood and fire. The text gives a meagre outline of the reigns of himself and his son Ahab, of which perhaps the meagreness is the most significant feature. The only fact told of the father is that he built Samaria, and his whole reign is summed up in the damning sentence that he ‘walked in the way of Jeroboam.’ We learn from the Moabite stone that he waged successful war against that country, and that it was tributary to Israel for forty years. In Mic 6:16 , mention is made of the statutes of Omri, as if he had given edicts for idolatry. The reign of Ahab is similarly summarised. His marriage with Jezebel, and the flood of Baal worship which that let loose over the land, are told with horror, in preparation for Elijah’s appearance like a dark background that throws up a brilliant figure.
The lessons to be drawn from these severely condensed records, cut down to the bone, as it were, are plain. The first of them is, that when a life is over, the one thing which lasts, or is worth thinking about, is the man’s relation to God and His will. Here are twelve years’ reign in the one case, and twenty-two in the other, all boiled down, so to speak, into half a dozen sentences, and estimated according to one standard only. What has become of all the eager strife, the joys and sorrows, the hopes and fears, that burned so fiercely for awhile? All died down into a handful of grey ashes. And what lies in them like a lump of solid metal that has been melted out of the huge heap of days and deeds that fed the fire? The man’s relation to God. That abides; that is recorded; that determines everything else about him. Waving forests that once had sunshine pouring down on their green fronds are represented in a thin seam of coal. Our lives will all come down to this at last. How did he stand towards God and His will is the final question that will be asked about each of us, and the answer to it is the only thing that concerns the dead-or the living either. Men write voluminous biographies of each other. How little their judgments matter to the dead men! Praise or blame are equally indifferent to them. But what matters is, whether God will have to record of us what is recorded of these two wretched kings, or whether He will recognise that the main drift of our poor lives was to serve Him and do His will. He was a great scholar; he made a huge fortune; he rose to be a peer; she was a noted beauty, a leader of fashion, a queen of society-what will all such epitaphs be worth, if God’s finger carves silently below them, ‘He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord’?
Another lesson from these two reigns is the certain widening of the smallest departure from God. Jeroboam professed to retain the worship of Jehovah, and to introduce only a small alteration in setting up a symbol of Him. He would vehemently have asserted that he was no idolater, and would have shuddered at the very notion of bowing down to the gods of the nations, but in less than fifty years a temple to the Sidonian Baal rose in Samaria, and his worship, with its foul sensuality, was corrupting all Israel. However acute the angle of departure, the line has only to be prolonged, and the distance between it and that from which it diverged will be the distance between heaven and hell, Let no one say: ‘Thus far and no farther will I go.’ There is no stopping at will on that course, any more than a man sliding down a steeply sloping sheet of smooth ice can pull himself up before he plunges over the edge into the abyss below. That is true as to all departures from God and His law, but it is eminently true as to every tampering with the spirituality of worship. Jeroboam’s symbolism led straight to Ahab’s unblushing pagan worship of the hideous Sidonian Baal. The craving for symbolical and sensuous accessories of worship, which is strong in most Churches in this aesthetic generation, is perilous. Material aids to worship there must be, so long as we are in the flesh, but the fewer and simpler they are the better, for they are aids which very swiftly become hindrances.
Another lesson from Ahab’s reign is the need of detachment from entangling alliances, if we would keep ourselves right with God. It was Israel’s calling to be separate from the nations. It was Israel’s temptation either to mix with them, or to keep aloof from them in contempt and hatred. Ahab’s marriage with Jezebel was, no doubt, thought by his father a clever stroke of policy, assuring them of an ally. But it flooded the nation with the cruel and lustful cult of Baal, and that finally ruined Ahab and his house. God’s servants can never mingle themselves with His enemies without harm, unless they mingle with them for the purpose of turning them into His servants. If we prefer the company of those who do not love Jesus, our love to Him must be faint, and will soon be fainter. If Ahab takes Jezebel for his wife, Ahab will soon take Jezebel’s foul god for his god.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
thirty and first year. He reigned twelve years (833-821), and yet in 1Ki 16:29 Ahab began in the thirty-eighth year of Asa. Omri began to reign de jure when he slew Zimri, in the twentyseventh year of Asa; but only de facto on the death of Tibni the usurper.
six years. Beginning in Asa’s thirty-first and ending in Asa’s thirty-eighth (1Ki 16:29).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
am 3079-3086, bc 925-918
the thirty: As it is stated in 1Ki 16:10, and 1Ki 16:15, that Zimri began to reign in the 27th year of Asa; and as he reigned only seven days, and Omri immediately succeeded him, this could not be the 31st, but in the 27th year of Asa. Jarchi, from Sedar Olam, reconciles this, by stating that Tibni and Omri began to reign jointly in the 27th year of Asa; and that Tibni dying about five years afterwards, Omri began to reign alone in the 31st year of Asa. 2Ch 22:2
twelve years: 1Ki 16:8, 1Ki 16:29
Reciprocal: Jos 12:24 – Tirzah 1Ki 14:17 – Tirzah
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 16:23. Began Omri to reign twelve years That is, and he reigned twelve years: not from this thirty-first year of Asa, for he died in his thirty- eighth year, (1Ki 16:29,) but from the beginning of his reign, which was in Asas twenty-seventh year, 1Ki 16:15-16. So he reigned four years in a state of war with Tibni, and eight peaceably.