1 Kings 16:15-20 ASV

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:15-22

The Kingdom of Men. Though "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men," yet is He not responsible for the principles by which such kingdoms are actuated. For these are in shaking contrast to those which shall obtain in the "kingdom of God." In the kingdom of men as represented in the specimen before us we encounter— I. FOLLY . 1 . True religion is pure wisdom . 2 . False religion is supreme folly . 3 . Of such folly was the kingdom of Israel flagrantly guilty . ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:16

And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel [obviously, all the army. Cf. 1 Kings 12:1 , 1 Kings 12:16 , 1 Kings 12:18 ] made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. It was hardly likely they would submit to the usurpation of Zimri. Not only had he occupied a subordinate position, but his murder of all Elah's friends must have made him a host of enemies in the camp. It was the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:17

And Omri went up from Gibbethon ["The expression, 'went up,' accurately marks the ascent of the army from the Shephelah, where Gibbethon was situated, to the hill country of Israel, on the edge of which Tirzah stood" (Rawlinson)], and all Israel [see on 1 Kings 16:16 ] with him, and they besieged Tirzah. [It is probable that they arrived before the city on the sixth or seventh day after the assassination of Elah. This period would just allow sufficient time for the news of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:18

And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken [the meaning is probably that which Josephus gives: "When he saw that the city had none to defend it," or possibly, "when he saw that a breach was made"], that he went into the palace [ אַרְמוֹן citadel, fortress, from אָרַם altus fuit . So Gesen; Keil, Bight, al . The palace, no doubt, consisted of a string of buildings ( 1 Kings 7:2-9 ) of which this was the highest and strongest part. Ewald thinks that the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:19

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. [It is quite clear that in his reign of one week Zimri cannot have done much to show his complicity in the schism of Jeroboam, and it is probable that the sacred writer means that his character and antecedents were such as to prove that all his sympathies were with the irreligious party. Bähr thinks that he had "formerly displayed much... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:20

Now the rest of the acts of Zimri [We see here the tendency of the historian to express himself in formulae. He checks himself, however, and does not add "and all that he did," etc.], and his treason that he wrought [Heb. his conspiracy which he conspired . Though this was all there was to tell of him, yet no doubt it would be recorded at greater length by the historians of the day. We can hardly suppose that the "books of the words of the days" would dismiss so striking an event in a... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:16

All Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king - This passage of history recalls the favorite practice of the Roman armies under the Empire, which, when they heard of the assassination of an emperor at Rome, were accustomed to invest their own commander with the purple. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:17

Went up - The expression “went up” marks accurately the ascent of the army from the Shephelah, where Gibbethon was situated Joshua 19:44, to the hill country of Israel, on the edge of which Tirzah stood 1 Kings 14:17. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:18

The palace of the king’s house - The tower of the king’s house. A particular part of the palace - either the “harem,” or, more probably, the keep or citadel, a tower stronger and loftier than the rest of the palace.Zimri’s desperate act has been repeated more than once. That the last king of Assyria, the Sardanapalus of the Greeks, thus destroyed himself, is almost the only “fact” which we know concerning him. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:19

Zimri’s death illustrates the general moral which the writer of Kings draws from the whole history of the Israelite monarchs. that a curse was upon them on account of their persistence in Jeroboam’s sin, which, sooner or later, brought each royal house to a bloody end. read more

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:15-22

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:16

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:17

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:18

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:19

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:20

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:16

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:17

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:18

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 16:19

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