1 Kings 16:16-28 NASB

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:21

Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: halt of the people followed [lit; was after . Same expression 2 Samuel 2:10 ; cf. 1 Kings 1:7 ] Tibni the son of Ginath [Who he was, or why he was set up in opposition to Omri, it is impossible to say. It has been supposed that the army was divided in its preferences, and that part of the soldiery wished to make Tibni king, and this is perhaps the most probable conjecture. It is to be considered that the entire army was not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:21-34

Change without improvement. I. OMRI 'S INDEBTEDNESS TO DIVINE GOODNESS . 1 . His success against Zimri ( 1 Kings 16:15-25 ). The traitor fell before him almost without a struggle. 2 . Against Tibni . Israel was equally divided, yet his life was preserved and the kingdom given to him. Men pass up to place and means and influence through a pathway which, if it is only looked back upon and considered, is full of power to touch the heart and bow it under the will of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:22

But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath [It appears, however, from the following verse that the struggle lasted four years]: so Tibni died [According to Jos; Ant. 8.12. § 5, he was slain by the conqueror. The LXX . has here a curious and probably genuine addition. "And Thabni died, and Joram his brother at that time ] , and Omri reigned. [The jingle of the Hebrew words is probably designed.] The Reign of Omri . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:23

In the thirty and first year of Asa, king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years [As Omri was proclaimed king in the twenty-seventh and died in the thirty-eighth year of Asa (cf. 1 Kings 16:15 , 1 Kings 16:29 ), he cannot in any case have reigned twelve full years; whereas if his reign is to be dated, as it is here, from the thirty-first year of Asa, it is obvious that he would only have reigned seven, or, according to the Jewish mode of reckoning, eight years.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:23-28

Omri's Reign. After a four years' contest with Tibni, the son of Ginath, for the crown of Israel, the followers of Omri prevailed over the adherents of his rival. The issue, then, was that "Tibni died and Omri reigned." Whether Tibni died in battle, or whether, when his followers were overcome, he was taken and put to death, is not written; but the record illustrates how in the revolutions of the wheel of fortune the fall of one makes way for the rise of another. Let us now view this new... read more

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

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:21

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:21-34

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:22

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:23

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 16:23-28

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