Bible Strands
1 Kings 16:10
So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records the event during the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, capturing the precise moment Zimri, commander of half the chariots, enters and murders the drunken King Elah to assume the throne.
The words — The Hebrew וַ/יַּכֵּ֣/הוּ (va/i.ya.Ke./hu) and וַ/יְמִיתֵ֔/הוּ (va/y.mi.Te./hu) literally translate to "and he struck down him" and "and he killed him," marking two distinct physical actions of regicide.
The thread — The chronicle explicitly ties this coup to 2 Kings 9:31, where Jezebel addresses Jehu as "Zimri, murderer of his master," using the earlier usurper as a historical label for a later king.
Why it lands — The text first states the factual sequence of the assassination and immediate succession before the narrative pattern invites the reader to recognize how political violence rapidly replaces itself in the divided monarchy.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And 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.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 9:31 And as Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, O Zimri, murderer of your master?”