Bible Strands
1 Kings 16:12
So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, according to the word that the LORD had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Zimri executes a royal purge immediately after seizing the throne, eliminating Baasha’s entire lineage. The narrative frames this coup as the direct fulfillment of a prior prophetic declaration.
The words — The text highlights וַיַּשְמֵד (va-yashmed), meaning "he destroyed," and כִּדְבַר יְהוָה (ki-devar Yahweh), meaning "according to the word of the LORD." These terms record the violent act as occurring under divine authorization rather than spontaneous political ambition.
The thread — This fulfillment echoes 1 Kings 16:1 and 1 Kings 16:3, where Jehu announces God’s judgment on Baasha’s house, and aligns with the pattern of prophetic words executing in 1 Kings 14:18.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that historical violence operates within the boundaries of divine declaration. Readers must account for how prophetic words govern political outcomes without excusing the moral weight of the perpetrators.
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
Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 16:1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying:
- 1 Kings 14:18 And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.
- 1 Kings 16:3 So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:
- 1 Kings 16:7 Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.
- 2 Kings 14:25 This Jeroboam restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word that the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher.
- 2 Chronicles 10:15 So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from God, in order that the LORD might fulfill the word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
- Proverbs 26:6 Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.