Bible Strands
1 Kings 16:16
and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had conspired against the king and struck him down. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports the Israelite troops encamped at Gibbethon learning of Zimri's assassination of the king. The moment occurs on the same day Zimri's seven-day reign ends, as the army immediately transfers its allegiance to the commander Omri.
The words — קָשַׁר (qashar) means "he conspired" or "formed a plot," and הִכָּה (hikkah) means "he struck down" or "killed." These verbs directly describe Zimri's violent usurpation of the throne.
The thread — The military acclamation of Omri here establishes the Omride dynasty that later produces Ahab (1 Kings 16:30), while the pattern of troops replacing a king reflects the broader divided monarchy succession crises.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to observe that political legitimacy in this period derives from camp loyalty and military command rather than hereditary right, demanding a clear tracking of how power shifts through force.
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 the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 16:30 However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
- 2 Kings 8:26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 22:2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
- Micah 6:16 You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”