Bible Strands
1 Kings 16:4
Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God pronounces judgment on Baasha’s dynasty through a prophetic oracle. The decree addresses the fate of Baasha’s household during a period of shifting royal power in Israel.
The words — יֹֽאכְל֖וּ (yo.khe.Lu) means they will devour, and הַ/כְּלָבִ֑ים (ha./ke.la.Vim) means the dogs. These terms establish a specific, unclean fate for the dead.
The thread — This judgment formula repeats for Jeroboam’s house in 1 Kings 14:11 and Ahab’s house in 1 Kings 21:24. The pattern links royal apostasy to a consistent divine penalty.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that leadership carries irreversible accountability. It requires readers to take prophetic declarations as binding historical reality rather than metaphorical warnings.
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
Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 14:11 Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’ For the LORD has spoken.
- 1 Kings 21:24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”