Bible Strands
1 Kings 16:6
And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the conclusion of Baasha’s reign immediately after referencing the royal chronicles. This statement functions as a dynastic transition marking the end of Baasha’s rule and the immediate accession of his son.
The words — וַ/יִּשְׁכַּב (va/i.yish.Kav) literally means “and he lay down,” operating as the narrative idiom for death. אֵלָה ('e.Lah) identifies the successor who assumes the throne in his father’s place.
The thread — The burial formula and royal succession pattern recur in 1 Kings 14:20 for Jeroboam and 1 Kings 15:21 regarding Tirzah as the administrative center. The city’s role as a royal seat appears earlier in 1 Kings 14:17 during Jeroboam’s household narrative.
Why it lands — The text records a political transition without commentary, leaving the reader to observe the factual closure before encountering the prophetic indictment in the surrounding verses. It requires the reader to track the mechanical reality of succession alongside the theological judgment recorded in the same chapter.
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
So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 14:17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and departed for Tirzah, and as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died.
- 1 Kings 15:21 When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.
- 1 Kings 14:20 And the length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years, and he rested with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.
- 1 Kings 15:25 In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years.
- 1 Kings 16:8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
- 1 Kings 16:13 This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.