Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Kings 16:21-28
The Reign Of Omri King of Israel c. 884-872 BC. (1 Kings 16:21).
We now come to the reign of one of Israel's greatest kings humanly speaking, even though from the divine viewpoint he was a disaster. You would not, however, gather his greatness from the narrative (but see note below). For to the prophetic author of Kings Omri was an irrelevance because all he did was deepen the sin of Jeroboam, and take it a step further into pure Baalism. Thus all his greatness counted for nothing in the eyes of YHWH.
His reign began with civil war as Tibni, the son of Ginath, vied with him for the kingship. We are told nothing of Omri's antecedents, which suggests that he was of humble birth and had worked his way up simply by his abilities. Tibni may well therefore have represented the aristocratic and landed classes of Israel who were seeking to prevent the upstart from taking the throne. Even Omri's name was possibly not Israelite, although some see it as being a shortening of ‘Omri-yahu' (YHWH is my life) or ‘Omri-baal (‘Baal gives me life' - many Israelite names contained the name of Baal seeing it as signifying ‘Lord' and therefore as referring to YHWH e.g. Ish-baal, Meri-baal the descendants of Saul), and the fact that he was appointed by ‘all Israel' (i.e. his men) suggests that he himself must have been seen as an Israelite,, He was possibly part Israelite, part Canaanite.
It took a few years for the civil war to be decided, but almost inevitably, because of his superior military skill, Omri was victorious, and the result was that ‘Tibni died'. Omri then proceeded not only to support the false religion of Jeroboam but to ‘deal wickedly above all who were before him'. Indeed he may well have been part Canaanite himself which would explain why he took things to excess. The one noteworthy thing that the author records about him was that he founded Samaria as Israel's capital city. That was so noteworthy an achievement that it had to be recorded, not only because Samaria became a famous city, but also because it finally gave its name to Israel. But there was a darker side to the picture. For Samaria became a centre for the worship of Baal.
Analysis.
a Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts, half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri, but the people who followed Omri prevailed against the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri reigned (1 Kings 16:21).
b In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah Omri began to reign over Israel, and reigned twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirzah, and he bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, Samaria (1 Kings 16:23).
c And Omri did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, and dealt wickedly above all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins by which he made Israel to sin, to provoke YHWH, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. (1 Kings 16:25).
b Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (1 Kings 16:27).
a So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned instead of him (1 Kings 16:28).
Note that in ‘a' Omri finally obtained the kingship, and in the parallel he passed it on to his son. In ‘b' some slight information is given concerning his reign and in the parallel we are referred to the official annals of the kings of Israel for more detail. Centrally in ‘c' we learn that Omri outdid all who were before him for wickedness.
‘ Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts, half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. But the people who followed Omri prevailed against the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri reigned.'
The record of the civil war is brief but Tibni was successful enough for Omri not to be reckoned as king for three or four years. (He began to reign in the thirty first year of Asa, whilst Elah died in the twenty seventh). In the end, however, superior military ability succeeded and Omri became king. The laconic ‘so Tibni died' speaks volumes.
1 Kings 16:23 a ‘In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah Omri began to reign over Israel, and reigned twelve years.'
The twelve years of Omri's reign (and six years of his ruling in Tirzah) includes the period of the civil war. Thus once that war was over and he had settled into the kingship he began to look around for a new capital.
1 Kings 16:23 ‘He reigned six years in Tirzah, and he bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, Samaria.'
Having finally defeated Tibni Omri settled in Tirzah. But he was not satisfied with Tirzah. He had discovered earlier that it was not easily defendable. So he looked around for a better site for his capital city. This he found in ‘the hill of Samaria' (Shemer's hill) which he bought from Shemer for two talents of silver. And he built a fortified city on that hill and called it ‘Samaria' after the name of the previous owner of the hill (which may well have been part of the sale agreement). Then he transferred to Samaria and rule from there for his final six years.
Omri may have had a number of reasons for his change of city:
1). That he wanted a city which belonged to him (as the city of David belonged to David) and would establish his name. He could then have a new beginning and decide who lived in it.
2). That he wanted a strong and invulnerable city which would stand the test of time. He had cause to know that Tirzah was vulnerable to attack, and as an experienced general recognised the potential of a city built on the hill of Samaria. It would certainly prove a tough nut to crack (1 Kings 20:1; 2 Kings 6:24; 2 Kings 18:9).
3). That he wanted a city where he could introduce his own ideas of worship along Canaanite ideas (compare 1 Kings 16:32). This would explain why he was seen as wicked above all who were before him.
4). That he wanted a city more open to the trade routes with Tyre and Sidon.
5). That he wanted a city around which all Israel could rally without it reminding them of the past. They would see it as ‘Omri's city'.
Archaeology confirms that the Samaria built at the time of Omri was on a virgin site, and that it partly succeeded in its purpose comes out in that he was the first king of Israel to establish a dynasty that actually continued.
Note on The Greatness Of Omri.
In some ways it spoils the prophetic author's purpose to outline the greatness of Omri, for his purpose was to indicate that (religiously speaking) Omri was a disaster. With all his greatness he was a nothing. The book of Kings is not written to man's glory but to God's glory, and as far as the author was concerned Omri was a bad lot. He was simply the builder of Samaria and part of the reason for the final destruction of Samaria. But in view of the probable historical interest of the reader we will consider what we know from external sources about Omri.
1). Israel was known in Assyrian annals for centuries as ‘Bit-Humri'. the house of Omri, and their kings as ‘the son of Humri' (even when they were not). From their spies and political contacts Assyria had clearly been impressed with the power and effectiveness of Omri (although of course his founding of Samaria might have contributed to his fame), and saw him as someone to be reckoned with and treated with respect.
2). We know from the Moabite Stone that he ‘humbled -- and occupied the land of Medaba' and built fortresses at Ataroth and Yahez. As a result northern Moab would be subject to Israel for the next forty years.
And we must remember that these two examples are simply two ‘accidental' pieces of information. Without the external inscriptions we would never have known of them. We may yet discover more of his exploits if other inscriptions are found in the surrounding nations. And all this, we should note, was after recovering from a cruel and extended civil war.
3). He also married his son Ahab to a princess of the Sidonians, presumably with a view to it sealing a treaty relationship with that important centre.
End of note.
‘ And Omri did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, and dealt wickedly above all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins by which he made Israel to sin, to provoke YHWH, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.'
This was what was important to the prophetic author, that Omri added to the antagonism towards true Yahwism, and that in this regard he was worse than ‘all who were before him' including Jeroboam. This might confirm that he was half-Canaanite, for Samaria lacked any pointer to the worship of YHWH, while his son Ahab would build a Temple of Baal there (1 Kings 16:32), and would be married to a princess of the Sidonians who would seek to encourage Baalism (1 Kings 16:31). In other words just as Jerusalem was the centre for the worship of YHWH, so Samaria became the centre for the worship of Baal. This would shortly lead to Yahwism's lowest point in Israel, a position from which it would be partially rescued by Elijah and Elisha.
‘ Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?'
As for the remainder of his acts, they were of no interest to the prophetic author, for they were merely concerned with secular affairs and therefore not important. Anyone interested could consult the official annals of the kings of Israel.
‘ So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned instead of him.'
And having lived his evil life Omri died peacefully and was buried in Samaria, having added his contribution towards the downward path of Israel, and Ahab his son reigned instead of him.