1 Kings 16:23-34
16:23 a Omri ... reigned twelve years in all: Omri’s son Ahab succeeded him in the seventh year of his reign (cp. 16:29 b), so Omri’s twelve-year rule likely includes about four years of co-regency with Ahab.16:24 c Omri founded the city of Samaria and relocated the capital there from Tirzah. Samaria was the capital of Israel until its fall in 722 BC. This site provided Israel with a centrally located and militarily defensible hill in the northern kingdom, and allowed oversight of the trade routes below. Omri enjoyed his new capital for only six years before his death (16:28 d).
Summary for 1Kgs 16:25-26: 16:25-26 e evil: As in the transition from the first to the second dynasties (15:33-34 f), the new dynastic change did not improve Israel’s spiritual climate.
Summary for 1Kgs 16:27-28: 16:27-28 g the extent of his power: Although mentioned only briefly in the Old Testament, Omri was well known to his contemporaries in surrounding lands. According to the Moabite Stone (Mesha Stela), Omri conquered the territory north of the Arnon River in Moab. Assyrian kings affirmed his importance by calling Israel the “House of Omri.” If, as was common in the ancient Near East, Omri arranged the marriage of his son Ahab to Jezebel (the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon, 16:31 h), he may have enjoyed further political and commercial recognition.
Summary for 1Kgs 16:31-33: 16:31-33 i The spiritual evaluation of Ahab is the worst yet among the kings of Israel. Later, Ahab’s evil behavior was attributed to his being “under the influence of his wife Jezebel” (21:25 j). Ahab and Jezebel propagated Canaanite worship rites, leading Israel further from the Lord. Added to Jeroboam’s false worship system, these sins eventually spelled disaster for Israel.
16:34 k Despite Joshua’s curse against Jericho (Josh 6:26-27 l), the site was occasionally and temporarily occupied prior to being rebuilt by Hiel (see Judg 3:13 m; 2 Sam 10:5 n; 1 Chr 19:5 o), as archaeological excavations confirm. Hiel’s efforts signify the spiritual defection of Israel.
• When he laid its foundation ... Segub: The Targum (an interpretive Aramaic translation for Jews who did not know Hebrew after the Exile) suggests that Hiel sacrificed his sons as foundation offerings according to pagan practices; others understand the deaths to be from disease or accident. The sentence might be a Hebrew merism (using boundaries to indicate everything in between), which would imply that all of Hiel’s sons died.
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