Omri

Omri (Hebrew עָמְרִי, Standard Hebrew ʿOmri, Tiberian Hebrew ʿOmr?; short for Hebrew עָמְרִיָּה "The LORD is my life", Standard Hebrew ʿOmriyya, Tiberian Hebrew ʿOmriyyāh) was king of Israel and father of Ahab. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 876 BC-869 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 885 BC-874 BC. He was "commander of the army" for Elah when Zimri slew Elah and made himself king. The troops at Gibbethon chose instead to elect Omri as king, and he led them to Tirzah where they trapped Zimri in the royal palace, and where Zimri died (1 Kings 16:15-19).

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Although Zimri was eliminated, "half of the people" supported Tibni in opposition to Omri. It took Omri some years to subdue Tibni and at last proclaim himself undisputed king of Israel in the 21st year of Asa, king of Judah (1 Kings 16:21-23).

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Because Omri was not a devout follower of Yahweh, the writer of the Book of Kings minimized his accomplishments. While the writer acknowledges Omri built his new capital Samaria on a hill he bought from Shemer (16:24), he omits any mention of the widespread public construction both Omri and his son Ahab commissioned during their reigns. Israel Finkelstein and his student Norma Franklin have identified monumental construction at Samaria, Jezreel, Megiddo and Hazor similar in design and build, including twelve sets of mason marks shared between the archaeological sites.

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Omri's rule over Israel was secure enough that he could bequeath his kingdom to Ahab, thus beginning a new dynasty (sometimes called the Omrides), and his descendants not only ruled over the kingdom of Israel for the next forty years, but also briefly over Judah. He was significant enough that his name is mentioned on a stele erected by Mesha, king of Moab, who records his victory over a son of Omri -- but omits the son's name. Thomas Thompson (The Bible in History), however, interprets the Mesha stele as sugesting that Omri is an eponym, or legendary founder of the kingdom rather than an historical person.

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Omri related Images and Photos (experimental)

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