1 Kings 16:23
In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.
The verse dates Omri's sole rule over all Israel to the thirty-first year of Asa, after four years of divided rule with Tibni, making him Israel's sixth king and founder of its third dynasty. He reigned twelve years in all, six of them in Tirzah, then bought the hill from Shemer for two talents of silver and built Samaria upon it to be the lasting capital of the ten tribes. His reign was strong but wicked, judged by his walking in the evil way of Jeroboam in worship of the golden calves rather than by his other achievements. It prepared the climax of apostasy under his son Ahab, who with Jezebel promoted Baal worship, and so introduces the setting for Elijah's extraordinary work and the decisive conflict between the Lord and Baal. The short biblical account is corroborated by the Moabite Stone, whose record of Omri's conquest of Moab, the tribute he exacted, and the forty years his house held Medeba agrees with biblical chronology and supports the Bible's historical reliability.
Omri's Accession and Reign
In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah Omri began to reign over the whole kingdom of Israel, reckoned as the fiftieth year of the divided kingdom, about 925 B.C., four years after he was first elected king. Omri was Israel's sixth king and founder of its third dynasty, who contested the throne with Tibni for four years while holding the capital and the army, and reigned alone after Tibni died. As captain of Israel's host and the strongest influence among the ten tribes, he became king when he rose against the traitor Zimri and slew him after Zimri had reigned only seven days, and the opposition to his rule for a little time was soon crushed.
His reign belongs in the succession after the division of the kingdom into Judah and Israel, in the line of Nadab of two years, Baasha of twenty-four years, Elah of two years, Zimri of seven days, Omri, and the wicked Ahab, while Abijah and Asa reigned in Judah. He followed the house of Baasha, which lasted only two generations. He was the founder of Ahab's dynasty, not Jehu's father; when Shalmaneser's monument calls Jehu son of Omri, it errs about Jehu's parentage and does not contradict the biblical succession of kings.
The reign over Israel lasted twelve years, with six years reigned in Tirzah. After those six years in Tirzah, he bought a hill from Shemer, built a city on it, and named it Samaria after Shemer. He made Samaria the capital of Israel, and it remained the capital while the ten tribes continued as a kingdom. He was the builder of Samaria, and his building of the city stands as the chief outward deed noted in the severely condensed record of his reign.
Leaving the royal seat at Shechem because of its associations and to add luster and strength to his own reign, he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built the city there for the royal capital. The hill stands almost on the eastern border of the great plain of Sharon stretching westward to the Mediterranean Sea, six miles north of Shechem, a natural stronghold, and the city ever increased in grandeur and beauty. Tirzah remained Israel's capital until Ahab moved the capital to Samaria.
Apostasy and Historical Witness
1 Kings 16:23 belongs to the history of Israel's kings after the ten tribes separated from Judah, within the account of the two kingdoms and their kings and the extraordinary ministry of Elijah. It stands in the line of Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and the wicked Ahab, while Abijah and Asa reigned in Judah, in a time of war and strife between the two divisions. The chapter records how Israel's kings led the nation away from worship of God toward idolatry, showing the gradual downfall of Israel. It proves that righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.
The verse places Omri's reign before the reign of his son Ahab, whose rule marks the climax of Israel's apostasy. Omri and Ahab both walked in the way of Jeroboam but in greater degree, and each did worse than any of his predecessors. Omri's reign was strong but wicked, continuing the worship of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam. Its biblical record is severely condensed, noting that he built Samaria and summing up his rule by his following Jeroboam's evil way, because his reign is judged by his relation to God, not by its other events or achievements.
The verse introduces the setting for Elijah's ministry and his extraordinary work, which occupies the rest of 1 Kings. Omri is the head of the house from which the wicked Ahab sprang, and his reign leads into the work of the prophet Elijah, a narrative both interesting and instructive especially for these days. Elijah lived during the reign of the weak king Ahab, who was dominated by his idolatrous wife Jezebel, who promoted Baal worship and led Israel into idolatry and disobedience to God's commandments. The period is the great apostasy in the days of Elijah, a turning point in Jewish history when the conflict between the Lord and Baal was decisively fought out, with great consequences for God's people and their faith. Even then there was a faithful remnant who answered God's call through His prophet.
The short biblical account of Omri's reign is corroborated by the Moabite Stone, which provides additional historical information about Omri and his successors including Ahab. Its forty-year period for Omri and his descendants' possession of Medeba agrees with the biblical chronology. Its history of Omri's conquest of Moab and the tribute he exacted, and of Moab's revolt and recovery of independence after Ahab's death, agrees with the Bible and supports the Bible's historical reliability.