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Person

Omri

king of Israel

Military commander who became Israel's sixth king, founded the city of Samaria, and established the dynasty to which Ahab belonged.

11 appearances2 Bible books2 known aliases

Who or what is this?

Omri was a military commander who came to the throne of Israel after a period of civil war following the assassination of King Elah by Zimri. When Zimri seized power, the army proclaimed Omri king instead; Zimri reigned only seven days before burning the palace down over himself when Omri's forces took the capital Tirzah (1 Kgs 16:15–23). Omri then bought the hill of and built a new capital city there. Despite the brevity of his account in Kings, where he is condemned for surpassing all before him in evil, Omri's dynasty — including his son — shaped the northern kingdom for decades, and inscriptions continued to call Israel "the house of Omri" long after his dynasty ended.

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All appearances11