1 Kings 16:9
in 1 Kings 16However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah:
KJV
And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The conspiracy of Zimri - Elah’s “servant” (i. e., “subject”) - was favored by his position, which probably gave him military authority in the city, by the absence of a great part of the people and of the officers who might have checked him, at Gibbethon 1Ki 16:15, and by the despicable character of Elah, who, instead of going up to the war, was continually reminding men of his low origin by conduct unworthy of royalty. Steward - The office was evidently one of considerable importance. In Solomon’s court it gave the rank of שׂר śar, prince.
This site's exposition
Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel
on 1 Kings 16:8-10
Elah reigns two years and dies drunk in the house of Arza his steward, while the army sits at the siege of Gibbethon. Zimri, “the commander of half his chariots”, kills him there. Nadab reigned two years, Elah two, and Zimri will reign seven days, each reign ending in blood.
This site's exposition
the steward of his household
Albert Barnes notes that the steward over the household held high rank, and in the court of Solomon that officer bore the title of prince. Barnes reads the chariot command of Zimri in Tirzah as his opening, with the troops away at Gibbethon. Elah had stayed home from the war.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Finding them in the act of sin, and incapacitated for any act of devotion, that day comes upon them unawares ( Luke xxi. As then, so now, the whole family was cut off, and rooted out. The traitor was the successor, to whom the unthinking people tamely submitted, as if it were all one to them what kind they had, so that they had one.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Zimri . . . conspired against him--"Arza which was over his house." During a carousal in the house of his chamberlain, Zimri slew him, and having seized the sovereignty, endeavored to consolidate his throne by the massacre of all the royal race.
Captain of half his chariots - It is probable that Zimri, and some other who is not here named, were commanders of the cavalry.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְשֹׁ֤ר | vaiyikshor | and he conspired | H7194 → | 44 times |
| עָלָיו֙ | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַבְדּ֣וֹ | avdo | servant his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| זִמְרִ֔י | zimri | Zimri | H2174 → | 15 times |
| שַׂ֖ר | sar | [the] commander of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| מַחֲצִ֣ית | machatzit | <the> half of | H4276 → | |
| הָרָ֑כֶב | harakhev | the chariotry | H7393 → | 119 times |
| וְה֤וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בְתִרְצָה֙ | vetirtzah | in Tirzah | H8656 → | 18 times |
| שֹׁתֶ֣ה | shoteh | [was] drinking | H8354 → | 217 times |
| שִׁכּ֔וֹר | shikor | drunken | H7910 → | |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אַרְצָ֔א | ʾartza' | Arza | H777 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַבַּ֖יִת | habayit | the household | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| בְּתִרְצָֽה׃ | betirtzah | in Tirzah | H8656 → | 18 times |
וַיִּקְשֹׁ֤רand he conspired
vaiyikshorH7194 →44 times
עָלָיו֙on him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
עַבְדּ֣וֹservant his
avdoH5650 →799 times
זִמְרִ֔יZimri
zimriH2174 →15 times
שַׂ֖ר[the] commander of
sarH8269 →421 times
מַחֲצִ֣ית<the> half of
machatzitH4276 →
הָרָ֑כֶבthe chariotry
harakhevH7393 →119 times
וְה֤וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
בְתִרְצָה֙in Tirzah
vetirtzahH8656 →18 times
שֹׁתֶ֣ה[was] drinking
shotehH8354 →217 times
שִׁכּ֔וֹרdrunken
shikorH7910 →
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אַרְצָ֔אArza
ʾartza'H777 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[was] over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַבַּ֖יִתthe household
habayitH1004 →2046 times
בְּתִרְצָֽה׃in Tirzah
betirtzahH8656 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 24:2So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
it leads to
- Genesis 47:29
When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise…
- Genesis 39:4–6
Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.
- Genesis 15:2
But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- Genesis 47:29
Through
Genesis 39:4Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.
it leads to
- Genesis 39:21–22
the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
- Genesis 19:19
Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I…
- Genesis 24:2
So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- Genesis 39:8
But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care.
- Genesis 39:21–22
Through
1 Kings 18:3and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
it leads to
- Nehemiah 7:2
Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
- Nehemiah 7:2
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.