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1 Kings 16:11

in 1 Kings 16

As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he smote all the house of Baasha: he left him not a single man-child, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.

KJV

And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.

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This verse in 1 Kings 16

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
Neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends - Zimri’s measures were of much more than ordinary severity. Not only was the royal family extirpated, but the friends of the king, his councillors and favorite officers, were put to death. Omri, as having been in the confidence of the late monarch, would naturally fear for himself, and resolve to take the course which promised him at least a chance of safety.

This site's exposition

pisseth against a wall

on 1 Kings 16:11-13

Zimri's purge leaves not one that pisseth against a wall, a coarse idiom for every male of Baasha's line, and the narrator credits the massacre directly to the word of the LORD spoken by Jehu the son of Hanani. Verse 13 sums Baasha and Elah under one word, vanities, the Hebrew term for an idol that means emptiness or breath, the same charge that opened the oracle at verse 2. Zimri carries the sentence out in full, and the text gives him no credit for the deed; his own house is next.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), none of his avengers (so the word is), none that were likely to avenge his death; yet divine justice soon avenged it so remarkably that it was used as a proverb long after, Had Zimri peace who slew his master? In this, (1.) The word of God was fulfilled,

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And it came to pass when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne,.... Perhaps the very first day, that he slew all the house of Baasha; his whole family, all the children that he had, that there might be none to make pretensions to the throne: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks nor of his friends; not any that might avenge the blood of his family, that might have a right or inclination to do it.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

He slew all the house of Baasha - He endeavored to exterminate his race, and blot out his memory; and the Jews say, when such a matter is determined, they not only destroy the house of the person himself, but the five neighboring houses, that the memory of such a person may perish from the earth.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Nor any of his relatives or friends. [Targum Yonoson rendered, “neither] his kinfolk nor his friends.” 3 Alternatively, “his friend,” singular, meaning his confidant.—Metzudas Dovid
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Kings 16:11:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיְהִ֨יand it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • בְמָלְכ֜וֹwhen became king he

    vemalekhoH4427 →348 times

  • כְּשִׁבְתּ֣וֹwhen sat he

    keshivtoH3427 →1079 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כִּסְא֗וֹthrone his

    kisoH3678 →135 times

  • הִכָּה֙he struck down

    hikahH5221 →499 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • בֵּ֣ית[the] house of

    beitH1004 →2046 times

  • בַּעְשָׁ֔אBaasha

    ba'sha'H1201 →28 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • הִשְׁאִ֥ירhe left

    hishirH7604 →133 times

  • ל֖וֹto him

    lo

  • מַשְׁתִּ֣ין[one who] urinates

    mashtinH8366 →6 times

  • בְּקִ֑ירon a wall

    bekirH7023 →75 times

  • וְגֹאֲלָ֖יוand kinsman redeemer his

    vegoalavH1350 →

  • וְרֵעֵֽהוּ׃and friend his

    vereehuH7453 →188 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Kings 21:22I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.’4 works1 Kings 15:29As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,3 works1 Samuel 25:22May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one of Nabal’s men survive until morning.”3 works1 Kings 16:3So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:3 works1 Samuel 25:34Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.”2 works1 Kings 14:10Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone!2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Judges 1:7Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.2 works2 Kings 10:11So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his great men and close friends and priests, leaving him without a single survivor.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Kings 14:10

    Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 21:21

      This is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Deuteronomy 32:36

      For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.

    • 2 Kings 14:26

      For the LORD saw that the affliction of the Israelites, both slave and free, was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel,

    • 2 Kings 9:8–9

      The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel.

  • Through

    1 Kings 16:3

    So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 14:10

      Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    1 Kings 15:29

    As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 14:9–16

      You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 25:22

    May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one of Nabal’s men survive until morning.”

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 3:17

      “What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”

    • 1 Samuel 20:13

      But if my father intends to bring evil on you, then may the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if I do not tell you and send you on your way in safety.…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 16 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.

Read on in 1 Kings 16 →