1 Kings 16:21
in 1 Kings 16At that time the people of Israel were divided: Half of the people supported Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half supported Omri.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.
KJV
Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.
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This verse in 1 Kings 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThen were the people of Israel divided into two parts,.... About the succession in the kingdom: half the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king: these were the friends of Zimri, or however such who did not like that the army should impose a king upon them; who this Tibni was is not said: and half followed Omri; the general of the army, perhaps the whole of that.
This site's exposition
divided into two parts
on 1 Kings 16:21-22
Israel splits a second time, now inside its own splinter kingdom, half following Tibni the son of Ginath and half following Omri. Comparing the years given at verses 15, 23 and 29, the commentators reckon the two rivals held the field together for about four years before Omri prevailed, and the text says only that Tibni died, leaving the manner as silence rather than filling it with invention. A kingdom born from revolt against David's line now revolts against itself.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The contest between these two lasted some years, and, it is likely, cost a great deal of blood on both sides, for it was in the twenty-seventh year of Asa that Omri was first elected (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Divided into two parts - Why this division took place we cannot tell; the people appear to have been for Tibni, the army for Omri; and the latter prevailed.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֧ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| יֵחָלֵ֛ק | yechalek | it was divided | H2505 → | |
| הָעָ֥ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לַחֵ֑צִי | lachetzi | into the half | H2677 → | 125 times |
| חֲצִ֨י | chatzi | <the> half of | H2677 → | 125 times |
| הָעָ֜ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָ֠יָה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֨י | ʾacharei | behind | H310 → | 715 times |
| תִבְנִ֤י | tivni | Tibni | H8402 → | 3 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| גִּינַת֙ | ginat | Ginath | H1527 → | |
| לְהַמְלִיכ֔וֹ | lehamlikho | to make king him | H4427 → | 348 times |
| וְהַחֲצִ֖י | vehachatzi | and <the> half | H2677 → | 125 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֥י | ʾacharei | [was] behind | H310 → | 715 times |
| עָמְרִֽי׃ | ʾameri | Omri | H6018 → | 18 times |
אָ֧זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
יֵחָלֵ֛קit was divided
yechalekH2505 →
הָעָ֥םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לַחֵ֑צִיinto the half
lachetziH2677 →125 times
חֲצִ֨י<the> half of
chatziH2677 →125 times
הָעָ֜םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הָ֠יָהit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
אַחֲרֵ֨יbehind
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
תִבְנִ֤יTibni
tivniH8402 →3 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
גִּינַת֙Ginath
ginatH1527 →
לְהַמְלִיכ֔וֹto make king him
lehamlikhoH4427 →348 times
וְהַחֲצִ֖יand <the> half
vehachatziH2677 →125 times
אַחֲרֵ֥י[was] behind
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
עָמְרִֽי׃Omri
ʾameriH6018 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Isaiah 19:2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
it leads to
- Judges 7:22
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
- 1 Samuel 14:20
Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Matthew 10:21
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
- Matthew 12:25
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
- Judges 7:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.