1 Kings 16:4
in 1 Kings 16Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the field shall the birds of the heavens eat.
KJV
Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.
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This verse in 1 Kings 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHim that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. They should not have burial, which is just the same that was threatened to and executed on Jeroboam's family, 1Ki 14:11.
This site's exposition
like the house of Jeroboam
on 1 Kings 16:3-4
The sentence itself, thy house like the house of Jeroboam, sends Baasha's own line back to the fate his hands carried out on Jeroboam's line at 15:29. The dogs and fowls formula against Baasha's house is this chain's second link, following Jeroboam's house at 14:11 and preceding Ahab and Jezebel's at 21:19 through 21:24, the same sentence falling on three dynasties before the book turns south. No burial was the ancient world's severest dishonor, and the text simply states the terms rather than describing the horror.
This site's exposition
will be eaten by dogs
Baasha had carried out this same sentence on the family of Jeroboam, and now it returns on his own house. Matthew Henry sets beside it Hosea 1:4, where the house of Jehu is punished for the bloodshed of Jezreel. The one who executes a judgment stays under it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, therefore, I will consume the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, Those who resemble others in their sins may expect to resemble them in their plagues, especially those who seem zealous against such sins in others as they allow themselves in; the house of Jehu was reckoned with for the blood of the house of Ahab, Hos. i.
Thus he often visits sin. Observe, Baasha is punished by the destruction of his children after his death, and his children are punished by the abuse of their bodies after their death; that is the only thing which the threatening specifies (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Baasha's son Elah, like Jeroboam's son Nadab, reigned two years, and then was slain by Zimri, one of his own soldiers, as Nadab was by Baasha; so like was his house made to that of Jeroboam, as was threatened,
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַמֵּ֤ת | hamet | the [one who] dies | H4191 → | 839 times |
| לְבַעְשָׁא֙ | leva'sha' | of Baasha | H1201 → | 28 times |
| בָּעִ֔יר | bair | in the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יֹֽאכְל֖וּ | yokhelu | they will devour | H398 → | 810 times |
| הַכְּלָבִ֑ים | hakelavim | the dogs | H3611 → | 32 times |
| וְהַמֵּ֥ת | vehamet | and the [one who] dies | H4191 → | 839 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | of him | ||
| בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה | basadeh | in the open country | H7704 → | 334 times |
| יֹאכְל֖וּ | yokhelu | they will devour | H398 → | 810 times |
| ע֥וֹף | of | [the] bird[s] of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
הַמֵּ֤תthe [one who] dies
hametH4191 →839 times
לְבַעְשָׁא֙of Baasha
leva'sha'H1201 →28 times
בָּעִ֔ירin the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
יֹֽאכְל֖וּthey will devour
yokheluH398 →810 times
הַכְּלָבִ֑יםthe dogs
hakelavimH3611 →32 times
וְהַמֵּ֥תand the [one who] dies
vehametH4191 →839 times
לוֹ֙of him
lo
בַּשָּׂדֶ֔הin the open country
basadehH7704 →334 times
יֹאכְל֖וּthey will devour
yokheluH398 →810 times
ע֥וֹף[the] bird[s] of
ofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 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
1 Kings 21:24Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 15:3
I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and beasts of the earth to devour…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 14:11
Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’ For the LORD has…
- Ezekiel 32:4–5
I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth…
- Isaiah 14:19
But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch, covered by those slain with the sword, and dumped into a rocky pit like a carcass trampled underfoot.
- Ezekiel 39:18–20
You will eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Bashan.
- Jeremiah 15:3
Through
1 Kings 14:11Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’ For the LORD has…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:23–24
And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
- Revelation 19:17–18
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
- Isaiah 66:24
“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a…
- 1 Kings 21:23–24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Rabanus Maurus, COMMENTARY ON THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS 15.