Omri (, ‘Omrī; Ḫûmrî ḫu-um-ri-i; fl. 9th century BCE) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the sixth king of Israel. He was a successful military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of Israel. Other monarchs from the House of Omri are Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, and Athaliah.[For a discussion about whether Athaliah was actually the daughter of Omri or of Omri's son Ahab, see ] Like his predecessor, king Zimri, who ruled for only seven days, Omri is the second king mentioned in the Bible without a statement of his tribal origin. One possibility, though unproven, is that he was of the tribe of Issachar.
Nothing is said in Scripture about the lineage of Omri. His name may be Amorite, Arabic, or Hebrew language in origin.[Thiel, W., "Omri", The Anchor Bible Dictionary, p. 17, vol. 5, D.N. Freedman (ed.). New York: Doubleday (1992)] Omri is credited with the construction of Samaria and establishing it as his capital. Although the Bible is silent about other actions taken during his reign, he is described as doing more evil than all the kings who preceded him.[ (Lemche-Thompson hypothesis)]
Extrabiblical sources such as the Mesha Stele and the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III also mention his name; however, in the case of the Black Obelisk the reference is to the Omrides rather than to Omri himself. Many scholars consider Omri the first truly historical figure in the Bible, though this is debated.
Name
The name "Omri" itself is puzzling to scholars. Its etymology is uncertain, and theories have proposed an origin in several Semitic languages.
In the Hebrew Bible, the name "Omri" appears three times outside of references to the king, first to denote a son of Becher, the second of
Benjamin's ten sons,
[1 Chronicles 7:8] second to denote a descendant of Perez, son of Judah,
[1 Chron. 9:4] and finally to denote a prince of the tribe of Issachar,
[1 Chron. 27:18] seemingly suggesting an Israelite origin for the name. Likewise, that
Tel Jezreel was the site of Omri's estate has been taken by some scholars as indicating that Omri had called the area home, which may imply he was a scion of the tribe of Issachar,
but this remains unproven. If Omri, and by extension his name, were indeed of Israelite provenance, a number of
Hebrew language etymologies have been proposed for
‘Omrī: including a
hypocorism of the unattested personal name
‘Omrīyyā ( "servant of
Jah"), and derivation from the verb
‘āmar () meaning "to bind, gather".
Reign
Struggle for the succession
According to the biblical narrative, Omri was "commander of the army" of
King Elah when Zimri, "commander of half the king's chariots", murdered Elah and made himself king. Instead, the troops at
Gibbethon chose Omri as king, and he led them to Tirzah where they besieged it. When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he committed suicide by shutting himself in the royal palace and setting it ablaze. He died after a reign of only seven days. Although Zimri was eliminated, "half of the people" supported
Tibni in opposition to Omri. It took Omri four years to subdue Tibni and at last proclaim himself undisputed king of Israel.
Samaria and successor
Initially, the capital was in Tirzah, which had been besieged and the royal palace had been burned down. The Jewish Encyclopedia suggests that "the associations of Tirzah were so repellent and sanguinary, and the location so poor for a capital, that Omri purchased a new site" for his residence.
This was in
Samaria, on a hill purchased from Shemer for two talents of silver, where Omri built a new capital for the kingdom. In Samaria, Omri reigned until his death and was buried there. His son
Ahab became the next king.
Date
Omri became king of Israel in the 31st year of Asa, king of Judah and reigned for 12 years, 6 years of which were in Tirzah. The biblical reference to the period of rivalry with
Tibni is from the 27th year of Asa to the 31st year.
There are several possible dates: William F. Albright has dated his reign to 876–869 BCE, E. R. Thiele offers the dates of 888 BCE to 880 BCE for his rivalry with Tibni and 880–874 BCE for his sole reign,
[Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). , 9780825438257] while Paul L. Maier affirms that it happened between 881–873 BCE.
[Paul L. Maier Josephus: The Essential Writings, 1988; Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan]
Archaeological sources
The fortress at Jezreel was situated on one of the main east–west routes through the kingdom. Hugh Williamson believes it served not only a military function, but also a political one; a very visible example of grandiose public works used as a means of social control and to assert claims of legitimacy.
[Williamson, Hugh G.M., "Tel Jezreel and the Dynasty of Omri", Palestine Exploration Quarterly 128: p. 49, (1996)]
The Moabite Mesha stele (on display in the Louvre) indicates that Omri expanded his holdings to include northern Moab east of the Jordan River. It makes reference to the oppression of Moab by "Omri King of Israel". Israel would later become identified in sources as the "House of Omri" ( Bit-Humria),[James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3rd ed.; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969) 283. ] with the term "Israel" being used less and less as history progressed (the other defining term for "Israel" is "Samaria", beginning in the reign of Joash)..
The Assyrian Black Obelisk in the British Museum has been interpreted as referring to Jehu "son of Omri", though that interpretation has been questioned, in favor of the reading "Omride".[McCarter, P. Kyle " 'Yaw, Son of Omri': A Philological Note on Israelite Chronology." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 216 (Dec. 1974), pp. 5–7.]
The Omride Dynasty
The
Omrides constituted a new chapter in the history of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It ended almost fifty years of constant civil war over the throne. There was peace with the Kingdom of Judah to the south, and even cooperation between the two rival states, while relations with neighboring
Sidon to the north were bolstered by marriages negotiated between the two royal courts. This state of peace with two powerful neighbors enabled the Kingdom of Israel to expand its influence and even political control in Transjordan, and these factors combined brought economic prosperity to the kingdom.
On the other hand, peace with Sidon also resulted in the penetration of religious ideas into the kingdom and led to a Culture war between traditionalists (as personified by the prophet Elijah and his followers) and the aristocracy (as personified by Omri's son and heir Ahab and his consort Jezebel). In foreign affairs, this period paralleled the rise of the Kingdom of Aram based in Damascus, and Israel soon found itself at war in the northeast. Most threatening, however, was the ascendancy of Assyria, which was beginning to expand westward from Mesopotamia: the Battle of Qarqar (853 BCE), which pitted Shalmaneser III of Assyria against a coalition of local kings, including Ahab, was the first clash between Assyria and Israel. It was the first in a series of wars that would eventually lead to the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE and the reduction of the Kingdom of Judah to an Assyrian tributary state.
In 841 BCE, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III campaigned along the Mediterranean coast and forced Jehu to pay tribute. Assyrian kings frequently referred to Omri's successors as belonging to the "House of Omri" ( Bit Hu-um-ri-a).
See also
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History of ancient Israel and Judah
-
List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources
