Omri
Omri was a military commander who seized the throne of Israel amid civil war and founded one of the northern kingdom's most powerful dynasties. He built the city of Samaria as his capital and made it a lasting political center, yet Scripture records that he did worse than all who preceded him, walking in the sins of Jeroboam. His son Ahab and the wider 'house of Omri' became bywords for idolatry, though Assyrian records long called Israel 'the land of Omri.'
Biography
- Occupation
- King of Israel
- Children
- Ahab
- Era
- Divided Kingdom
- Nationality
- Israelite
Family
Did You Know?
Though the Bible dismisses Omri in just a few verses, he was so important internationally that Assyrian records called Israel 'the House of Omri' (Bit-Humria) for over a century after his death.
Omri founded Samaria as a new capital by purchasing the hill from a man named Shemer (1 Kings 16:24), giving Israel a fortified political center that endured until the Assyrian conquest.
He established the dynasty that produced Ahab, and the alliance-by-marriage with Phoenician Tyre - sealing his son's union with Jezebel - made his house both powerful and, in the eyes of the prophets, disastrously idolatrous.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Omri Builds Samaria
1 Kings 16:23-28
Omri establishes Samaria as Israel's capital but does evil above all before him, founding a notorious dynasty.
23n the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.