1 Kings 16:22

16:15-28 When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars, we may be sure the Lord has a controversy with the people for their sins; they are loudly called to repent and reform. Omri made himself infamous by his wickedness. Many wicked men have been men of might and renown; have built cities, and their names are found in history; but they have no name in the book of life.

1 Kings 16:22 . But the people that followed Omri prevailed — Partly because they had the army on their side; and principally by the appointment of God, giving up the Israelites to him who was much the worse man, 1 Kings 16:25-26 . So Tibni died — A violent death, it seems, in battle: and doubtless many of the people died with him. But why, inquires Sir Walter Raleigh, (see his History of the World, 50:2, c. 19, § 6,) in all these confusions, and revolutions of the kingdom of Israel, did they never think of returning to the house of David? Probably, observes he, because the kings of Judah assumed a more absolute power over their subjects than the kings of Israel. It was the heaviness of the yoke which they complained of, when they first revolted from the house of David. And it is not unlikely but the dread of that made them averse to it ever after.

From a comparison of the dates given in 1 Kings 16:15 , 1 Kings 16:23 , 1 Kings 16:29 it follows that the contest between the two pretenders lasted four years. Tibni's death can scarcely be supposed to have been natural. Either he must have been slain in battle against Omri, or have fallen into his hands and been put to death. There has probably been some derangement of the text here. The passage may have run thus: "So Tibni died, and Omri reigned in the thirty-first year of Asa, king of Judah. Omri reigned over Israel twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah." Omri's reign of 12 years began in Asa's 27th 1 Kings 16:15-16, and terminated in his 38th 1 Kings 16:29. The event belonging to Asa's 31st year was the death of Tibni, and the consequent extension of Omri's kingdom. The six years in Tirzah are probably made up of the four years of contention with Tibni, and two years afterward, during which enough of Samaria was built for the king to transfer his residence there.

Verse 22. - But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath [It appears, however, from the following verse that the struggle lasted four years]: so Tibni died [According to Jos., Ant. 8:12. § 5, he was slain by the conqueror. The LXX. has here a curious and probably genuine addition. "And Thabni died, and Joram his brother at that time ] , and Omri reigned. [The jingle of the Hebrew words is probably designed.] The Reign of Omri . 1 Kings 16:22

But Omri did not come into possession of an undisputed sovereignty immediately upon the death of Zimri. The nation divided itself into two halves; one half was behind Tibni, the son of Ginath (i.e., declared in favour of Tibni), to make him king, the other adhered to Omri. Nevertheless Omri's gained the upper hand over the party of Tibni, and the latter died, whereupon Omri became king after four years, as we may see from a comparison of 1 Kings 16:15 , 1 Kings 16:16 with 1 Kings 16:23 . The "people of Israel" ( 1 Kings 16:21 ) are probably the fighting people, so that the succession to the throne was decided by the military. אהרי היה as in 2 Samuel 2:10 . הזק, with an accusative instead of with על, in the sense of to overpower, as in Jeremiah 20:7 . According to Josephus (Ant. viii. 12, 5), Tibni was slain by his opponent; but this is not contained in the words; on the contrary, all that is implied in the connection of ויּמת with וגו ויּחזק וגו/ is that he met with his death in the decisive engagement in which the opposing party triumphed.