Omri

For other uses, see Omri (disambiguation).
Omri
Portrait from Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum (1553) by Guillaume Rouillé
King of Israel (Northern Kingdom)
Reign885 BCE – 874 BCE
PredecessorTibni
SuccessorAhab
IssueAhab
Athaliah[1]
Nimshi?
HouseHouse of Omri

Omri (/ˈɒmraɪ/ OM-ry; Hebrew: עָמְרִי‎, ‘Omrī; Akkadian: 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿 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.[2] 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.[3]

Nothing is said in Scripture about the lineage of Omri. His name may be Amorite, Arabic, or Hebrew in origin.[4] 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.[5] An alternative modern hypothesis maintains that, as founder of the House of Omri, an Israelite royal house, his kingdom formed the first state in the Land of Israel, and that the Kingdom of Judah only achieved statehood later.[6]

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 dynasty named for Omri rather than to Omri himself. A minor thesis, argued by Thomas Thompson and Niels Peter Lemche, suggests that Omri may be a dynastic name indicating the apical founder of the Kingdom of Israel rather than one denoting an actual historical king.[6]

  1. ^ For a discussion about whether Athaliah was actually the daughter of Omri or of Omri's son Ahab, see Klein, Reuven Chaim (2014). "Queen Athaliah: The Daughter of Ahab or Omri?" (PDF). Jewish Bible Quarterly. 42 (1): 11–20.
  2. ^ For a discussion about whether Athaliah was actually the daughter of Omri or of Omri's son Ahab, see Klein, Reuven Chaim (2014). "Queen Athaliah: The Daughter of Ahab or Omri?" (PDF). Jewish Bible Quarterly. 42 (1): 11–20.
  3. ^ A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. James Maxwell Miller, John Haralson Hayes. 2006. p. 266. ISBN 9780664212629. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  4. ^ Thiel, W., "Omri", The Anchor Bible Dictionary, p. 17, vol. 5, D.N. Freedman (ed.). New York: Doubleday (1992)
  5. ^ Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi (2004). The Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation. Oxford University Press. p. 710. ISBN 9780195297515.
  6. ^ a b Grabbe, Lester L. (28 April 2007). "The Kingdom of Israel to the Fall of Samaria: If We Had Only the Bible". Ahab Agonistes: The Rise and Fall of the Omri Dynasty. A&C Black. pp. 54–99, 70, 82–4. ISBN 9780567045409. (Lemche-Thompson hypothesis)