Omri (Omriyah, Hebrew: " Yahweh is my life") was king of Israel and father of Ahab. Albright has dated his reign to 876 - 869 BC , while Thiele offers the dates 885 - 874 BC. He was "commander of the army" for Elah when Zimri slew Elah and made himself king. The troops at Gibbethon chose instead to elect Omri as king, and he led them to Tirzah where they trapped Zimri in the royal palace, and where Zimri died ( 1 Kings 16:15-19).Although Zimri was eliminated, "half of the people" supported Tibni in opposition to Omri. It took Omri some years to subdue Tibni and at last proclaim himself undisputed king of Israel in the 21st year of Asa, king of Judah (1 Kings 16:21-23).
Because Omri was not a devout follower of Yahweh, the writer of the Book of Kings minimized his accomplishments. While the writer acknowledges Omri built his new capital Samaria on a hill he bought from Shemer (16:24), he omits any mention of the widespread public construction both Omri and his son Ahab commissioned during their reigns. Israel Finkelstein and his student Norma Franklin have identified monumental construction at Samaria, Jezreel , MegiddoMegiddo is the English designation for an important ancient settlement and city site in the Jezreel Valley of northern Israel, known alternatively as Tel Megiddo (Hebrew) and Tell es-Mutesellim (Arabic). Located strategically at the crossroads of several and HazorHazor "courtyyard" or "settlement" Name of several places in ancient Israel: One of the most important Caananite towns. It was conquered by Joshua. It seems to have had several kings named Jabin. One Jabin is mentioned at Joshua's time and one in the time similar in design and build, including 12 sets of mason marks shared between the archeological sites.
Omri's rule over Israel was secure enough that he could bequeath his kingdom to Ahab, thus beginning a new dynasty (sometimes called the Omrides), and his descendants not only ruled over the kingdom of Israel for the next 40 years, but also briefly over Judah. He was significant enough that his name is mentioned on a stele erected by Mesha , king of MoabMoab "Seed of father/leader", Standard Hebrew Moav Tiberian Hebrew M is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. In ancient times, it was home to the kingdom of the Moabites a people th, who records his victory over a son of Omri -- but omits the son's name.
1 The Omride Dynasty
The short-lived dynasty founded by Omri constitutes a new chapter in the history of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It ended almost 50 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 SidonSidon (also Zidon or Tzidon , and known to its inhabitants as Saida is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is on the Mediterranean coast, about 25 miles north of Tyre and 30 miles south of the capital Beirut. Its name means a fishery''. It was one of th 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 TransjordanCorresponding geographically to today's Kingdom of Jordan, the Emirate of Transjordan was an autonomous political subdivision of the Middle East split off from the territory to be allocated to the British Mandate of Palestine in April 1921 and was adminis, and these factors combined brought economic prosperity to the kingdom.
On the other hand, peace with Sidon also resulted in the penetration of Phoenician religious ideas into the kingdom and led to a kulturkampf 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 Karkar ( 853 BC), 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 BC and the reduction of the Kingdom of Judah to an Assyrian tributary state.
