MPV Commentary

Omri Builds Samaria.

23. In the thirty-first year of Asa's reign, Omri began his rule. His twelve-year reign is counted from the start of his time as king, which occurred in the twenty-seventh year of Asa's reign. Initially, Omri shared power with Tibni for four years before taking sole control and ruling peacefully for eight years.

24. He purchased the hill of Samaria from Shemer. The palace at Tirzah was in disrepair, so Omri chose a new location for his royal residence. This site offered a unique combination of natural advantages: it was situated in a wide amphitheater of mountains, about six miles from Shechem, and featured an oblong hill with steep yet accessible sides and a long flat top extending east and west. The elevation rose five hundred to six hundred feet above the surrounding valley. What Omri likely built as a palace became the capital of the kingdom instead of Shechem.

He paid two talents of silver for this land, approximately £684. Shemer may have required that the name be retained in the sale agreement. However, once Omri built his city and palace there, it was customary in Eastern cultures to rename the place after its founder. The Assyrians followed this practice, as evidenced by an inscription found on a tablet from Nineveh, which refers to Samaria as Beth-khumri, or "the house of Omri" (2Ki 17:5).

25-27. However, Omri engaged in wicked behavior. The description of his reign and death follows the standard pattern used for all successors of Jeroboam regarding both policy and timing.

29-33. Ahab, Omri's son, did more evil than any king before him in God's sight. The worship of God using symbols had previously been a form of apostasy in Israel, but now the court openly patronized gross idolatry. This was largely due to Jezebel, Ahab's queen, who was the daughter of Eth-baal, the priest-king of the Zidonians and a murderer of Philetes, king of Tyre. She introduced the forms of her native Tyrian worship into Israel after marrying Ahab.

32. Jezebel built an altar for Baal, which is another name for the sun worshipped under various images. Ahab set up one such image in Samaria (2Ki 3:2), likely representing the Tyrian Hercules. No human sacrifices were offered; instead, a constant fire burned, and the priests officiated barefoot. Dancing and kissing the image (1Ki 19:18) were among the primary rituals practiced.