1 Kings 16:18

18 And when Zimri saw that the town was taken, he went into the inner room of the king's house, and burning the house over his head, came to his end,

1 Kings 16:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 16:18

And it came to pass, that when Zimri saw that the city was
taken
That Omri, and the army with him, had got into it, being a place not much fortified, and Zimri not having force enough to defend it against such an army:

that he went into the palace of the king's house;
into the innermost and most splendid, as well as the strongest part of it:

and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and he died;
that he might not fall into the hands of his rival, who he might fear would use him ill, and that he might not enjoy the royal palace; though Kimchi thinks that Omri set fire to the palace, and burnt it over the head of Zimri, in which he perished; and this sense the text will bear.

1 Kings 16:18 In-Context

16 And news came to the people in the tents that Zimri had made a secret design and had put the king to death: so all Israel made Omri, the captain of the army, king that day in the tents.
17 Then Omri went up from Gibbethon, with all the army of Israel, and they made an attack on Tirzah, shutting in the town on every side.
18 And when Zimri saw that the town was taken, he went into the inner room of the king's house, and burning the house over his head, came to his end,
19 Because of his sin in doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, in going in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel do.
20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the secret design he made, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
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