1 Kings 16:18

18 When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames.

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 When they heard that Zimri had committed treason and had assassinated the king, that very day they chose Omri, commander of the army, as the new king of Israel.

17 So Omri led the entire army of Israel up from Gibbethon to attack Tirzah, Israel’s capital.

18 When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames.

19 For he, too, had done what was evil in the LORD ’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit.

20 The rest of the events in Zimri’s reign and his conspiracy are recorded in