Great King Omri missing from Chronicles

by

Damien F. Mackey

 

“The royal dynasties of Israel and Judah are usually designated as 'founders' houses', i.e. Saul's house, David's house, Jeroboam's house, Baasha's house, and Jehu's house.

Yet the name Omri's house is conspicuously missing from the Bible.

Instead, the same dynasty is always called Ahab's house, although Omri was

the dynastic founder and Ahab was his successor”.

 

T. Ishida

 

 

 

Suspecting yesterday morning (16^th September, 2019), once again, that there may be some degree of duplication amongst the listings of the kings of Israel of the Divided Monarchy period, which thought prompted me later that day to write:

 

Bible Bashing Baasha problem king of Israel. Part One: Reprising my earlier Baasha View

 

https://www.academia.edu/40361733/Bible_Bashing_Baasha_problem_king_of_Israel._Part_One_Reprising_my_earlier_Baasha_view

 

and then reading through the accounts of the kings of Israel in Kings and Chronicles, I was really surprised to find that Omri does not figure directly in Chronicles.

That I was not mistaken or deluding myself about this was confirmed when I read the following in Wilfred J. Hahn’s article “Omri: The Merger King”:

http://www.eternalvalue.com/adownload/MET_0408.pdf

 

King Omri was one of the most influential kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. It would be difficult to discern this from the Bible alone without careful study. As only 13 verses (1 Kings 16:16-28) recount the history of this man, it would be easy to overlook his significance. Unusually, no direct mention is even made of his reign in the books of Chronicles, apart from referring to his son, Ahab, and grandsons Ahaziah and Joram. The only biblical indication we get of the repute of his legacy is found in Micah 6:16.

 

[End of quote]

 

Another famous name amongst the kings of Israel (Divided Kingdom) who is missing from Chronicles is Jeroboam II.

Regarding this surprising omission I have noted “that some of the most defining political and military events received little attention from the theologically-oriented writer of the Scriptures” ... may not necessarily be entirely true. Jeroboam so-called II may figure more prominently in the Scriptures than is thought – but under an alter ego.

 

And now I am going to suggest the very same thing, that we may need to begin to look for the - seemingly neglected in the Scriptures, but undoubtedly famous - Omri (qua “Omri”) under the guise of Jeroboam I.

That Omri, currently designated as the sixth king of Israel (Divided Kingdom):

 

Jeroboam I

Nadab

Baasha

Elah

Zimri

Omri

 

needs to be located significantly earlier than this is quite apparent from the fact that Omri was involved in war with Ben-Hadad I’s father, Tab-rimmon, who was, in turn (it can be estimated), a contemporary of Abijah king of Judah.

I Kings 15:18: “Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon”. That this Tab-rimmon had warred with Ahab’s father, Omri, is apparent from Ben-Hadad’s statement to Ahab in I Kings 20:34: “So Ben-Hadad said to [Ahab], ‘The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria’.”

 

King Omri of Israel, whose fame extended down even to the neo-Assyrian period - referred to by the Assyrian kings as “House of Omri (Bīt Humri) - did not need for the Scriptures also to mention an “Omri’s house”, because the king already had his “Jeroboam’s house”.

 

Thus Omri was actually the first, not the sixth, king of Israel (Divided Monarchy).