1 Kings 16:9

ZIMRI'S CONSPIRACY. (Kg1 16:9-22)

Zimri . . . conspired against him--"Arza which was over his house." During a carousal in the house of his chamberlain, Zimri slew him, and having seized the sovereignty, endeavored to consolidate his throne by the massacre of all the royal race.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Ki 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half [his] chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of [his] house in Tirzah.

Ver. 9. And his servant Zimri.] Perhaps he of Saul’s posterity. {1Ch 8:36}

Drinking himself drunk.] Haply to put away the fear of death, like as Tacitus saith, Vitelius trepidus, dein temulentus.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16:9-10 Elah’s drunkenness in Tirzah while his army risked their lives at the Philistine-controlled city of Gibbethon (16:15) displayed his debased character; he was even less fit to reign than his father, Baasha (see 16:13).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Chaldea text hath thus, Drinking till he was drunken in the Temple of Arza the idol by his house in Tirzah.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 9. Captain of half his chariots] It is probable that Zimri, and some other who is not here named, were commanders of the cavalry.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(9) Drinking himself drunk.—There seems an emphasis of half-contemptuous condemnation in the description of Elah’s debauchery, evidently public, and in the house of a mere officer of his household, while war was raging at Gibbethon. On the other hand, Zimri—noted emphatically as “his servant”—was apparently the high officer left in special charge of the palace and the king’s person, while the mass of the army was in the field. Hence his name passed into a proverb for unusual treachery. (See 2Ki_9:31.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. And his servant Zimri] The LXX. omits ‘his servant.’ The expression is used of any officer who served under the king, and has no mean signification. Here ‘the servant’ was a chief commander of the royal troops.

as [now R.V.] he was in Tirzah] The strongest stop in the Hebrew occurs immediately before these words. It is therefore well to make them, in the English also, to begin a new clause.

Arza steward of his house] R.V. (see also A.V. margin): Arza which was over the household. Cf. for a similar officer over the household of Joseph, Gen_43:16; Gen_43:19. It would almost seem that this major domo was mixed up in the plot for the murder of his master. The opportunity of the absence of the troops at Gibbethon would seem very favourable for carrying out such a scheme.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pass when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne,.... Perhaps the very first day,

that he slew all the house of Baasha; his whole family, all the children that he had, that there might be none to make pretensions to the throne:

he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks nor of his friends; not any that might avenge the blood of his family, that might have a right or inclination to do it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The conspiracy of Zimri - Elah’s “servant” (i. e., “subject”) - was favored by his position, which probably gave him military authority in the city, by the absence of a great part of the people and of the officers who might have checked him, at Gibbethon 1Ki 16:15, and by the despicable character of Elah, who, instead of going up to the war, was continually reminding men of his low origin by conduct unworthy of royalty.

Steward - The office was evidently one of considerable importance. In Solomon’s court it gave the rank of שׂר śar, prince. In Persia the “steward of the household” acted sometimes as a sort of regent during the king’s absence.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Horsemen. Hebrew, "chariots." (Septuagint) (Calmet) --- But Josephus styles him, Hipparchon, "general of the horse." (Menochius) --- Rebelled. Hebrew, "conspired." (Haydock) --- He acted privately at first. (Menochius) --- Governor. Hebrew, "steward of his house." Chaldean and Arabic, "in the temple of the idol Arsa," the earth, whom the pagans worshipped as the mother of gods and men; unless Arsa be put for Asera, or Astarte. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Captain of half his chariots, i.e. of all his military chariots, and the men belonging to them; the chariots for carriage of necessary things being put into other and meaner hands.

As he was in Tirzah; whilst his forces were elsewhere employed, 1Ki 16:15, which gave Zimri advantage to execute his design.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. Captain of half his chariots — So, then, this northern kingdom had added to its other sins the transgression of the law forbidding the multiplication of horses, for chariots required their service. The whole cavalry force seems to have been divided into two portions, one or which served the army at the siege of Gibbethon, the other remained near Tirzah, and over it Zimri had command.

Drinking himself drunk — Surely it is not well for kings thus to drink wine. Pro_31:4. Here we find that Elah was a drunken, licentious profligate, whose very debasement was a temptation for daring hands to take his life.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And his servant Not only "subject," as Rawlinson, but officer. The same word is used of Jeroboam; 1Ki_11:26, note. We may almost trace here a lex talionis. Baasha was Nadab"s "servant," as Jeroboam was Solomon"s Zimri From the occurrence of this name among those of the descendants of Jonathan, (1Ch_8:36) it has been supposed (Stanley) that this was a last effort of the house of Saul to regain the throne, captain of half his chariots bk,r, as in 1Ki_9:19 1Ki_10:26. The violation of the law of, Deu_17:16 brings its own retribution conspired against him precisely as Elah"s father had "conspired" (1Ki_15:27) against Nadab, as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of Heb. which was over; (cf. 1Ki_4:6 1Ki_18:3; 2Ki_10:5 2Ki_18:37) his house in Tirzah. Several points present themselves for notice here.

1. the example of Jeroboam has clearly had its full influence on the nation. "The Lord"s anointed "is no longer had in reverence, as in the days of 1Sa_24:6, 10 26:9, 16; (2Sa_1:14) nor is it accounted a sin to grasp at the crown.

2. Zimri only does what Baasha had done before him. That prince was "hoist with his own petard.

3. Elah would seem to have been a dissolute and pusillanimous prince. His place was clearly with his army at Gibbethon (ver. 15; cf. Jos_8:4). And as clearly it was not in the house of one of his subjects, even the intendant of his palace. "An Oriental monarch is precluded by etiquette from accepting the hospitality of his subjects Rawlinson, who further remarks that the low tastes which we here find Elah indulging" had probably been formed before his father was exalted out of the dust." As probably they were inherited direct from his father. Anyhow, they led to his destruction. It is clear that Elah"s want of character, like Nadab"s, suggested the conspiracy of Zimri.

4. It is extremely probable, though not absolutely certain, as Bahr affirms, that Arza was one of the conspirators, and that the wretched prince had been decoyed to his house and made drunk, with a view to his murder there.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chariots - Of all his military chariots, and the men belonging to them: the chariots for carriage of necessary things, being put into meaner hands. Tirzah - Whilst his forces were elsewhere employed, ver. 15, which gave Zimri advantage to execute his design.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

He was the officer of half the chariots. He and another were captains over the chariots.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.