The kings of Israel and Judah

King Zimri

The kingdom of Israel (the north) · Reigned seven days (1 Kings 16:15) · Evil before God · 1 Kings 16:9 to 20

Zimri, a commander of chariots, murdered the drunken king Elah and seized the throne of Israel, reigning only seven days, the shortest reign of any king. When the army heard, they at once made their general Omri king and marched on the capital. Seeing the city taken, Zimri went into the palace and burned it down over himself and died. He too is judged for walking in the sin of Jeroboam, and his name became a byword for a murderous traitor.

And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died,1 Kings 16:18 (KJV)

Seven days on the throne

Zimri won the crown by conspiracy and slaughter, killing Elah and destroying the whole house of Baasha. But his hold on power lasted only seven days. The people of Israel were encamped against the Philistines at Gibbethon, and when they heard that Zimri had killed the king, they made Omri, the captain of the army, king over Israel that very day in the camp.

Omri and all Israel left Gibbethon and marched up to besiege Tirzah, the royal city. Zimri's grab for the throne collapsed almost before it began.

Death in the burning palace

When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king's house and burned the king's house over himself with fire, and died. His was an end of utter desperation, a king for a week who chose to die in the flames of his own palace rather than be captured.

Scripture gives the reason plainly: he died for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. Even in seven days, the verdict was the same as for all the rest.

The biblical verdict and where it points

Zimri's name lived on as a synonym for treachery; years later, when Jehu came to kill King Joram, Jezebel taunted him, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? He is remembered as the traitor whose reign of seven days ended in fire, judged evil like those before him.

His story is the most extreme picture of the north's chaos, a kingdom so unstable that a man could seize and lose it within a week. It underscores, by sheer contrast, the longing running through all of Scripture for a kingdom that cannot be shaken and a King who reigns not seven days but for ever, the Son of David in whom alone God's people find peace and permanence.

A note on the record: everything here is drawn from the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. Kings and Chronicles sometimes tell a reign differently, Chronicles often adding a king's repentance or building works, and where they differ this is said plainly rather than smoothed over. The exact lengths and overlaps of the reigns are genuinely complex, because kings often shared the throne with a son for a time, so the totals in Scripture do not always add up in a simple line. The verdict good or evil is the Bible's own assessment, whether a king did right or evil in the sight of the LORD.

Related: Elah · Omri · All the kings of Israel and Judah