Zimri

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1.  Numbers 25:8-14. Son of Salu, a chief of Simeon. When Israel were being plagued for the impure worship of Baal Peor, and were weeping and craving mercy before the tabernacle, Zimri shamelessly brought a Midianitess, Cozbi daughter of Zur, into the dome-shaped tent ( Qubbah , the al-cove, or arched inner recess appropriated to the women, or else a tent appropriated to Peor's vile worship) in sight of Moses and the congregation. Phinehas gained his "everlasting priesthood" by his zeal in thrusting both through, so that the plague was stayed.

2. Fifth sovereign of northern Israel; originally captain of half Elah's chariots; reigned only seven days, after having slain Elah son of Baasha, (while drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his house in Tirzah), and then all the house of Baasha, fulfilling the prophet Jehu's words: 929, 930 B.C. ( 1 Kings 16:1-4;  1 Kings 16:8-13;  1 Kings 16:15-20.) But the army then besieging the Philistine town Gibbethon proclaimed their captain Omri king; he marched against Tirzah and took it. Then Zimri burnt the palace over him and died. Thus treason punished treason; the slayer is slain. As Baasha conspired against Nadab, so Zimri against his son, and Omri against Zimri ( Revelation 13:10;  Matthew 26:52).

3. One of Zerah's five sons ( 1 Chronicles 2:6).

4. Jehoadah's son; sprung from Saul ( 1 Chronicles 8:36;  1 Chronicles 9:42).

5. A tribe of "the sons of the East" ( Jeremiah 25:25); some identify them with the Zubra between Mecca and Medina ( Genesis 25:2).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Zim'ri.

1. The son of Salu, a Simeonite chieftain, slain by Phinehas, with the Midianitish princess, Cozbi.  Numbers 25:14. (B.C. 1450).

2. Fifth sovereign of the separate kingdom of Israel, of which he occupied the throne for the brief period of seven days, B.C. 930 or 929. Originally in command of half the chariots in the royal army, he gained the crown by the murder of King Elah; son of Baasha. But the army made their general, Omri, king, who marched against Tirzah, where Zimri was. Zimri retreated into the innermost part of the late king's palace, set it on fire, and perished in the ruins.  1 Kings 16:9-20.

3. One of the five sons of Zerah, the son of Judah.  1 Chronicles 2:6. (B.C. after 1706).

4. Son of Jehoadah, and descendant of Saul.  1 Chronicles 8:36;  1 Chronicles 9:42.

5. An obscure name, mentioned in  Jeremiah 25:25, in probable connection with Dedan, Tema, Buz, Arabia, the "mingled people." Nothing further is known respecting Zimri, but the name may possibly be the same as, or derived from, Zimran . See Zimran .

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. Son of Salu, a Simeonite: with a Midianitish woman he was slain by Phinehas.  Numbers 25:14 .

2. A captain of Elah king of Israel: he conspired and slew the king and all his family, and usurped the throne. He was speedily attacked by Omri, but Zimri retreated into the late king's palace, set it on fire, and perished in the flames.   1 Kings 16:9-20;  2 Kings 9:31 .

3. Son of Zerah, a son of Judah.   1 Chronicles 2:6 .

4. Son of Jehoadah, a Benjamite.   1 Chronicles 8:36;  1 Chronicles 9:42 .

5. An unknown place or tribe mentioned among the nations to be destroyed.   Jeremiah 25:25 .

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1. A prince of the tribe of Simeon, slain by Phinehas for his heaven- daring crime on the plains of Moab,  Numbers 25:14 .

2. A general of half the cavalry of Elah king of Israel. He rebelled against his master, killed him, and usurped his kingdom. He cut off the whole family, not sparing any of his relations or friends; whereby was fulfilled the word of the Lord denounced to Baasha the father of Elah, by the prophet Jehu. Zimri reigned but seven days; for the army of Israel, then besieging Gibbethon, a city of the Philistines, made their general, Omri, king, and came and besieged Zimri in the city of Tirzah. Zimri, seeing the city on the point of being taken, burned himself in the palace with all its riches,  1 Kings 16:1-20;  2 Kings 9:31 .

3. Others of this name are mentioned in  1 Chronicles 2:6;  8:33-36 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

ZIMRI . 1 . A prince of the tribe of Simeon, slain by Phinehas (  Numbers 25:6-14 , 1Ma 2:26 ). 2 . Son of Zerah, and grandfather or ancestor of Achan (  1 Chronicles 2:6 ); called Zabdi in   Joshua 7:1 .   Joshua 7:3 . A Benjamite (  1 Chronicles 8:36;   1 Chronicles 9:42 ). 4 . See next article. 5 . ‘All the kings of Zimri’ are mentioned in the same verse,   Jeremiah 25:25 , with those of Elam and the Medes as among those who were to drink the cup of the fury of the Lord. There is considerable doubt as to what place is meant, or even as to the genuineness of the phrase.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Murdered Elah at Tirzah, and succeeded him on the throne of Israel ( 1 Kings 16:8-10 ). He reigned only seven days, for Omri, whom the army elected as king, laid siege to Tirzah, whereupon Zimri set fire to the palace and perished amid its ruins (11-20). Omri succeeded to the throne only after four years of fierce war with Tibni, another claimant to the throne.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Zimri'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/z/zimri.html. 1897.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 1 Chronicles 2:6 2 1 Kings 16:9-10 1 Kings 16:15 2 Kings 9:31 3 Numbers 25:1 4 1 Chronicles 8:36 5 Jeremiah 25:25

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Zimri ( Zĭm'Rî ). 1. A Simeonite chieftain, slain by Phinehas.  Numbers 25:14. 2. Fifth king of the separate kingdom of Israel for seven days. He gained the crown by the murder of king Elah, but the army made Omri king, and Zimri retreated into the innermost part of the palace, set it on fire, and perished in the ruins.  1 Kings 16:9-20.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Zimni', זַמַרַי , My Song or Celebrated; Sept. Ζαμβρί ; Josephus, Ζαμάρης , Ant. 8:12, 5; Vulg. Zambri ) , the name of several Hebrews, and apparently one foreign tribe.

1. First named of the five sons of Zerah the son of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 2:6). B.C. post 1874.

2. The son of Salu, a Simeonitish chieftain slain by Phinehas with the Midianitish princess Cozbi ( Numbers 25:14). B.C. 1618. When the Israelites at Shittim were smitten with plagues for their impure worship of Baal Peor, and were weeping before the tabernacle, Zimri, with a shameless disregard of his own high position and the sufferings of his tribe, brought into their presence the Midianites, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation. The fierce anger of Phinehas was aroused, and in the swift vengeance with which he pursued the offenders, he gave the first indication of that uncompromising spirit which characterized him in later life. The whole circumstance is much softened in the narrative of Josephus (Ant. 4:6, 10-12), and in the hands of the: apologist is divested of all its vigor and point. In the Targum of Jonathan ben-Uzziel several traditional details are added. Zimri retorts upon Moses that he himself had taken to wife a Midianitess, and twelve miraculous signs attend the vengeance of Phinehas. (See Phinehas).

In describing the scene of this tragedy an unusual word is employed the force of which is lost in the rendering, "tent" of the A.V. of  Numbers 25:8. It was not the ohel or ordinary tent of the encampment, but the קָה , kupbah (whence Span. alcoba and our alcove), or dome-shaped tent to which Phinehas pursued his victims. Whether this was the tent which Zimri occupied as chief of his tribe, and which was in consequence more elaborate and highly ornamented than the rest, or whether it was, as Gesenius suggests, one of the tents which the Midianites used for the worship of Peor, is not to be determined, though the latter is favored by the rendering of the Vulg. lupanar. The word does not occur elsewhere in Hebrew. In the Syriac it is rendered a "cell," or inner apartment of the tent. See Harem.

3. The son of Azmaveth (rather Jehoadah or Jarah) and father of Moza in the lineage of king Saul (1 Chronicles 3:36; 9:42). B.C. cir. 945.

4. The fifth sovereign of the separate kingdom of Israel, of which he occupied the throne for the brief period of seven days in the year B.C. 926. Originally in command of half the chariots in the royal army, he gained the crown by the murder of king Elah son of Baasha, who, after reigning for something more than a year (comp.  1 Kings 16:8;  1 Kings 16:10), was indulging in a drunken revel in the house of his steward Arza at Tirzah, then the capital. In the midst of this festivity Zimri killed him, and immediately afterwards all the rest of Baasha's family. But the army which at that time was besieging the Philistine town of Gibbethon, when they heard of Elah's murder, proclaimed their general Omri king. He immediately marched against Tirzah and took the city. Zimri retreated into the innermost part of the late king's palace, set it on fire, and perished in the ruins ( 1 Kings 16:9-20). Ewald's inference from Jezebel's speech to Jehu ( 2 Kings 9:31) that on Elah's death the queen mother welcomed his murderer with smiles and blandishments seems rather arbitrary and far-fetched. The word is אִרַמוֹן , which Ewald (after J. D. Michaelis) in both the above passages insists on translating "harem," with which word he thinks that it is etymologically connected, and hence seeks confirmation of his view that Zimri was a voluptuous slave of women. But its root seems to be אָרִם "to be high" (Gesenius); and in other passages, especially  Proverbs 18:19, the meaning is "a lofty fortress," rather than "a harem." Ewald, in his sketch of Zimri, is perhaps somewhat led astray by the desire of finding a historical parallel with Sardanapalus. (See Israel).

5. An obscure name, mentioned ( Jeremiah 20:5) in probable connection with Dedan, Tema, Buz, Arabia ( עֲרָב , the mingled people "ereb'" ( הָעֶרֶב ) all of which immediately precede it, besides other peoples, and followed by Elam, the Medes, and others. The passage is of wide comprehension, but the reference, as indicated above, seems to be to a tribe of the sons of the East, the Beni-Kedem. Nothing further is known respecting Zimri, but it may possibly be the same as, or derived from, ZIMRAN (See Zimran) (q.v.).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Zim´ri. There are four persons of this name mentioned in the Old Testament:—

A son of Zerah, who was a son of Judah by Tamar ().

The name of the Israelite slain, together with the Midianitish woman, in Shittim, by Phinehas, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites ().

King Saul begat Jonathan, who begat Merib-baal, who begat Micah, who begat Ahaz, who begat Jehoadah, whose sons were Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri begat Moza, etc. (; ).

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa, king of Judah, Elah, the son of Baasha, began to reign over Israel in Tirzah. After he had reigned two years, Zimri, the captain of half his chariots, conspired against him when he was in Tirzah, drunk in the house of his steward. Zimri went in and smote and killed him, and reigned in his stead, about B.C. 928; and he slew all the house of Baasha, so that no male was left. Zimri reigned only seven days at Tirzah. The people who were encamped at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, heard that Zimri had slain the king. They made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel in the camp. Omri besieged Tirzah and took it. Zimri, seeing that the city was taken, went into the king's palace, set it on fire, and perished in it for his sins in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for making Israel to sin (; ).

The kings of Zimri, mentioned in , seem to have been the kings of the Zimranites, the descendants of Zimran, son of Abraham by Keturah (; ).