Omri

The Mesha stele is the first non-biblical source to mention a Hebrew king. It states that: "Omri, king of Israel... oppressed Moab many days.

Omri (Hebrew עָמְרִי, short for עָמְרִיָּה—"The Lord is my life") was king of Israel c. 885-874 B.C.E. and the founder of the capital city of Samaria. He was the father of Israel's famous king Ahab and the grandfather of two other kings of Israel. In addition, Omri's granddaughter Athaliah reigned as queen of Judah for several years.

Omri took power during a period of political instability in the northern kingdom. His rule over Israel was secure enough that he could bequeath his kingdom to his son Ahab, thus beginning a new dynasty. Archaeologists consider the Omride dynasty to have been a major regional power, and some of the monumental building projects attributed to Solomon by the biblical writers have recently been dated to the period of Omri's rule. Omri is the first king of Israel or Judah to be mentioned in the historical record outside of the Bible.

The writers of the Books of Kings barely mention Omri's political and economic accomplishments, considering him an evil king who repeated the sin of of the northern king Jeroboam I by refusing to acknowledge the Temple of Jerusalem as the only legitimate Israelite religious shrine. Both contemporary archeology and the modern state of Israel, however, evaluate him more positively. Some Israeli archaeologists (see Finkelstein, 2001) consider that Omri and his descendants, rather than David or Solomon, "established the first fully developed monarchy in Israel."

Omri's being Athaliah's grandfather, though rarely mentioned as such, makes him one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, according New Testament tradition, and one of the ancestors of the Davidic Messiah in Judaism.

Omri in the Bible

Omri ended a period of political instability in the Kingdom of Israel following the death of its founder, Jeroboam I, who had led a successful revolt against King Solomon's son Rehoboam to establish an independent nation consisting of the ten northern Israelite tribes. Jeroboam's son Asa reigned only two years before being overthrown by Baasha, who proceeded to wipe out any surviving descendants of Jeroboam. Baasha pursued a policy of war against the southern Kingdom of Judah but had to abandon this effort due to military pressure from the Aramaean kingdom of Damascus. He was succeeded by his son Elah, who was overthrown after two years by one of his own officials, Zimri.

Omri established Samaria as the capital of Israel. Archaeologists consider it to have been a more advanced city than Jerusalem or any other settlement of Judah and Israel.

Omri had been the commander of the army for under Elah. With Zimri claiming the kingship, Omri's troops proclaimed him as legitimate ruler. Omri and his forces then marched to the capital of Tirzah, where they trapped Zimri in the royal palace. The Bible reports that Zimri burned the palace down and died in the inferno rather than surrendering (1 Kings 16:15-19). Although Zimri was eliminated after only seven days in power, "half of the people" supported a certain Tibni in opposition to Omri. Fighting between the two sides seems to have continued for several years until Omri was finally recognized as the undisputed king (1 Kings 16:21-23).

The Bible credits Omri with having built he city of Samaria as his capital in the seventh year of his reign (1 Kings 16:23-24). He faced military attacks from the kingdom of Syria (Damascus) and was forced for a time to allow Syrian merchants to open markets in the streets of Samaria (1 Kings 29:34). However, Omri soon gained the upper hand against Damascus, and the new city remained the capital of Israel as long as the nation survived, for more than 150 years. Samaria was strongly fortified and endured several sieges before its downfall.

Omri also strengthened his kingdom through alliances with his northern and southern neighbors against the threat of the Damascus (Syria) and Assyria to the east. He facilitated a marriage between his son and heir, Ahab, and the Phoenician princess Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal. Animosities were also ended with the southern Kingdom of Judah, and Ahab later arranged a marriage between his daughter, Athaliah, and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, with whom he contracted a military alliance.

Omri alienated the biblical writers, however, by following Jeroboam's policy of promoting shrines other than the Temple of Jerusalem as officially sanctioned pilgrimage sites where citizens of his kingdom could offer tithes and sacrifices. For this, he was denounced as following in the "ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit." (1 Kings 16:25)

The Omride Dynasty

Like most of the northern Kings, Omri left no record yet uncovered to tell his own version of events. However, he is the first king of either Israel or Judah who is mentioned by historical sources outside of the Bible. Recent historians believe that the dynasty founded by Omri constitutes a new chapter in the history of the northern Kingdom of Israel.

File:Jezebel-ahab.jpg

The marriage of Ahab and Jezebel solidified peace between the Omride dynasty and Phoenicia, but resulted in the disapproval of the prophets and biblical writers.

Omri ended almost 50 years of constant civil war over the throne. Under his reign, there was peace with the Kingdom of Judah to the south, while relations with neighboring Phoenicans to the north were bolstered by marriages negotiated between the two royal courts. This state of peace with two powerful neighbors enabled the Kingdom of Israel to expand its influence and even political control in Transjordan, and these factors combined brought economic prosperity to the kingdom.

Israeli archaeologist Israeli Finkelstein refers to Omri's reign as "Israel's forgotten first kingdom." He notes that during the earlier reigns of David and Solomon, "political organization in the region had not yet reached the stage where extensive burearucraces" had developed. This had changed by the time of the Omrides, however. Finkelstein has also done estensive work on large buildings formally attributed to Solomon, which he now dates as originating in Omri's days.

Omri is credited in the Mesha steele as having brought the territory of Moab under his dominion. The Moabite king Mesha admits:

Omri [was] king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab many days, for Chemosh was angry with His land. And his son succeeded him, and he too said, "I will humble Moab."

In the Tel Dan inscription the Syrian king (probably Hazael) admits that "the kings of Israel entered my father's land," indicating that the Omride dynastry controled terroity in Syria, stretching south through Moab. A sizeable army is also evidenced, as shown in the inscription of the Assyrian leader Shalmaneser III (858-824 B.C.E.) who refers to an opposing force of 2,000 chariots and 10,000 footsoldiers belonging to Omri's son, "Ahab the Israelite."

Assyrian sources years referred Israel as "land of the house of Omri," or the "land of Omri" form nearly 150 years. Even Jehu, who ended the Omride dynasty was mistakenly called "the son of Omri" by Shalmaneser II.

Achaeolgical evidence regarding the construction of palces, stables, and store cities, indicates that Israel under the Omrides suprassed those of the southern neighbors, included even Solomon. The site of Omri and Ahab's impressive palace at Samaria has been uncovered for more than a century. Moreover, recent investigations have reassigned the dates of other fortresses, stables, walls, water tunnerls, and store cities—some formerly attributed to Solomon—to the time of Omri and Ahab. Impressive fortifations and other improvement at Megiddo and Hazor lead Finklestein and other to conclude that "The Omrides, not Solomon, established the first fully developed monarchy in Israel."

File:Jehu-summoned.jpg

Elisha's messenger prepares to anoint Jehu and instruct him to kill the descendants of the house of Omri.

Externally, Omri is thus increasingly recognized as a major Israelite king. However, it is also clear that he faced internal opposition from adversaries who allies ultimately give him and his descendants an infamous place in biblical history. Peace with Phoencia, while increasing trade and ensuring stability with Israel's northwestern neighbors, also resulted in the penetration of Phoenician religious tradition into the kingdom. This led to a violent struggle between the Yahweh-only party (as personified by the prophets Elijah and Elisha) and the aristocracy (as personified by Omri, Ahab, [Jezebel]]), and their descendants.

The animosity of the Yahweh-only group to the Omrides support of Phoenician Baal worship led to the famous fight between the prophets of Baal and the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel, after which Elijah ordered the slaughter of his defeated opponents. His successor, Elisha, reportedly anointed Hazael to replace Ben Hadad III on the throne of Damascus, and simultaneously appointed the military commander Jehu to usurp the throne from Arab's descendants and slaughter his entire family, including Jezebel. Jehu's simultaneous assassination of the king of Judah paradoxically led to the Omride princess Athaliah, who had married the king of Judah, seizing the throne at Jerusalem and reigning there for seven years.

Meanwhile Assyria was beginning to expand westward from Mesopotamia. The Battle of Qarqar (853 B.C.E.) pitted Shalmaneser III of Assyria against a coalition of local kings, including Ahab. It was the first in a series of wars that would eventually lead to the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.E. and the reduction of the Kingdom of Judah to an Assyrian tributary state.

Legacy

Omri solidified the foundations of the northern Kingdom of Israel, which had begun to weaken in the decades following Jeroboam I's establishment of the northern federation of tribes as an independant nation. His creation of the new capital of Samaria was a lasting contribution to Israel's history. The city not only survived as the richest city in either Israel or Judah until Israel's destruction by Assyria in 722 B.C.E., but was later rebuilt as the captial of the Samaritan kingdom of Samaria and became a showcase city for King Herod the Great in the late first century B.C.E. under the new name of Sebaste. Omri's dynasty made peace with both Judah and Phoencia, and resisted military attacks by both the Syrian and Assyrian empires. It was not until the usruper Jehu, supported by the prophet Elisha, took the throne that Israel was reduced to being a vassal of the Assyrian power.

In biblical tradition, however, Omri is the founder of an evil dynasty; and his close relations with Phoenicia resulted in a political marriage between his son Ahab and the Baal-worshiping princess Jezebel, who brought with her a religious tradition absolutely unacceptable from the standpoint of the Bible. It was her introduction of Baal worship, much more than Omri's own support of the national Yahwist shines at Dan and Bethel, which brought the wrath of the prophets Elijah and Elisha on Omri's descendants.

Omri's granddaughter Athaliah hides while her grandson Joash is installed as King of Judah.

While both the Bible and rabbinical tradition take a negative view toward Omri, the modern State of Israel, not to mentions several prominent Israeli archaeologists, have recently re-evaluated his contribution to Israel's history. Academics now view him as the founder of the first true Hebrew kingdom, viewing those of David and Solomon more as tribal federations whose accomplishment were glorified by later biblical writers. The modern State of Israel, meanwhile tends to view warrior kings such as Omri somewhat positively, even when they are not seen as shining examples of biblical piety. Indeed, in present-day Israeli society, "Omri" is a fairly common male name. Omri Sharon, the elder son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, is a well-known example. Omri Katz is an Israeli-American actor, born in Los Angeles to Israeli parents.

Because Omri's granddaughter Athaliah married king Ahaziah of Judah and her grandson Joash survived to have sons of his own, both she and Omri are in the lineage of the Davidic Messiah in Jewish tradition and the lineage of Jesus Christ in Christian tradition.

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