King Zimri - Biography

Nothing is known of Zimri's origin. He served in King Elah's mechanized military, being captain over half of the army's chariots. When Elah had been in office for about a year, Zimri murdered him to make himself king. Zimri's only official act as king was to murder every male relative of Elah, as a prophet had foretold.

Zimri's conspiracy failed, however. Omri, the captain of Elah's army, acted promptly to obtain public support for action against Zimri. He immediately assembled a nationwide army and besieged Zimri's hideout at Tirzah, the capital. When Zimri realized his situation was hopeless, he set his palace afire and died in the flames, one of only 5 suicides recorded in the Bible. He had reigned only 7 days.