Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - 1 Kings 15:33 - 15:33

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Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - 1 Kings 15:33 - 15:33


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The Reign of Baasha is described very briefly according to its duration (two years) and its spirit, namely, the attitude of Baasha towards the Lord (1Ki 15:34); there then follow in 1Ki 16:1-4 the words of the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani (2Ch 16:7), concerning the extermination of the family of Baasha; and lastly, in 1Ki 16:5-7, his death is related with the standing allusion to the annals of the kings. The words of Jehu concerning Baasha (1Ki 16:1-4) coincide exactly mutatis mutandis with the words of Ahijah concerning Jeroboam.

(Note: “There was something very strange in the perversity and stolidity of the kings of Israel, that when they saw that the families of preceding kings were evidently overthrown by the command of God on account of the worship of the calves, and they themselves had overturned them, they nevertheless worshipped the same calves, and placed them before the people for them to worship, that they might not return to the temple and to Asa, king of Jerusalem; though prophets denounced it and threatened their destruction. Truly the devil and the ambition of reigning blinded them and deprived them of their senses. Hence it came to pass, through the just judgment of God, that they all were executioners of one another in turn: Baasha was the executioner of the sons of Jeroboam; Zambri was the executioner of the sons of Baasha; and the executioner of Zambri was Omri.” - _C. a Lapide.)

The expression “exalted thee out of the dust,” instead of “from among the people” (1Ki 14:7), leads to the conjecture that Baasha had risen to be king from a very low position. גְּבוּרָתֹו (his might) in 1Ki 16:5 refers, as in the case of Asa (1Ki 15:23), less to brave warlike deeds, than generally to the manifestation of strength and energy in his government.