Person Old Testament
Omri
Omri was the sixth king of Israel who established Samaria as the capital and founded a powerful dynasty. Mentioned in 13 verses across 4 books, first at 1 Kings 16:16.
Why it matters. King of Israel; father of Ahab
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Omri
Omri was the sixth king of Israel, who reigned for 12 years (1Ki.16.23). He came to power after a period of political instability and established Samaria as the new capital of Israel (1Ki.16.24). Omri was a powerful ruler who expanded Israel's territory and made alliances with neighboring kingdoms, including Phoenicia through the marriage of his son Ahab to Jezebel (1Ki.16.31). However, Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam (1Ki.16.25-26). The dynasty he founded, known as the "house of Omri," became notorious for its wickedness, particularly during the reign of his son Ahab (1Ki.16.30; Mic.6.16). Omri's reign was significant in the history of Israel, as he strengthened the kingdom politically and economically, but also led the nation further into idolatry and disobedience to God.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Ahab
Appears in Scripture
Named in 13 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.