I warned you that the Book of Kings gets very tedious. Here we have yet more endless recitation of faceless rulers -- we learn nothing about them but their names -- who anger God and have their families massacred. For the details, we are repeatedly referred to other books, that have been lost. Not much to say about this, and I don't know what the point of it is supposed to be. It's interesting that Melville chose to name his obsessed captain Ahab, which is not a name anyone would ordinarily give to a child.
BTW KJV translates "He did not leave him a single male" in verse 11 as "He left not one who pisseth against the wall," which I presume is the literal translation, and is a locution used frequently. But evidently the RSV translators found it too crude.
The last paragraph is a reference to a prophecy in Joshua 6:26: "Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it."
16 And the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hana′ni against Ba′asha, saying, 2 “Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jerobo′am, and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, 3 behold, I will utterly sweep away Ba′asha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat. 4 Any one belonging to Ba′asha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and any one of his who dies in the field the birds of the air shall eat.”
5 Now the rest of the acts of Ba′asha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 6 And Ba′asha slept with his fathers, and was buried at Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his stead. 7 Moreover the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hana′ni against Ba′asha and his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jerobo′am, and also because he destroyed it.
Elah Reigns over Israel
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Ba′asha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years. 9 But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
11 When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he killed all the house of Ba′asha; he did not leave him a single male of his kinsmen or his friends. 12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Ba′asha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke against Ba′asha by Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Ba′asha and the sins of Elah his son which they sinned, and which they made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols. 14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Third Dynasty: Zimri Reigns over Israel
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gib′bethon, which belonged to the Philistines, 16 and the troops who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king”; therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17 So Omri went up from Gib′bethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 18 And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house, and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and died, 19 because of his sins which he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jerobo′am, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin. 20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy which he made, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Fourth Dynasty: Omri Reigns over Israel
21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts; half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel and he reigned for twelve years; six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samar′ia from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he fortified the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, Samar′ia, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. 26 For he walked in all the way of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, and in the sins which he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28 And Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samar′ia; and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
Ahab Reigns over Israel
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samar′ia twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all that were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, he took for wife Jez′ebel the daughter of Ethba′al king of the Sido′nians, and went and served Ba′al, and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Ba′al in the house of Ba′al, which he built in Samar′ia. 33 And Ahab made an Ashe′rah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hi′el of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abi′ram his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
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