The Meaning of 1 Kings 16:21 Explained

1 Kings 16:21

KJV: Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.

YLT: Then are the sons of Israel parted into halves; half of the people hath been after Tibni son of Ginath to cause him to reign, and the half after Omri;

Darby: Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.

ASV: Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then were the people  of Israel  divided  into two parts:  half  of the people  followed  Tibni  the son  of Ginath,  to make him king;  and half  followed  Omri. 

What does 1 Kings 16:21 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 16:15-28 - Persistence In Sinful Ways
These chapters afford a dreary record of apostasy and revolution, of idolatry and national disaster. Perhaps the great mass of the people-the peasantry-were not greatly affected by these dynastic changes, though severe judgments of famine and drought were soon to make the nation realize what an evil and bitter thing it is to desert the Fountain of living waters for broken cisterns that can hold no water, Jeremiah 2:13. Four times in this chapter we meet the phrase, "provoke to anger," 1 Kings 16:7; 1 Kings 16:13; 1 Kings 16:26; 1 Kings 16:33. To idolatry was added intemperance, 1 Kings 16:9, and the fruit was suicide, anarchy, and civil war, 1 Kings 16:18; 1 Kings 16:21-22. But great as these evils were, they were to be surpassed, I Kings 1 Kings 16:30.
The one sufficient bulwark against universal anarchy is the maintenance of true religion. People talk with glib tongues against the Puritan conscience and demand the secularization of the Lord's day, but they are surely imperiling the stability and order of the commonwealth. More than is ordinarily realized are the relations between man and man affected by the relation between the nation and God. The writings of Voltaire helped to bring on the French Revolution; while the religious revivals of the eighteenth century, both in England and in America, contributed greatly to solid national progress. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 16

1  Jehu's prophecy against Baasha
5  Elah succeeds him
8  Zimri, conspiring against Elah, succeeds him
11  Zimri executes Jehu's prophecy
15  Omri, made king by the soldiers, forces Zimri desperately to burn himself
21  The kingdom being divided, Omri prevails against Tibni
23  Omri builds Samaria
25  His wicked reign
27  Ahab succeeds him
29  Ahab's most wicked reign
34  Joshua's curse upon Hiel the builder of Jericho

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 16:21 mean?

then were divided the people of Israel into two parts half of the people followed followed Tibni son of Ginath to make him king and half Omri
אָ֧ז יֵחָלֵ֛ק הָעָ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לַחֵ֑צִי חֲצִ֨י הָעָ֜ם הָ֠יָה אַחֲרֵ֨י תִבְנִ֤י בֶן־ גִּינַת֙ לְהַמְלִיכ֔וֹ וְהַחֲצִ֖י עָמְרִֽי

יֵחָלֵ֛ק  were  divided 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָלַק 
Sense: to divide, share, plunder, allot, apportion, assign.
הָעָ֥ם  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
לַחֵ֑צִי  into  two  parts 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲצִי 
Sense: half.
חֲצִ֨י  half 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חֲצִי 
Sense: half.
הָעָ֜ם  of  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
הָ֠יָה  followed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
אַחֲרֵ֨י  followed 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
תִבְנִ֤י  Tibni 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: תִּבְנִי  
Sense: contender for the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel after the death of Zimri; fought for 4 years with the rival faction whose leader was Omri; died after 4 years leaving the throne to Omri.
בֶן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
גִּינַת֙  of  Ginath 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גִּינַת  
Sense: father of Tibni.
לְהַמְלִיכ֔וֹ  to  make  him  king 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
וְהַחֲצִ֖י  and  half 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲצִי 
Sense: half.
עָמְרִֽי  Omri 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָמְרִי  
Sense: king of the northern kingdom of Israel, successor to king Elah for whom he was the captain of the army; ruled for 2 years and succeeded by his infamous son Ahab.