Bible Dictionaries
Zimri

Holman Bible Dictionary

(zihm' ri) Short form of personal name meaning, “Yah helped,” “Yah is my protection,” or “Yah is my praise.” 1. Son of Zerah and grandson of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:6 ). 2 . A chariot captain in Israel who usurped the throne by killing Elah (1 Kings 16:9-10 ). His reign was the shortest of all the kings of Israel, seven days (1 Kings 16:15 ). Zimri committed suicide by burning his palace around him after Omri besieged Tirzah. His name became a byword for king killers (2 Kings 9:31 ). 3 . Leader of tribe of Simeon slain by Phinehas for bringing Midianite woman into the wilderness camp (Numbers 25:1 ). 4 . Descendant of Saul (1 Chronicles 8:36 ). 5 . A difficult name of a nation God judged (Jeremiah 25:25 ), often taken as a copying change from the Hebrew for Cimmerians or a coded designation for Elam clarified by the immediate mention of Elam. Nothing is known of a nation of Zimri.