Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 16:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying.” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Jehu condemns Baasha's dynasty and his violence.”
Jehu's word meets a king who used a gift of rule to copy Jeroboam
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 16:1–7. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 16:1–7
Read 1 Kings 16:1 with 16:1–7. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Introduces Jehu son of Hanani's prophetic word against Baasha; adds that Baasha's own violence, as well as his idolatry, stands under the prophetic indictment.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Jehu condemns Baasha's dynasty and his violence,” 1 Kings 16:1 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying.” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 15:31–34 establishes this prior movement: Refers readers to the northern royal annals for Nadab's other acts; gives Baasha the same negative pattern as Jeroboam. 1 Kings 16:1–7 interprets, evaluates, or organizes what the preceding movement has established; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 16:1–7 together
Why these verses belong together: Jehu condemns Baasha's dynasty and his violence is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 16:1–16:7.
Verse 1. 1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
Verse 2. 2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;
Verse 3. 3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Verse 4. 4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.
Verse 5. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Verse 6. 6 So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
Verse 7. 7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.
Follow the Context
- Introduces Jehu son of Hanani's prophetic word against Baasha
- Adds that Baasha's own violence, as well as his idolatry, stands under the prophetic indictment
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Kings 16:1 does not permit the wording “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not authorize lying, coercive obedience tests, imprisonment of dissenters, lethal prophetic imitation, or certainty beyond what the narrated word, sign, and outcome establish.
What Remains True
Truthful witness may confront power without making every messenger, method, or claimed revelation morally infallible. This unit tests that truth through introduces Jehu son of Hanani's prophetic word against Baasha; adds that Baasha's own violence, as well as his idolatry, stands under the prophetic indictment. In 1 Kings 16:1, the concrete line “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 16:1's role in 16:1–7. Paraphrase “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Kings 16:1–7 — Jehu condemns Baasha's dynasty and his violenceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 16:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 16:1–7
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 616–618, translation and translator notes for 16:1–7
Open source ↗