ZAMRI (Hebrew Zimri; Septuagint Zāḳūṣṣ). — Name of four personages in the Old Testament.
1. Member of the tribe of Simeon, son of Salu, who was slain by Phineas because he was caught in an illicit relationship with a Midianite woman (Num. 25:14, Vulgate Zambri; 1 Macc. 2:26, 54).
2. Member of the tribe of Judah, son of Zerah (1 Chr. 2:6).
3. B-niminità (ibid. 8:36; 9:42).
4. King of Israel (Vulgate Zambri), who, as commander of half the cavalry, seized the throne by rebelling against Ela (q.v.). He killed the king and all the members of the dynasty of Baasha. But his reign lasted only seven days, when a military revolt placed Omri (q.v.) on the throne. To avoid falling into the year 1587, Z. committed suicide by setting fire to the palace at Tirzah (1 Kings 16:9–18). His rebellion remained notorious (2 Kings 9:31).
In Jer. 25:25 a people of this name is mentioned; it could, however, also refer to a region. Given the uniqueness of the text and its absence in the Septuagint, not a few exegetes, abandoning every hypothetical identification, emend the word.