ZAMRI (Heb. Zimri; Septuagint Zápařá). — The name of four persons in the Old Testament.
1. A member of the tribe of Simeon, son of Salu, who was killed by Phinees because he was caught in an affair with a Midianite woman (Num. 25, 14, Vulgate Zambri; I Mach. 2, 26.54).
2. A member of the tribe of Judah, son of Zara (I Par. 2, 6).
3. A Benjaminite (ibid. 8, 36; 9, 42).
4. King of Israel (Vulgate Zambri), who, as commander of half the cavalry, seized ELAM (v.). He killed at Thers. the King and all the members of the dynasty of Bassa. But his reign lasted only seven days, AMORI (v.) on the throne. Rather than fall into the hands of his rival, Z. killed himself by setting fire to the royal palace of Thers. (I Reg. 16, 9-18). His rebellion remained famous (II Reg. 9, 31).
In Ier. 25, 25 a people of this name is mentioned; it may, however, also be a region. Given the uniqueness of the text and its absence from the Septuagint, not a few exegetes, abandoning every hypothetical identification, emend the word.