Immediately the Scripture text continues with Zimri. Once he had the power firmly in his hands, he did exactly what Baasha did—he killed his predecessor’s entire family and circle of friends. But when we read a little further in 1 Kings 16:15, we learn that Zimri was king for seven days: a week! That must have been a rough and bloody week.
Again we hear the gloomy refrain: because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
We read about the prophet Jehu mentioned here in 1 Kings 16:3–4.
1 Kings 16:14 also mentions that further details of Elah are to be found in the chronicles of the kings of Israel—but those records are not known; they must have been lost. What is preserved in the Bible are the chronicles of the kings of Judah, the Bible books First and Second Chronicles. The memorial books of Israel were not worth preserving.
11 When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down all the house of Baasha. He did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends.