And burned the king's house over him with fire— Some interpreters would rather have it, that Omri set the royal palace on fire, in order to burn Zimri in it, who had retired thither. The Hebrew may, indeed, bear that construction, but the other seems the most likely interpretation; nor has prophane history neglected to preserve the memory of some princes who have chosen to die in this manner, rather than fall by the sword; whereof Sardanapalus is one of the most ancient and most notorious examples. Calmet.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 16:18
1 Kings 16:18
18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,