מלכים א, פרק ט״ז, פסוק י׳

A sudden assassination brings an abrupt end to the previous king's rule, shifting the royal crown directly into the hands of Zimri. This transition of power is recorded with a specific timestamp, aligning the event with the ongoing history of the Kingdom of Judah.

The primary approach among commentators is that dating this event to the twenty-seventh year resolves an apparent chronological puzzle. Earlier records indicate that the murdered king began his rule in the twenty-sixth year of Asa and sat on the throne for two years. This creates a mathematical question: if his reign spanned two years, how could his life and rule end as early as the twenty-seventh year, a timeline that seemingly amounts to only a single year?

The answer lies in the method used to calculate royal timelines. The recorded years of the king's rule were not full, complete years but rather partial ones. He governed for a portion of the twenty-sixth year and a portion of the twenty-seventh year. In the traditional system of counting reigns, any part of a year is officially recorded as a full year, allowing these two fractional segments to be recognized together as a complete two-year reign.