מלכים א, פרק ט״ז, פסוק י״ז

A sudden shift in government control forces a major change in military strategy. Omri leaves the active battlefront and leads his troops back into the heart of the kingdom to address the crisis. Commentators explain that the military force accompanying him consists specifically of the army personnel who were already deployed in the campaign against the Philistines, rather than the entire civilian population.

Together with Omri, these soldiers abandon their active battlefield at Gibbethon and march toward a new target. The army moves inland and surrounds the city of Tirzah. They launch a siege against this specific city because the new king, who had just seized power, was stationed there.