SCIEN'CE.
Omophagia {wftocpayia, eating raw fesli), a cus- tom which was anciently followed at the celebration of the Dionysia (cj. v.) in the island of Chios, the Bac- chantes being obliged to cat the raw pieces of flesh of the victim which were distriljuted among them. From this act Dionysus also received the name of Oraadius (q. v.). — Gardner, Faiths of the World, vol. ii, s.v.
Omophorium {wfiofopiov, borne on the shoulder), a kind of scarf or stole worn by the Eastern bishops. It resembles the Latin pall, but is broader, and tied around the neck in a knot. See Vestments, Sacbed.
Omphalopsiichi. See HESYcirAsxs.
Om'ri (lleb. Omri', "^"ip:', thought by Gescnius and FUrst to be for fi^"l^^, the former in the sense of taught of Jehovah, the latter aj)portioned of Jehovah ; but it is doubtful if the etymology contains the divine name; Sept. in 1 Kings 'Afifipi; elsewhere 'Aftapla, 'Apapl,v. r. Zaplipi, Mapi; Josephus, 'A^iaplvoc, Ant. viii, 12. h). the name of four men:
1. The fifth named of nine sons of Becher, son of Benjamin (1 Cliron. vii, 8). B.C. cir. 1G18.
2. Son of Imri and father of Ammihud, of the tribe of .Judah (1 Cliron. ix, 4). B.C. post 1G18.
3. Son of IMichael, and David's captain in the tribe of Issachar (1 Chron. xxvii, 18). B.C. cir. 1017.
4. The commander-in-chief of the armies of Elah, king of Israel (1 Kings xvi, 16), and the seventh king of Israel, who began to reign in B.C. 926, and reigned eleven full (or twelve current) years, founding the third dynasty. He was engatced in the siege of Gibbethon,
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a Levitical city in Dan, of which the Philistines had gained possession, when the news came to the camp of the death of Elah and the usurpation of Ziniri. On this the army proclaimed their general, Omri, king of Israel. He then lost not a moment, but leaving Gib- bethon in the power of the infidels, went and besieged his competitor in Tirzah, carrying on the war so vigor- ously that Zimri soon despaired, and burned himself in his palace. But Omri was no sooner delivered of this 1 rival (see Zimri) than another appeared in the person j of Tibni, whom a part of the people had raised to the i throne, probably from unwillingness to submit to niili- I tary dictation. This occasioned a civil war which last- ed four years (comp. 1 Kings xvi, 15 with 23) and left Omri undisputed master of the throne (B.C. 922). His reign lasted seven years more, his general character being "worse than all that had preceded him" (1 Kings xvi, 25). This is the same Omri mentioned (2 Chron. xxii, 2) as father of Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, king of Israel. Six of these latter jears "he spent in Tirzah, although the palace there was destroyed; but at the end of that time, in spite of the proverbial beauty of the site (Cant, vi, 4), he transferred his resi- dence, probably from the proved inability of Tirzah to stand a siege, to the mountain Shomron, better known by its Greek name Samaria, which he bought for two talents of silver from a rich man, otherwise unknown, called Shemer. See Samaria. It is situated about six miles from Shechem, the most ancient of Hebrew capitals; and its position, according to Prof. Stanley {S. and P. p. 240), ' combined, in a union not elsewhere found in Palestine, strength, fertility, and beauty.' Bethel, however, remained the religious metropolis of the kingdom, and the calf-worship of Jeroboam was maintained with increased determination and disregard of God's law (1 Kings xvi, 26). He seems to have been a vigorous and unscrupulous ruler, anxious to strengthen his dynasty by intercourse and alliances with foreign states. Thus he made a treaty with Ben- hadad I, king of Damascus, though on very unfavor- able conditions, surrendering to him some frontier cities (1 Kings XX, 34), and among them probably Kamoth- Gilead (I Kings xxii, 3), and admitting into Samaria a resident Syrian embassy, which is described by the expression ' he made streets in Samaria' for Benhadad. See Ahab. As a part of the same system, he united his son in marriage to the daughter of a principal Phoenician prince, which led to the introduction into Israel of Baal-worship, and all its attendant calamities and crimes. This worldly and irreligious policj- is de- nounced by Micah (vi, 16) under the name of the 'statutes of Omri,' which appear to be contrasted with the Lord's precepts to his peojile, 'to do justly, and to love merc}', and to walk humbly with thy God.' It achieved, however, a temporary success, for Omri left his kingdom in peace to his son Ahab; and his family, unlike the ephemeral dynasties which had preceded him, gave four kings to Israel, and occupied the throne for about half a century, till it was overthrown bj' the great reaction against Baal-worship under Jehu"{Smith), Omri is mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions (q. v.) as the founder of Beth-Khumri or Samaria (Rawlinson, Hist. Evidences, p. 109). On the chronology of this reign, see Offerhaus, Spicil. p. 45; Ussher, Annul, p. 37. See Israel, Kingdom of.
On, the name of a man, and also of a city.
1. (Heb. id. "jlX, strength, as Job xviii, 7; Sept. Arr.) A son of Peleth, and a chief of the tribe of Reuben, who WMS one of the accomplices of Korah in the revolt against the authority of Moses and Aaron. B.C. cir. 1037. He is mentioned among the leaders of this conspiracy in the first instance (Numb, xvi, 1), but does not appear in any of the subsequent transactions, and is not by name included in the final punishment. " Possibly he repented ; and indeed there is a Rabbinical tradition to the effect that he was prevailed upon b}- his wife to