Ezekiel23

Ezekiel 23 presents an allegory of two sisters, Aholah (Samaria) and Aholibah (Jerusalem), who represent the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. Both nations engaged in spiritual harlotry by forming alliances with and adopting the idolatry of foreign powers, beginning in Egypt. Aholah was punished by her Assyrian lovers, yet Aholibah surpassed her sister in corruption by doting on Assyrians and then Babylonians. Consequently, the Lord declares that Aholibah will suffer an even more severe judgment at the hands of her former lovers, mirroring and exceeding Aholah's destruction, as a consequence of her profound apostasy and idolatry.
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The Allegory of Aholah and Aholibah

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The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,
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Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: ​
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and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity. ​
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And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah. ​

Aholah (Samaria) and Her Adultery with Assyria

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And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors, ​
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who were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. ​
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And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.
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Neither hath she left her whoredoms since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their whoredom upon her.
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Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
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These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they slew with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgments upon her. ​

Aholibah (Jerusalem) Follows Her Sister’s Sin

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And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister. ​
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She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. ​
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And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way.
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And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, ​
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girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
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And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
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And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them. ​
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So she uncovered her whoredoms, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.
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Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. ​
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And she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. ​
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Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the handling of thy bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth.

The Judgment of Aholibah by Her Lovers

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Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side: ​
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the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, princes and men of renown, all of them riding upon horses. ​
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And they shall come against thee with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of peoples; they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will commit the judgment unto them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
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And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. ​
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They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
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Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt; so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. ​
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For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated;
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and they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labor, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
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These things shall be done unto thee, for that thou hast played the harlot after the nations, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
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Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand. ​
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Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup, which is deep and large; thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.
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Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
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Thou shalt even drink it and drain it out, and thou shalt gnaw the sherds thereof, and shalt tear thy breasts; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah. ​
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Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

Summary of Charges and Final Sentence

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Jehovah said moreover unto me: Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare unto them their abominations. ​
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For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured. ​
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Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. ​
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For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house.
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And furthermore ye have sent for men that come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thine eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments,
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and sit upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou didst set mine incense and mine oil. ​
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And the voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness; and they put bracelets upon the hands of them twain, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
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Then said I of her that was old in adulteries, Now will they play the harlot with her, and she with them.
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And they went in unto her, as they go in unto a harlot: so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women.
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And righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. ​
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For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will bring up a company against them, and will give them to be tossed to and fro and robbed.
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And the company shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
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Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. ​
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And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; and ye shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah. ​

Study Notes for Ezekiel 23

Verse 2

The 'two women' represent the two kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah (Jerusalem), emphasizing their common ancestry and shared history of covenant infidelity.

Verse 3

“Whoredoms in Egypt” refers to the spiritual and political compromises made by the Israelites during their formative period before the Exodus, particularly their reliance on Egyptian gods and alliances.

Verse 4

Aholah means 'Her Tent' (referring to Samaria's self-established, illicit places of worship); Aholibah means 'My Tent is in Her' (referring to Jerusalem, where God’s Temple was, indicating a greater level of hypocrisy).

Verse 5

Aholah’s 'whoredom' is the political and religious alliance the Northern Kingdom of Israel made with Assyria, adopting their gods and relying on their military might instead of trusting Yahweh.

Verse 6

The lavish description of the Assyrian soldiers highlights the irresistible attraction and perceived superiority of foreign military and culture that drew Samaria away from God.

Verse 10

This verse recounts the historical destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 BC, demonstrating that the very 'lovers' she sought became the instrument of her divine judgment.

Verse 11

Despite witnessing the horrific destruction of Samaria, Jerusalem failed to heed the warning, showing that her spiritual rebellion was even more intentional and deep-seated.

Verse 12

Jerusalem initially sought the same alliances with Assyria that proved fatal to Samaria, illustrating a failure of both spiritual and political wisdom.

Verse 14

Jerusalem’s whoredom escalated as she became enamored with the Chaldeans (Babylonians), seeking new political alliances and adopting their idolatrous practices.

Verse 17

After the alliance with Babylon proved difficult or disappointing, Jerusalem’s 'mind was alienated,' leading her to seek new, even more desperate, political maneuvers (likely turning back to Egypt).

Verse 19

The reference back to Egypt shows that Jerusalem, having exhausted Assyria and Babylon, returned to her earliest pattern of spiritual and political reliance on the Egyptian superpower.

Verse 20

This extremely graphic and crude language is designed to shock, emphasizing the utterly repulsive and shameful nature of Jerusalem's spiritual lust and alliances with foreign nations.

Verse 22

God promises to use the very nations Jerusalem sought to manipulate—the Babylonians—as the executioners of His judgment, a classic prophetic irony.

Verse 23

Pekod, Shoa, and Koa were specific tribes or regions incorporated into the vast Neo-Babylonian military coalition that would conquer Judah.

Verse 25

The mutilation (taking nose and ears) was a common punishment for adulterers or rebels in the ancient Near East, symbolizing total public disgrace and stripping away all honor.

Verse 27

The goal of the severe judgment is redemptive: to completely cure Judah of her long-standing sin pattern of relying on Egypt and foreign powers, forcing her to rely only on God.

Verse 31

The 'cup' is a powerful biblical metaphor for the wrath of God (cf. Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:15). Jerusalem must drink the full measure of judgment that Samaria already experienced.

Verse 34

The imagery of breaking the sherds and plucking off the breasts emphasizes the extremity of the anguish, shame, and irreversible ruin that accompanies the divine punishment.

Verse 36

Ezekiel is commanded to act as a prosecutor, laying out the specific charges against both kingdoms, demonstrating that the judgment is based on legal, covenantal grounds.

Verse 37

The charges combine political adultery ('whoredom'), moral atrocity ('blood is in their hands'), and religious syncretism (sacrificing children to pagan gods like Molech).

Verse 38

They not only committed idolatry outside the camp, but they compounded their sin by defiling the sacred spaces (sanctuary) and times (Sabbaths) dedicated exclusively to Yahweh.

Verse 41

The use of 'mine incense and mine oil' means they took materials consecrated for Temple use and employed them in pagan political and cultic rituals, profoundly profaning the covenant.

Verse 45

The 'righteous men' are the invading armies (Babylonians), who, though pagan, are acting as God's instruments to execute the righteous judgment dictated by the covenant law against adultery and bloodshed.

Verse 48

The ultimate purpose of this severe, public punishment is didactic: to warn all nations and future generations about the consequences of spiritual and moral infidelity to God.

Verse 49

The conclusion reiterates the principle of divine justice: the consequences of their idolatry and lewdness will fall directly upon them, affirming God's sovereignty and holiness.

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