EzekielChapter 23

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The word of the LORD came to me:

Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.

They played the whore in Egypt; in their youth they played the whore. There their breasts were fondled, and there their maiden breasts were handled.

Their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her sister. They became mine and bore sons and daughters. As for their names: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

But Oholah played the whore while she was mine. She burned with lust for her lovers, the Assyrians, her neighbors—

governors and commanders dressed in blue, all of them handsome young men, cavalrymen mounted on horses.

She gave herself as a whore to them, the choicest men of Assyria, every one of them; and with all whom she lusted after she defiled herself with their idols.

Nor did she give up the whoring she began in Egypt, for in her youth men had slept with her, had handled her young breasts and poured out their lust on her.

Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians she lusted after.

They stripped her naked, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and judgment was carried out on her.

Her sister Oholibah saw all this, yet in her lust she was even more corrupt than her sister, and her whoring surpassed her sister's.

She lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, her neighbors, splendidly dressed, cavalrymen mounted on horses, all of them handsome young men.

And I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them had gone the same way.

But she carried her whoring still further. She saw men carved on the wall, figures of Chaldeans etched in vermilion,

belts around their waists, flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers—the very image of Babylonians, whose native land is Chaldea.

At the mere sight of them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

So the Babylonians came to her, to her bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. And when she had been defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.

When she flaunted her whoring and exposed her nakedness, I turned from her in disgust, just as I had turned from her sister.

Yet she multiplied her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt,

and she lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys and whose seed like that of horses.

So you longed again for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your breasts and fondled your young body.

Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to rouse your lovers against you, the very ones you turned from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side—

the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of rank, all of them riding on horses.

They will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a horde of peoples. They will surround you with shield and buckler and helmet. I will hand the judgment over to them, and they will judge you by their own laws.

I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your nose and your ears, and those left of you will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters, and what remains of you will be consumed by fire.

They will strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels.

So I will put an end to your lewdness and to the whoring you began in Egypt. You will not lift your eyes to them again or remember Egypt anymore.

For this is what the Lord GOD says: I am handing you over to those you hate, to those you turned from in disgust.

They will deal with you in hatred and take everything you have worked for, leaving you stripped and naked. Then the shame of your whoring will be exposed—your lewdness and your promiscuity.

All this will come upon you because you played the whore after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

You have walked in your sister's way, so I will put her cup into your hand.

This is what the Lord GOD says: You will drink your sister's cup, deep and wide; it will bring scorn and ridicule, for it holds so much.

You will be filled with drunkenness and grief—a cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.

You will drink it and drain it dry, gnaw its broken pieces, and tear your breasts. For I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must bear the weight of your lewdness and your whoring.

The LORD said to me: Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their abominations.

For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols, and they even offered up the children they had borne to me as food for them.

And this too they did to me: on that same day they defiled my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths.

On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary and profaned it. That is what they did inside my house.

They even sent for men who came from far away. A messenger was sent to them, and they came. And for them you bathed, painted your eyes, and put on your jewelry.

You sat on a stately couch with a table spread before it, and on that table you set my incense and my oil.

The noise of a carefree crowd was around her—men out of the great throng, and drunkards* brought to them from the desert—and they put bracelets on the women's wrists and crowns of splendor on their heads. *Footnote: The written Hebrew text reads "drunkards"; the traditional reading tradition points the word as "Sabeans," a people from the desert regions.

Then I said of the one worn out by adultery: Now they will keep using her as a whore, for that is what she is.

Men went in to her as men go in to a prostitute. So they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, those lewd women.

But righteous men will pass sentence on them—the sentence for adulteresses and for women who shed blood—because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

For this is what the Lord GOD says: Bring up an assembly against them and hand them over to terror and plunder.

The assembly will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses down.

So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, and all women will take warning and will not act as you have.

You will be repaid for your lewdness and will bear the guilt of your idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

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Summary2

Chapter 23

Main Theme: God accuses Samaria (Oholah) and Jerusalem (Oholibamah) of spiritual adultery and announces judgment through their former allies.

Content: The chapter is an allegory in which two sisters, Oholah and Oholibamah, represent Samaria and Jerusalem. Both sisters practiced "adultery" from their youth in Egypt and continued with Assyria and Babylon—this describes idolatry and political alliances. They desecrated God's sanctuary and sacrificed their own children to idols. As punishment, God will bring their former "lovers" against them with armies, and Jerusalem must drink the same cup of destruction that Samaria drank.

Key Words/Images:

Oholah and Oholibamah: Allegorical names for Samaria ("her tent") and Jerusalem ("my tent is in her"), portrayed as God's unfaithful wives.
Adultery/Spiritual Unfaithfulness: A sexual metaphor for idolatry and political alliances with pagan nations.
The Cup: A symbol of the judgment that Jerusalem must drink—the same fateful cup that Samaria drank.
Child Sacrifice: The most serious accusation—they sacrificed their children to idols and desecrated God's sanctuary on the very same day.

Historical context

Historical and Cultural Context for Ezekiel 23

Characters

The chapter introduces two allegorical figures: Oholah (אָהֳלָה) and Oholibamah (אָהֳלִיבָה), representing Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom) and Jerusalem (the capital of the southern kingdom), respectively. The names are symbolic: Oholah means "her own tent"—possibly a reference to the illegitimate sanctuaries of the northern kingdom—while Oholibamah means "my tent is in her," pointing to the fact that God's temple was in Jerusalem. They are portrayed as sisters with the same mother, emphasizing that both kingdoms descended from the same people and covenant relationship with God.

Places

The chapter mentions several nations with which Israel and Judah formed political alliances. Egypt represents the earliest "lover" and symbolizes Israel's original slavery and persistent temptation to seek Egyptian military support. Assyria was the dominant power in the 800s and 700s BC, and both the northern kingdom and Judah at times sought Assyrian protection and influence, which brought religious syncretism. Babylon (the land of the Chaldeans) was the new superpower during Ezekiel's time. Verse 23 also mentions Pekod, Shoa, and Koa—these were Aramean or Chaldean tribal groups east of the Tigris who served in the Babylonian army, known from Assyrian cuneiform texts.

Events and Customs

The chapter uses explicit sexual language to describe political and religious unfaithfulness. In the ancient Near Eastern context, political alliances were often sealed with religious rituals and acknowledgment of the alliance partner's gods. Verses 14–15 describe wall paintings of Babylonian warriors with distinctive features: belts around their hips, turban-like headgear, and appearances like "officers" (שָׁלִשִׁים). Such reliefs and paintings of Babylonian and Assyrian soldiers are known from archaeological finds and show that Ezekiel described recognizable cultural traits. Verses 37–39 refer to child sacrifice ("made their children pass through the fire for idols") and the grotesque combination of idol worship and temple service on the same day.

Key Terms

Several Hebrew expressions are central to understanding. The verb עָגַב ('agav, "to lust after, long for") is repeatedly used regarding the sisters' passion for foreign nations. גִּלּוּלִים (gillulim, "idols") is a derogatory term Ezekiel often uses, possibly derived from a word meaning "dung" or "stone blocks." כּוֹס ("cup/chalice") in verses 31–34 is a powerful image of God's judgment—a poisoned cup that must be drunk to the dregs, a motif recurring throughout prophetic literature. The term תַּזְנוּת (taznut, "whoredom/prostitution") is consistently used as a metaphor for covenant breaking, both political and religious.

Chapter-Specific Findings

The detailed descriptions of Babylonian and Assyrian soldiers (verses 6, 12, 14–15, 23)—with blue-colored garments (תְכֵלֶת), headgear, and cavalry—correspond with reliefs from Nineveh and Babylon depicting military scenes. Especially the Sennacherib reliefs from Nineveh (circa 700 BC) and later Babylonian representations show warriors with precisely such distinctive features. This confirms that Ezekiel had firsthand knowledge of Mesopotamian culture and art, which is natural given that he himself was exiled to Babylon.

People2

Oholah2 Oholibah4

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Key words8

Oholah — A symbolic figure representing Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. She is described as an unfaithful sister.
Oholibah — Another symbolic figure representing Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. She is also described as an unfaithful sister and Oholah's sister.
Adultery — In this context, it refers to turning away from God and worshiping other gods, which is regarded as spiritual prostitution.
Assyria — An ancient empire in Mesopotamia that conquered and destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In Ezekiel 23, Assyria is associated with Oholah's adultery.
Babylon — An ancient empire in Mesopotamia that conquered and destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Judah. In Ezekiel 23, Babylon is associated with Oholibah's adultery.
Punishment — The consequences of Israel's and Judah's unfaithfulness toward God. The punishment includes destruction, captivity, and suffering.
Judgment — God's righteous evaluation and the consequences of human actions, especially those who have been unfaithful to him.
Salvation — God's promise to save his people from their sin and punishment, and to restore them to a right relationship with him.