Ezekiel 23:2
in Ezekiel 23“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
KJV
Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseSon of man, there were two women - All the Hebrews were derived from one source, Abraham and Sarah; and, till the schism under Rehoboam, formed but one people: but as these ten tribes and a half separated from Judah and Benjamin, they became two distinct people under different kings; called the kingdom of Judah, and the kingdom of Israel. They are called here, because of their consanguinity, two sisters.
This site's exposition
The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying
on Ezekiel 23:1-4
Two sisters, daughters of one mother, are named for two capitals under one figure, Aholah the elder standing for Samaria and Aholibah her sister standing for Jerusalem. Henry reads the shared mother as the common stock of the twelve tribes before the kingdom split under Rehoboam, one people whose infidelity the prophet now traces down two separate roads. Gill notes the sisters' names carry meaning in Hebrew, her own tent and my tent is in her, the second name marking Jerusalem's greater privilege as the city where the sanctuary actually stood.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 23, verses 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. And they played the harlot in Egypt, in their youth they played the harlot. There their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms were broken (or, as it is in the Septuagint, There their breasts fell and there they were deflowered). Their names were Oholah the elder (or, the elder sister), and Oholibah her sister. And I took them (whether they were given to me) and they bore sons and daughters.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Son of man, there were two women,.... Or two nations and kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel or the ten tribes, and the kingdom of Judah or the two tribes.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Of one mother - Israel and Judah were branches of the same stock.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֑ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| שְׁתַּ֣יִם | shetayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| נָשִׁ֔ים | nashim | women | H802 → | 781 times |
| בְּנ֥וֹת | benot | daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אֵם־ | ʾem- | a mother | H517 → | 220 times |
| אַחַ֖ת | ʾachat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| הָיֽוּ׃ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֑םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
שְׁתַּ֣יִםtwo
shetayimH8147 →768 times
נָשִׁ֔יםwomen
nashimH802 →781 times
בְּנ֥וֹתdaughters of
benotH1323 →588 times
אֵם־a mother
ʾem-H517 →220 times
אַחַ֖תone
ʾachatH259 →971 times
הָיֽוּ׃they were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.