Ezekiel 23:4
in Ezekiel 23The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Aholah ... and Aholibah - More correctly “Oholah” (“her own tent or tabernacle”) and “Oholibah” (“My tent or tabernacle is in her”): names chosen to express that after the division Israel set up her own tabernacle in the place of the temple in which God dwelt 1Ki 12:32, while with Judah the Temple of God still remained. The presence of God aggravated Judah’s sins. In the times of the captivity it was customary among the Jews to give their children names connected with the temple or tabernacle.
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
on Ezekiel 23:1-10
(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 Awakening2 voices
Aholibah - That is, my tabernacle in her: the two tribes had the temple of God with them. Mine - By solemn marriage-covenant. Bare sons - Were fruitful and brought forth children to me; they increased in numbers of people; and among these, some there were that were children of God by faith, love, and obedience.
In this parable Samaria and the kingdom of Israel shall bear the name of Aholah--her own tabernacle, because the places of worship which that kingdom had were of their own devising, their own choosing, and the worship itself was their own invention;
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּשְׁמוֹתָ֗ן | ushemotan | and names their | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אָהֳלָ֤ה | ʾoholah | [was] Oholah | H170 → | 5 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ | hagedolah | the old [one] | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וְאָהֳלִיבָ֣ה | veoholivah | and [was] Oholibah | H172 → | 6 times |
| אֲחוֹתָ֔הּ | ʾachotah | sister her | H269 → | 114 times |
| וַתִּֽהְיֶ֣ינָה | vatihyeinah | and they belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִ֔י | li | to me | ||
| וַתֵּלַ֖דְנָה | vateladnah | and they bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| בָּנִ֣ים | banim | sons | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּבָנ֑וֹת | uvanot | and daughters | H1323 → | 588 times |
| וּשְׁמוֹתָ֕ן | ushemotan | and names their | H8034 → | 864 times |
| שֹׁמְר֣וֹן | shomeron | [was] Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| אָהֳלָ֔ה | ʾoholah | Oholah | H170 → | 5 times |
| וִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | virushalim | and [was] Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| אָהֳלִיבָֽה׃ | ʾoholivah | Oholibah | H172 → | 6 times |
וּשְׁמוֹתָ֗ןand names their
ushemotanH8034 →864 times
אָהֳלָ֤ה[was] Oholah
ʾoholahH170 →5 times
הַגְּדוֹלָה֙the old [one]
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
וְאָהֳלִיבָ֣הand [was] Oholibah
veoholivahH172 →6 times
אֲחוֹתָ֔הּsister her
ʾachotahH269 →114 times
וַתִּֽהְיֶ֣ינָהand they belonged
vatihyeinahH1961 →3559 times
לִ֔יto me
li
וַתֵּלַ֖דְנָהand they bore
vateladnahH3205 →496 times
בָּנִ֣יםsons
banimH1121 →4930 times
וּבָנ֑וֹתand daughters
uvanotH1323 →588 times
וּשְׁמוֹתָ֕ןand names their
ushemotanH8034 →864 times
שֹׁמְר֣וֹן[was] Samaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
אָהֳלָ֔הOholah
ʾoholahH170 →5 times
וִירוּשָׁלִַ֖םand [was] Jerusalem
virushalimH3389 →643 times
אָהֳלִיבָֽה׃Oholibah
ʾoholivahH172 →6 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 16:8Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a…
it leads to
- Ruth 3:9
“Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”
- Jeremiah 2:2–3
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness,…
- Romans 5:8
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Isaiah 43:4
Because you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and nations in place of your life.
- Exodus 32:13
Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will…
- Ruth 3:9
Through
Ezekiel 16:20You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:37
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food…
- Jeremiah 7:31
They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.
- Psalms 106:37–38
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
- Ezekiel 23:37
About Ezekiel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe northern hill countrySamariaThe hill Omri bought and built his capital on, where Ahab raised a temple to Baal, where the four lepers found the Aramean camp em…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 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 Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.