Ezekiel 23:5
in Ezekiel 23Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,
KJV
And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Aholah played the harlot when she was mine,.... His married wife, and so ought to have cleaved to him alone: or, under me (o); under his cover, power, and protection, and therefore it was their interest to serve him only: or, "instead of me" (p); or, as the Syriac version, "besides me": they worshipped other gods in the room of the true God, or other gods besides him.
This site's exposition
Aholah played the harlot when she was mine
on Ezekiel 23:5-8
Samaria's course is told first and briefly, doting on the Assyrians, the very captains and horsemen whose military splendor drew the northern kingdom into alliance and eventually into the idols that came with it. Clarke reads the historical record behind the figure, the treaties Menahem and Hoshea made with Assyria in the histories, national policy pictured as a woman's infatuation with soldiers. JFB notes the figure never drops the earlier history, the whoredoms from Egypt she brought with her, so Samaria's fall reads as one unbroken pattern rather than a single late mistake.
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
): Aholah played the harlot when she was mine. Though the ten tribes had deserted the house of David, yet God owned them for his still; though Jeroboam, in setting up the golden calves, sinned, and made Israel to sin, yet, as long as they worshipped the God of Israel only, though by images, he did not quite cast them off. But they way of sin is down-hill.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when . . . mine--literally, "under Me," that is, subject to Me as her lawful husband. neighbours--On the northeast the kingdom of Israel bordered on that of Assyria; for the latter had occupied much of Syria. Their neighborhood in locality was emblematical of their being near in corruption of morals and worship.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And Aholah played the harlot - Without entering into detail here, or following the figures, they both became idolatrous, and received the impure rites of the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, of which connection the prophet speaks here as he did in chap. 16, which see. In this chapter there are many of what we would call indelicate expressions, because a parallel is run between idolatry and prostitution, and the circumstances of the latter illustrate the peculiarities of the former.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּ֥זֶן | vatizen | and she acted as a prostitute | H2181 → | 94 times |
| אָהֳלָ֖ה | ʾoholah | Oholah | H170 → | 5 times |
| תַּחְתָּ֑י | tachtai | under me | H8478 → | 505 times |
| וַתַּעְגַּב֙ | vata'gav | and she lusted | H5689 → | 7 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מְאַהֲבֶ֔יהָ | meahaveiha | lovers her | H157 → | 211 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַשּׁ֖וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| קְרוֹבִֽים׃ | kerovim | [were] warriors | H7138 → | 77 times |
וַתִּ֥זֶןand she acted as a prostitute
vatizenH2181 →94 times
אָהֳלָ֖הOholah
ʾoholahH170 →5 times
תַּחְתָּ֑יunder me
tachtaiH8478 →505 times
וַתַּעְגַּב֙and she lusted
vata'gavH5689 →7 times
עַֽל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מְאַהֲבֶ֔יהָlovers her
meahaveihaH157 →211 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַשּׁ֖וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
קְרוֹבִֽים׃[were] warriors
kerovimH7138 →77 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
2 Kings 16:7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 15:29
Through
Hosea 5:13When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
it leads to
- Hosea 7:11
So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
- Jeremiah 30:12
For this is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.
- Hosea 10:6
Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.
- Hosea 12:1
Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
- 2 Kings 15:19
Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
- Hosea 7:11
Through
2 Kings 17:3Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
it leads to
- Hosea 10:14
the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with…
- Hosea 10:14
Through
2 Kings 15:19Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 14:5
As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king.
- 2 Kings 14:5
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.