Ezekiel 16:46
in Ezekiel 16Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
KJV
And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
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This verse in Ezekiel 16
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left - It is supposed that the prophet by Sodom in this place means the Israelites that dwelt beyond Jordan, in the land or the Moabites and Ammonites; or rather of the Moabites and Ammonites themselves. Literally, Sodom could not be called the younger sister of Jerusalem, as it existed before Jerusalem had a name. In looking east from Jerusalem, Samaria was on the left, and Sodom on the right hand; that is, the first was on the north, the second on the south of Jerusalem.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Virtue makes me to have Christ as my brother, so that I may be both good and well-mannered.
What are these two sisters of Jerusalem the sinner? Schism and division of the people created Samaria.
This is to despise Zion and to trust in the mountain of Samaria. For if we ecclesiastics sin, heretics are certainly not strangers to us in the perversion of their teaching.
(Verse. 45 seqq.) Your mother Hethaea (also spelled Chethaea), and your father Amorrhaeus, and your older sister Samaria: she and her daughters who live on your left. But your younger sister, who lives on your right, is Sodom and her daughters. But you did not walk in their ways, nor did you commit crimes like theirs, but rather, you committed even more wicked things in all your ways. LXX: Your mother Chethaea, and your father Amorrhaeus, your older sister Samaria: she and her daughters who live on your left, and your younger sister, who lives on your right, is Sodom and her daughters: and even so, you did not walk in her ways, nor did you act according to her wickedness, but rather, you transgressed against them in all your ways. He had said above: your father is Amorrhæan, and your mother Chethæan; here with the order and number changed: Your mother is Chethæan, and your father is Amorrhæan. For when they have advanced in wickedness, they are divided into parts; and deserted unity, they make progress into a tumult and multitude, which is not able to ascend to the mountains with Jesus. But Jerusalem is the sister of Samaria, and Sodom, of which one is on the left, the other on the right, even according to the carnal understanding, if you look from the temple at Jerusalem towards the East, you will approve. Majorca is said to be Samaria, because it sinned first and was led into captivity by the Assyrians; and Minor and younger Sodom, which is related to a multitude of nations. Otherwise, at that time Sodom was not there, which we read about before in the Scriptures, with Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, it was destroyed by divine fire (Gen. 19). […]
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Her daughters - The lesser cities of the kingdom of Israel. Thy left hand - Northward as you look toward the east. Thy younger sister - Which was smaller and less populous.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And thine elder sister is Samaria,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Samaria--older than Sodom, to whom Judah was less nearly related by kindred than she was to Samaria. Sodom is therefore called her younger sister; Samaria, her "elder sister" [GROTIUS].
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The temple looked to the east. Samaria was on its left, and Sodom on its right hand.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲחוֹתֵ֨ךְ | vaachotekh | and sister your | H269 → | 114 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה | hagedolah | <the> old | H1419 → | 526 times |
| שֹֽׁמְרוֹן֙ | shomeron | [was] Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| הִ֣יא | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וּבְנוֹתֶ֔יהָ | uvenoteiha | and daughters her | H1323 → | 588 times |
| הַיּוֹשֶׁ֖בֶת | haiyoshevet | who dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׂמֹאולֵ֑ךְ | semolekh | north your | H8040 → | 54 times |
| וַאֲחוֹתֵ֞ךְ | vaachotekh | and sister your | H269 → | 114 times |
| הַקְּטַנָּ֣ה | haketanah | <the> young | H6996 → | 101 times |
| מִמֵּ֗ךְ | mimekh | more than you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַיּוֹשֶׁ֙בֶת֙ | haiyoshevet | who dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| מִֽימִינֵ֔ךְ | miminekh | from south your | H3225 → | 140 times |
| סְדֹ֖ם | sedom | [was] Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| וּבְנוֹתֶֽיהָ׃ | uvenoteiha | and daughters her | H1323 → | 588 times |
וַאֲחוֹתֵ֨ךְand sister your
vaachotekhH269 →114 times
הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה<the> old
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
שֹֽׁמְרוֹן֙[was] Samaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
הִ֣יאshe
hi'H1931 →1879 times
וּבְנוֹתֶ֔יהָand daughters her
uvenoteihaH1323 →588 times
הַיּוֹשֶׁ֖בֶתwho dwelt
haiyoshevetH3427 →1079 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׂמֹאולֵ֑ךְnorth your
semolekhH8040 →54 times
וַאֲחוֹתֵ֞ךְand sister your
vaachotekhH269 →114 times
הַקְּטַנָּ֣ה<the> young
haketanahH6996 →101 times
מִמֵּ֗ךְmore than you
mimekhH4480 →1188 times
הַיּוֹשֶׁ֙בֶת֙who dwelt
haiyoshevetH3427 →1079 times
מִֽימִינֵ֔ךְfrom south your
miminekhH3225 →140 times
סְדֹ֖ם[was] Sodom
sedomH5467 →39 times
וּבְנוֹתֶֽיהָ׃and daughters her
uvenoteihaH1323 →588 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 23:4The 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.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 16:8
Then 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…
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Psalms 45:11–16
and the king will desire your beauty; bow to him, for he is your lord.
- Ezekiel 16:40
They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
- Ezekiel 16:20
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
- Ezekiel 16:8
Where this verse is studied
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…
- PlaceCities of the plainSodomThe city of the plain that Abraham pleaded for and that fire from heaven destroyed while Lot fled, named by the prophets, by Peter…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 9:1.