Ezekiel 23:8
in Ezekiel 23She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin bosom, and poured out their lust upon her.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Neither hath she left her whoredoms since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their whoredom upon her.
KJV
Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
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This verse in Ezekiel 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(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.
This site's exposition
Aholah played the harlot when she was mine
on Ezekiel 23:5-8
Samaria's course is told first, doting on the Assyrians. Clarke reads the historical record behind the figure, the treaties Menahem and Hoshea made with Assyria, national policy pictured as a woman's infatuation. JFB notes the figure never drops the earlier history, the whoredoms from Egypt she brought with her.
This site's exposition
she began in Egypt
The habit formed in Egypt in verse 3 followed Samaria through her whole history. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown traced it to the idols Israel kept from Egypt. The sin of youth was never broken.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thus the corrupt affections and inclinations which we brought into the world with us we have not lost, nor got clear of, but still retain them, though the iniquity we were born in was the source of all the calamities which human life is liable to. The destruction of the kingdom of Israel for their apostasy from God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Neither left she her idols brought from Egypt,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
whoredoms brought from Egypt--the calves set up in Dan and Beth-el by Jeroboam, answering to the Egyptian bull-formed idol Apis. Her alliances with Egypt politically are also meant (Isa 30:2, 3;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תַּזְנוּתֶ֤יהָ | taznuteiha | prostitution<s> her | H8457 → | 20 times |
| מִמִּצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mimitzrayim | since Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָזָ֔בָה | ʾazavah | she forsook | H5800 → | 215 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אוֹתָהּ֙ | ʾotah | <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שָׁכְב֣וּ | shakhevu | they had lain with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| בִנְעוּרֶ֔יהָ | vinureiha | in youth<s> her | H5271 → | 47 times |
| וְהֵ֥מָּה | vehemah | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| עִשּׂ֖וּ | ʾisu | they had squeezed | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| דַּדֵּ֣י | dadei | [the] nipples of | H1717 → | 4 times |
| בְתוּלֶ֑יהָ | vetuleiha | virginiti<es> her | H1331 → | |
| וַיִּשְׁפְּכ֥וּ | vaiyishpekhu | and they had poured out | H8210 → | 114 times |
| תַזְנוּתָ֖ם | taznutam | prostitution their | H8457 → | 20 times |
| עָלֶֽיהָ׃ | ʾaleiha | on her | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
תַּזְנוּתֶ֤יהָprostitution<s> her
taznuteihaH8457 →20 times
מִמִּצְרַ֙יִם֙since Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עָזָ֔בָהshe forsook
ʾazavahH5800 →215 times
כִּ֤יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
אוֹתָהּ֙<obj.> her
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
שָׁכְב֣וּthey had lain with
shakhevuH7901 →212 times
בִנְעוּרֶ֔יהָin youth<s> her
vinureihaH5271 →47 times
וְהֵ֥מָּהand they
vehemahH1992 →553 times
עִשּׂ֖וּthey had squeezed
ʾisuH6213 →2628 times
דַּדֵּ֣י[the] nipples of
dadeiH1717 →4 times
בְתוּלֶ֑יהָvirginiti<es> her
vetuleihaH1331 →
וַיִּשְׁפְּכ֥וּand they had poured out
vaiyishpekhuH8210 →114 times
תַזְנוּתָ֖םprostitution their
taznutamH8457 →20 times
עָלֶֽיהָ׃on her
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 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
Exodus 32:4He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of…
it leads to
- Exodus 32:8
How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 9:18
Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,
- 1 Kings 12:28
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out…
- Acts 7:41
At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.
- Deuteronomy 9:16
And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.
- Exodus 32:8
Through
2 Kings 10:29but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 12:28–30
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out…
- 1 Kings 12:28–30
Through
1 Kings 12:28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out…
it leads to
- Exodus 32:4
He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of…
- 2 Kings 10:29
but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
- Exodus 32:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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.