Ezekiel 23:4 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.
Ezekiel 23:4 nkjv
Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
Ezekiel 23:4 niv
The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 23:4 esv
Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 23:4 nlt
The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 23 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 3:6 | The Lord said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did...? She went upon every high hill... and played the harlot." | Israel's spiritual harlotry |
| Jer 3:8 | "Because faithless Israel had committed adultery... I sent her away..." | Israel divorced due to unfaithfulness |
| Ez 16:15 | "But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your renown." | Jerusalem's similar harlotry detailed in allegory |
| Ez 16:46-47 | "Your elder sister is Samaria... who lives with her daughters... [you] multiplied your abominations more than they..." | Jerusalem's greater guilt compared to Samaria |
| Ez 20:30 | "Will you defile yourselves... and prostitute yourselves to their detestable things...?" | Rebellion and spiritual prostitution in general |
| Hos 4:12 | "My people inquire of a piece of wood... a spirit of harlotry has led them astray." | Israel's general apostasy |
| Hos 8:4-5 | "They make idols... from their silver and gold, that they may be cut off... Your calf, O Samaria, has cast you off." | Samaria's specific idolatry (calf worship) |
| Hos 9:1 | "Do not rejoice, O Israel, as the peoples do; for you have played the harlot, departing from your God." | Israel as a harlot |
| Jer 2:25 | "But you said, 'It is hopeless! No, for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go.'" | Judah's pursuit of foreign alliances/gods |
| Isa 57:8 | "Behind the door and the doorposts you have set up your emblem... you enlarged your bed and made a covenant with them..." | Secret idolatry and foreign alliances |
| Ps 78:67-68 | He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim... He chose the tribe of Judah..." | God's rejection of Northern Kingdom |
| Deut 32:21 | "They made me jealous with what is no god; they provoked me to anger with their worthless idols." | Idolatry provokes God's jealousy |
| 2 Ki 17:7-18 | Account of Samaria's sins leading to Assyrian exile. | Samaria's idolatry and judgment |
| 2 Ki 21:9 | "...Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations the Lord destroyed..." | Judah's later severe idolatry |
| Lam 1:8-9 | "Jerusalem sinned grievously... Her uncleanness was in her skirts." | Jerusalem's impurity |
| Zech 1:2-3 | "Return to me, declares the Lord... so that I will return to you..." | Call for repentance to both |
| Rev 17:1-5 | Prophetic image of "the great prostitute" and "Mystery, Babylon the great..." | Echoes of harlotry in a spiritual/apocalyptic sense |
| James 4:4 | "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?" | Spiritual adultery in the New Testament |
| Ez 6:4 | "Your altars shall become desolate... I will hurl down your slain before your idols." | Judgment for idolatry |
| Lev 20:6 | "If anyone turns to mediums and necromancers... I will set my face against that person..." | Covenant requirement against pagan practices |
| Ex 34:15-16 | "...You might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land... and go whoring after their gods." | Warning against mixing with pagans/idolatry |
| Eph 5:5 | "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure... has no inheritance..." | Adultery/idolatry and inheritance |
Ezekiel 23 verses
Ezekiel 23 4 Meaning
Ezekiel 23:4 clearly identifies the two allegorical sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, as the Northern Kingdom of Israel (represented by its capital, Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (represented by its capital, Jerusalem) respectively. This direct revelation anchors the extended prophetic allegory of spiritual harlotry firmly in the historical realities of God's covenant people. The verse establishes the foundational premise for the subsequent detailed indictment of both nations for their idolatry and unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel 23 4 Context
Ezekiel chapter 23 builds upon previous prophecies, particularly Ezekiel 16 and 20, which vividly portray Jerusalem's and Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness. Here, the prophet presents a graphic allegory of two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who embody the nations of Israel and Judah respectively. The purpose is to depict their egregious acts of idolatry and political alliances with foreign powers as extreme sexual immorality. The chapter's immediate context is the exilic period in Babylon, where Ezekiel's audience, comprised primarily of Judahite exiles, needed to understand why Jerusalem faced impending destruction and why both kingdoms suffered God's judgment. The historical backdrop includes the split of the united monarchy into northern Israel and southern Judah, Samaria's earlier fall to Assyria (722 BCE), and Jerusalem's continuous pattern of unfaithfulness even after witnessing Samaria's demise. The entire narrative functions as a polemic against the pervasive Near Eastern polytheistic worship practices and the misguided trust in human alliances rather than reliance on the covenant God.
Ezekiel 23 4 Word analysis
- Oholah (אוֹהֳלָה, `ʾŌhŏlāh`): The name literally means "Her Tent." In this allegory, it symbolizes Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The term "tent" typically evokes sacred spaces like the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) or dwelling places. The naming ironically hints at Israel's choice to establish its own, illicit, worship centers (like Dan and Bethel, 1 Kings 12:28-29), moving away from YHWH's appointed dwelling. This also relates to their independent setting up of religious practices and "tents" for their own foreign deities, rejecting the covenant "tent" of YHWH.
- was (הָיְתָה, `hâyĕtāh`): This simple verb functions as a direct identifier, a copula, making a direct and unambiguous equation. It does not merely suggest a comparison but an absolute declaration of identity within the allegory. It solidifies the link between the allegorical figures and the historical nations for the reader.
- Samaria (שֹׁמְרוֹן, `Šōmrôn`): The historical capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Founded by Omri (1 Ki 16:24), it became a prominent center of political power and, regrettably, of idolatry (especially Baal worship under Ahab and Jezebel, and calf worship as established by Jeroboam). Its identification with Oholah immediately connects the allegorical harlotry to well-known historical apostasy and its subsequent judgment (Assyrian exile).
- and (וְ, `wĕ`): A simple conjunction, but crucial for creating a parallel structure, setting up the immediate comparison and linkage between the fates of the two "sisters." It emphasizes that both nations are involved in similar transgressions, even if their specific details and outcomes differ slightly.
- Oholibah (אוֹהֳלִיבָה, `ʾŌhŏlîḇāh`): The name means "My Tent Is In Her." This figure represents Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The added suffix "i" (my) indicating divine possession, refers to God's presence, specifically the Temple, located in Jerusalem. This distinction from Oholah emphasizes Judah's even greater guilt: possessing the very presence of YHWH, the symbol of true worship and covenant, yet still engaging in deeper spiritual harlotry. The irony underscores the blasphemous nature of Judah's sin.
- was (הָיְתָה, `hâyĕtāh`): Once again, the direct identifier confirming the allegorical figure's historical reality. The repetition reinforces the unequivocal nature of the equation for both sisters.
- Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, `Yərūšālaim`): The historical capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, chosen by God to bear His name and host His Temple. Its identification with Oholibah highlights that even the city uniquely privileged with God's dwelling became deeply corrupt. This foreshadows its eventual judgment by Babylon.
- "Oholah was Samaria": This phrase establishes the historical parallel between the fictional harlot Oholah and the already-judged Northern Kingdom. It frames their spiritual infidelity as leading to their downfall, setting the precedent for Judah.
- "and Oholibah was Jerusalem": This parallel identification serves to connect the spiritual harlotry directly to Jerusalem, the city where God’s presence uniquely resided. It underscores the more severe implications of Jerusalem's actions because of its greater privileges and exposure to divine truth. The juxtaposition of the two "sisters" implicitly invites a comparison of their sins and highlights how Judah (Oholibah) observed Israel's (Oholah's) downfall yet persisted in its own idolatrous path.
Ezekiel 23 4 Bonus section
The concept of "sister-nations" or "sibling-cities" in prophetic literature (e.g., Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 3) serves as a literary device to draw stark comparisons and highlight shared patterns of sin, even amidst different historical circumstances and levels of divine privilege. In this case, the analogy not only judges the two kingdoms but also creates a psychological tension for the Judahite exiles: they are forced to confront their own actions through the lens of a "sister" nation that met an earlier, catastrophic fate for similar transgressions. This immediate identification in verse 4 ensures that the audience cannot dismiss the allegory as mere general moralizing; it is a direct indictment of their national history and covenant infidelity, reinforcing the divine rationale for their present Babylonian exile.
Ezekiel 23 4 Commentary
Ezekiel 23:4 functions as the critical key to unlocking the complex and often graphic allegory of the two sisters. By explicitly identifying Oholah with Samaria (Northern Kingdom/Israel) and Oholibah with Jerusalem (Southern Kingdom/Judah), the verse grounds the spiritual adultery firmly in the historical apostasy of God's covenant people. It makes plain that the vivid description of harlotry and unbridled lust for foreign alliances and idols directly condemns Israel's persistent idolatry that led to Assyrian exile, and Judah's even more culpable behavior, especially since Judah witnessed Israel's judgment and possessed the Temple, symbolizing God's covenant presence. The naming conventions are especially significant: "Her Tent" (Oholah) points to Israel's self-established worship outside YHWH's design, while "My Tent Is In Her" (Oholibah) emphasizes Jerusalem's intensified guilt due to profaning the very place of God's dwelling. This verse sets the stage for God's detailed indictment and the justification of His impending severe judgment against Judah.