Ezekiel 23:4

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. AHOLAH - i:e., 'Her tent, or her own tent' (put for worship, as the first worship of God in Israel was in a tent or tabernacle), as contrasted with Aholibah - i:e., MY tent in her' [ 'Aahaalaah (H170) ... 'Aahaaliybaah (H172)]. The Bethel-worship of Samaria was of her own devising, not of God's appointment: the temple-worship of Jerusalem was expressly appointed by Yahweh, who "dwelt" there, "setting up His tabernacle among the people as His" (Exodus 25:8;...

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 1 Kings 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....

EXPOSITION After another pause, the prophet enters on another elaborate parallel, after the pattern of Ezekiel 16:1; but with a marked variation. There we have the history of one harlot, _s.c. _of Israel in its collective unity. There we have two sister harlots, the daughters of one mother, and they are Samaria and Jerusalem, as both belonging to Israel. For the purpose of the parable, they are represented as having had a separate existence, even during the period of the sojourn in Egypt. This was probably historically true, the line of cleavage caused by the claims of Ephraim to supremacy appearing again and again long before the revolt of the tea tribes under Jeroboam (Judges 8:1; Judges 12:1;...

AND THE NAMES OF THEM WERE AHOLAH THE ELDER,.... Or, "the greater" m meaning the ten tribes of Israel, which were more in number than Judah, and greater in power and riches; their name, Aholah, signifies "her tent or tabernacle", which was entirely their own, and not the Lord's: their worship, and places of worship, were of their own appointing, namely, their calves at Dan and Bethel; God had nothing to do with them, there he did not dwell; his tabernacle was not there, that was at Salem, Psalms 76:1: AND AHOLIBAH HER SISTER; which name signifies "my tent or tabernacle is in her": this is the name of Judah or the two tribes, in which stood the temple of the Lord, where he was worshipped, and where he dwelt: some think these were proper names of two Egyptian harlots; others think there is allusion to the wife of Esau,...

In Ezekiel 23:1 Samaria and Jerusalem are called two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, in their ungodly relation with Assyria and Chaldea. Aholah means “her tent.” Aholibah, “my tent is in her.” The latter denotes the fact that the true sanctuary was in Judah. The sins and vileness of both are portrayed throughout this long chapter, as well as the deserved punishment....

EZEKIEL 23. FATAL ALLIANCE WITH FOREIGNERS. This is the third and last of the three great indictments (Ezekiel 16, 20) which draw their material from the past rather than (as Ezekiel 22) from the present. Its underlying imagery is the same as that of ch. 16, but it differs from that chapter in dealing with the northern and southern kingdoms separately (_cf. Ezekiel 16:46_) and in emphasizing political rather than religious entanglements, though of course foreign alliances did as a matter of fact involve the recognition of foreign gods, i_.e._ idolatry (Ezekiel 22:7). Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals of Israel and Judah respectively, are described as sisters married to Yahweh (_cf._ Jacob with his two sister wives). Their names, Oholah and Oholibah, are significantly connected with t

AHOLAH. Hebrew. _'ahalah =_ [She has] her own tent. So named probably because Israel set up her own worship as distinct from Jehovah's. ELDER. Refers not to age, but to extent. AHOLIBAH. Hebrew. _'ahalibah =_ My tent [is] in her....

The name Oholah may mean "her tent," though not so pointed, and Oholibah "my tent in her." Possibly the words mean "tent" (or, tents) and "tent in her;" and the reference may be to the worship practised on the high places in both kingdoms, cf. Ezekiel 16:16. It is doubtful if the prophet means that Samaria had "her tent," i.e. a sanctuary or worship of her own devising, while Jerusalem had Jehovah's tent or true sanctuary in her. Cf. the names Hephzi-bah, Isaiah 62:4, and Oholibamah (high-place tent), Genesis 36:2. It was common in the east to give sisters or brothers names almost the same, as Hasan and Husein (little Hasan), the two sons of -Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammed. _they were mine_ became mine, my wives, cf....

THUS WERE THEIR NAMES— _And as to their names._...

II. A SAD HISTORY 23:1-49 In chapter 23 Ezekiel vividly portrays the history of the sister kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Israel is represented here by Samaria, and Judah by Jerusalem. They are allegorically compared to two wicked sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who were unfaithful to their lawful husband. Both sisters sought liaisons with strange men. So also Israel and Judah had committed spiritual adultery against God. Samaria had already been punished for her unfaithfulness. Judah had failed to learn from the experiences of her sister kingdom, and was headed for the same fate. Such is the overall import of Ezekiel 23. A, Introduction of the Two Sisters 23:1-4 TRANSLATION (1) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of the same mother; (3) and they committed harlotry in Egypt; they committed harlotry in their youth; there