Ezekiel 23:41

The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; A summing up of the sins of the two sisters, especially those of Judah. A summing up of the sins of the two sisters, especially those of Judah. Verse 36. WILT THOU JUDGE AHOLAH AND AHOLIBAH? - that is, wilt thou not judge them (note, Ezekiel 20:4). Verse 38. THEY HAVE DEFILED MY SANCTUARY IN THE SAME DAY - on the very day that they had burned their children to Moloch in the valley of Gehenna, they shamelessly and hypocritically presented themselves as worshippers in Yahweh's temple, thereby 'defiling' it (Jeremiah 7:9). Verse 40. Ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom...

Verse Ezekiel 23:41. _AND SATEST UPON A STATELY BED_] Hast raised a stately altar to thy idols; probably alluding to that which Ahaz ordered to be made, after the similitude of that which he saw at Damascus. The bed here is in allusion to the _sofas_ on which the ancients were accustomed to recline at their meals; or to the couches on which they place Asiatic brides, with incense pots and sweetmeats on a table before them....

The figure is that of a woman decked in all her beauty, sitting on a couch (not bed) at a banquet prepared for those whom she has invited. This further offence is not one of idolatry, but that of courting alliances with other powers which were not less readily made than broken. Ezekiel 23:40 THAT YE HAVE SENT - Better, “they (i. e., Israel and Judah) sent.”...

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 SATEST UPON A STATELY BED,.... Or honourable g, a bed of state: either a throne, a royal seat under a canopy, on which the king of Judah sat to receive foreign ambassadors; or a stately bed at a feast, made for the entertainment of them; it being usual in the eastern nations to sit on beds at eating, to which the next clause agrees. The allusion is to a harlot sitting on a bed decked out by her to allure men to lie with her; see Proverbs 7:16: AND A TABLE PREPARED BEFORE IT; before the bed, furnished with the richest provisions to treat the ambassadors with; or this may design an altar built for them to offer on it sacrifices to their idols, according to the customs of their countries: WHEREUPON THOU HAST SET MINE INCENSE AND MINE OIL; which were the gifts of God to this people, and which they should have used in his service; but with these they t

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

A STATELY BED. Compare Proverbs 7:16. Isa 67:8, Isa 67:9,...

New exposure of the immoralities of Oholah and Oholibah (Ezekiel 23:36), and threat of their punishment (Ezekiel 23:45) The passage is not a continuation of Ezekiel 23:1, but an independent description, parallel to these verses. (1) Ezekiel 23:36. The adulteries, that is, idolatries, and bloodshed of which the two women are guilty. (2) _vv_, 38, 39. Their profaning the house of Jehovah, and breaking; his Sabbaths the former particularly in their entering his house fresh from the sacrifice of their children. (3) Ezekiel 23:40

E. Further Indictment of the Two Sisters 23:36-49 TRANSLATION (36) And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. (37) For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands, and with their idols they have committed adultery; and also their sons whom they bore to Me they offered up to them to be devoured. (38) This also they have done unto Me: they have defiled My sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned My sabbaths. (39) For when they had slain their sons to their idols, then they came unto My sanctuary the same day to profane it; and, behold, thus they did in the midst of My house. (40) And furthermore you have sent for men that come from afar; to whom a messenger was sent, and behold they came; for whom you washed, painted your eyes, and you decked yourself with ornaments; (41) and you sat upon a stately b...