Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 16:46
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.
46. elder sister ] “elder” is lit. greater, and the reference is to the greater political importance and wider territory of Samaria; as on the other hand Sodom was smaller than Judah. In estimating the quarters of the heavens the beholder faced the east, having the north on his left, &c.
her daughters ] i.e. subordinate towns.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The temple looked to the east. Samaria was on its left, and Sodom on its right hand.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 46. Thine 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 of 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thine elder sister, i.e. the greater for power, riches, and numbers of people, not the elder for years.
Samaria; metropolis, or mother city, of the revolted and idolatrous ten tribes.
Her daughters; lesser cities of the kingdom of Israel, or the people who dwelt in them.
At thy left hand; northward, as you look toward the east.
Thy younger sister; or lesser, so the Hebrew; which consists of fewer people, is of less power.
At thy right hand; southward from Jerusalem. Sodom, as chief city.
Her daughters; either the cities near in place, and joined in affinity, idolatry, and other sins like Sodom, or the inhabitants of those cities.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
46. elder sister . . . Samariaolderthan Sodom, to whom Judah was less nearly related by kindredthan she was to Samaria. Sodom is therefore called her youngersister; Samaria, her “elder sister” [GROTIUS].Samaria is called the “elder,” because in a moralrespect more nearly related to Judah [FAIRBAIRN].Samaria had made the calves at Dan and Beth-el in imitation of thecherubim.
her daughterstheinferior towns subject to Samaria (compare Nu21:25, Margin).
leftThe Orientalsfaced the east in marking the directions of the sky; thus the northwas “left,” the south “right.”
Sodom . . . daughtersAmmonand Moab, offshoots from Sodom; also the towns subject to it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thine elder sister [is] Samaria,…. The metropolis of the ten tribes; “sister” to the Jews, because of the same descent, having one and the same father; the “elder” or “greater” x, because more in number and power; the kingdom of Israel consisted of ten tribes, and the kingdom of Judah but of two; and the ten tribes also were the first in the apostasy from the true worship of God:
she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand; as Samaria the sister was the metropolis of the ten tribes, her daughters are the other cities and towns belonging thereunto; and so the Targum renders it, she and her villages; these were situated to the north of the land of Israel, as Judah was to the south, which with the Jews were left and right; as a man standing with his face to the east has the north on his left and the south on his right side:
and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters; where Lot the kinsman of Abraham lived, and from whom sprung the Ammonites and Moabites. Sodom was a lesser kingdom than that of Judah, and which lay to the south; that is, to the right of it; even that and the other cities, which perished with it, called her daughters, as Admah, Zeboim, &c.
x “major”, V. L. Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(46) Thine elder sister.The words elder and younger mean, literally, greater and smaller. They thus come, like the Latin major and minor, to be used for older and younger; but still their original and most common meaning, which should be retained here, is greater and smaller. Chronologically, Sodom was not younger than Jerusalem, nor is there evidence that Samaria was older. The terms are to be understood of Samaria as the capital of the far larger northern kingdom, and of Sodom as a single city of no great population. The Orientals, in describing geographical positions, considered themselves as facing the east, and hence Samaria (at the north) was on the left, and Sodom on the right. Sodom is spoken of poetically as if still in existence. They were both the spiritual sisters of Judah, just as all alike were daughters of the Amorite and Hittite.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
46. Elder sister younger sister The reference is not to the relative age of Sodom and Samaria as compared with Jerusalem, but to their relative importance.
And her daughters Suburban towns and colonies.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 16:46. Thine elder sister is Samaria Samaria is called the elder sister of Jerusalem, as being the capital city of the ten tribes, a much larger kingdom than that of Judah: she also led the way to that idolatry which afterwards infected the whole nation; forsaking the worship which God had appointed in his temple, and setting up the golden calves. Sodom is called the younger sister, as having also abounded in every idolatrous practice. The prophet here considers Samaria and Sodom as two cities still subsisting; though Sodom had been long since destroyed, and Samaria had been overthrown one hundred and twenty-seven years before this prophesy of Ezekiel. The vices of Sodom and Samaria were not attended with such aggravating circumstances as those of Jerusalem; for they had not been blessed with the same great privileges. The reader will find a great similarity between the reasoning here and in the Gospel, Mat 11:20-24.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 16:46 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.
Ver. 46. She and her daughters, ] i.e., Her cities and villages.
That dwell at thy left hand.
That dwelleth at thy right hand.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
thine elder: or, thy greater.
daughters. Put by Figure of speech Prosopopoeia (App-6), for villages or neighbouring towns.
younger: or, lesser.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
elder: Eze 16:51, Eze 23:4, Eze 23:11, Eze 23:31-33, Jer 3:8-11, Mic 1:5
thy younger sister: Heb. thy sister lesser than thou, Eze 16:48, Eze 16:49, Eze 16:53-56, Eze 16:61, Gen 13:11-13, Gen 18:20-33, Gen 19:24, Gen 19:25, Deu 29:23, Deu 32:32, Isa 1:9, Isa 1:10, Jer 23:14, Lam 4:6, *marg. Luk 17:28-30, 2Pe 2:6, Jud 1:7, Rev 11:8
her daughters: Eze 16:27, *marg. Eze 26:6, Gen 14:8, Gen 19:29, Hos 11:8
Reciprocal: Gen 13:13 – But the Num 21:25 – villages Son 8:8 – a little Jer 3:7 – her treacherous Jer 49:2 – her daughters Eze 21:16 – Go Eze 23:2 – two Hos 7:1 – wickedness Col 3:6 – children
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 16:46. One word in the definition for elder is “great. Samaria was Indeed greater than Judah in that she had 10 tribes out of the 12. Also because the 10-tribe kingdom was the first of the two to make idolatry a national affair when she set up the idols at Dan and Bethel. <1Ki 12:29). Sodom would be younger sister (by contrast) on the same principle that Samaria was elder.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 16:46-47. Thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters That is, her lesser towns. Samaria is called the elder, or greater sister, because it was a much larger city and kingdom, greater for power, riches, and numbers of people, and more nearly allied to Judah. And Sodom is called the younger sister, as being a smaller and less populous city, and further removed in blood from Jerusalem and its inhabitants, being only, as it were, a half sister. That dwell at thy left hand That is, toward the north, Samaria lying northward of Jerusalem, as Sodom lay southward of it. For these two quarters of the world are expressed by the right and left in the Hebrew language, being placed in such a position to those that set their faces eastward. The prophet here considers Samaria and Sodom as two cities still subsisting; though Sodom had been long since destroyed, and Samaria had been overthrown one hundred and twenty-seven years before this prophecy of Ezekiel was delivered. Yet thou hast not walked after their ways Thou hast not been content merely to be as bad as they, but hast carried thy wickedness to a much greater height, and committed many more crimes than they: see note on Eze 5:7. The vices of Sodom and Samaria were not attended with such aggravating circumstances as those of Jerusalem; for they had not been blessed with the same great privileges.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:46 And thy elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her {z} daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters.
(z) That is, her cities.