Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 23:11
And when her sister Aholibah saw [this], she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in [her] whoredoms.
11 21. The infidelities of Judah with Assyria, Babylon and Egypt
11. On the greater excesses of Judah cf. Eze 16:47; Eze 16:51; Jer 3:8; Jer 3:11.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The idolatries of Manassehs reign exceeded all that had gone before either in Israel or in Judah 2 Kings 21:1-16; 2Ch 33:1-10.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Aholibah; Judah, yet two tribes.
Saw this; both the sins and punishments of the kingdom of Israel, which should have been her admonition.
She was more corrupt, ran more violently into both friendship, confederacies, and idolatries with the Assyrians,
than her sister, Samaria; Jerusalem had more idols in it, and more abominable idolatry, than any we read of in Samaria that, at present, I can remember.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. Judah, the southern kingdom,though having the “warning” (see on Eze23:10) of the northern kingdom before her eyes, instead ofprofiting by it, went to even greater lengths in corruption thanIsrael. Her greater spiritual privileges made her guilt the greater(Eze 16:47; Eze 16:51;Jer 3:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when her sister Aholibah saw this,…. The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, when, they saw the idolatries the ten tribes fell into, and the destruction which came upon them for the same; instead of receiving instruction, and taking caution by all this,
she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she; in courting the friendship, alliance, and help of their Heathen neighbours:
and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms; guilty of more idolatries than the ten tribes, as in the times of Manasseh; see Jer 2:28.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Whoredom of Judah
Eze 23:11. And her sister Oholibah saw it, and carried on her coquetry still more wantonly than she had done, and her whoredom more than the whoredom of her sister. Eze 23:12. She was inflamed with lust towards the sons of Asshur, governors and officers, standing near, clothed in perfect beauty, horsemen riding upon horses, choice men of good deportment. Eze 23:13. And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both went one way. Eze 23:14. And she carried her whoredom still further; she saw men engraved upon the wall, figures of Chaldeans engraved with red ochre, Eze 23:15. Girded about the hips with girdles, with overhanging caps upon their heads, all of them knights in appearance, resembling the sons of Babel, the land of whose birth is Chaldea: Eze 23:16. And she was inflamed with lust toward them, when her eyes saw them, and sent messengers to them to Chaldea. Eze 23:17. Then the sons of Babylon came to her to the bed of love, and defiled her with their whoredom; and when she had defiled herself with them, her soul tore itself away from them. Eze 23:18. And when she uncovered her whoredom, and uncovered her nakedness, my soul tore itself away from her, as my soul had torn itself away from her sister. Eze 23:19. And she increased her whoredom, so that she remembered the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt. Eze 23:20. And she burned toward their paramours, who have members like asses and heat like horses. Eze 23:21. Thou lookest after the lewdness of thy youth, when they of Egypt handled thy bosom because of thy virgin breasts. – The train of thought in these verses is the following: – Judah went much further than Samaria. It not only indulged in sinful intercourse with Assyria, which led on to idolatry as the latter had done, but it also allowed itself to be led astray by the splendour of Chaldea, to form alliances with that imperial power, and to defile itself with her idolatry. And when it became tired of the Chaldeans, it formed impure connections with the Egyptians, as it had done once before during its sojourn in Egypt. The description of the Assyrians in Eze 23:12 coincides with that in Eze 23:5 and Eze 23:6, except that some of the predicates are placed in a different order, and is substituted for . The former expression, which occurs again in Eze 38:4, must really mean the same as ‘ . But it does not follow from this that signifies purple, as Hitzig maintains. The true meaning is perfection; and when used of the clothing, it signifies perfect beauty. The Septuagint rendering, , with a beautiful border – more especially a variegated one – merely expresses the sense, but not the actual meaning of . The Chaldee rendering is , perfecte induti . – There is great obscurity in the statement in Eze 23:14 as to the way in which Judah was seduced to cultivate intercourse with the Chaldeans. She saw men engraved or drawn upon the wall ( , a participle Pual of , engraved work, or sculpture). These figures were pictures of Chaldeans, engraved (drawn) with , red ochre, a bright-red colour. , an adjective form , wearing a girdle. , coloured cloth, from , to colour; here, according to the context, variegated head-bands or turbans. , the overhanging, used here of the cap. The reference is to the tiarae tinctae (Vulgate), the lofty turbans or caps, as they are to be seen upon the monuments of ancient Nineveh. , not chariot-warriors, but knights: “ tristatae , the name of the second grade after the regal dignity” (Jerome. See the comm. on Exo 14:7 and 2Sa 23:8).
The description of these engravings answers perfectly to the sculptures upon the inner walls of the Assyrian palaces in the monuments of Nimrud, Khorsabad, and Kouyunjik (see Layard’s Nineveh and its Remains, and Vaux, Nineveh and Persepolis). The pictures of the Chaldeans are not mythological figures (Hvernick), but sculptures depicting war-scenes, triumphal processions of Chaldean rulers and warriors, with which the Assyrian palaces were adorned. We have not to look for these sculptures in Jerusalem or Palestine. This cannot be inferred from Eze 8:10, as Hvernick supposes; nor established by Hitzig’s argument, that the woman must have been in circumstances to see such pictures. The intercourse between Palestine and Nineveh, which was carried on even in Jonah’s time, was quite sufficient to render it possible for the pictures to be seen. When Israelites travelled to Nineveh, and saw the palaces there, they could easily make the people acquainted with the glory of Nineveh by the accounts they would give on their return. It is no reply to this, to state that the woman does not send ambassadors till afterwards (Eze 23:16), as Hitzig argues; for Judah sent ambassadors to Chaldea not to view the glories of Assyria, but to form alliances with the Chaldeans, or to sue for their favour. Such an embassy, for example, was sent to Babylon by Zedekiah (Jer 29:3); and there is no doubt that in v. 16 b Ezekiel has this in his mind. Others may have preceded this, concerning which the books of Kings and Chronicles are just as silent as they are concerning that of Zedekiah. The thought in these verses is therefore the following: – The acquaintance made by Israel (Judah) with the imperial splendour of the Chaldeans, as exhibited in the sculptures of their palaces, incited Judah to cultivate political and mercantile intercourse with this imperial power, which led to its becoming entangled in the heathen ways and idolatry of the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans themselves came and laid the foundation for an intercourse which led to the pollution of Judah with heathenism, and afterwards filled it with disgust, because it was brought thereby into dependence upon the Chaldeans. The consequence of all this was, that the Lord became tired of Judah (Eze 23:17, Eze 23:18). For instead of returning to the Lord, Judah turned to the other power of the world, namely, to Egypt; and in the time of Zedekiah renewed its ancient coquetry with that nation (Eze 23:19-21 compared with Eze 23:8). The form in Eze 23:20, which the Keri also gives in Eze 23:18, has taken ah as a feminine termination (not the cohortative ah), like in Pro 1:20; Pro 8:1 (vid., Delitzsch, Comm. on Job, en loc.). are scorta mascula (here (Kimchi) – a drastically sarcastic epithet applied to the sarisim , the eunuchs, or courtiers. The figurative epithet answers to the licentious character of the Egyptian idolatry. The sexual heat both of horses and asses is referred to by Aristotle, Hist. anim. vi. 22, and Columella, de re rust. vi. 27; and that of the horse has already been applied to the idolatry of the people by Jeremiah (vid., Jer 5:8). , as in Eze 16:26. (Eze 23:21), to look about for anything, i.e., to search for it; not to miss it, as Hvernick imagines.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Sins of Samaria and Jerusalem. | B. C. 591. |
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. 12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. 13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, 14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, 15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: 16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. 18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. 19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. 21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
The prophet Hosea, in his time, observed that the two tribes retained their integrity, in a great measure, when the ten tribes had apostatized (Hos. xi. 12, Ephraim indeed compasses me about with lies, but Judah yet rules with God and is faithful with the saints; and this was justly expected from them: Hos. iv. 15, Though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend); but this lasted not long. By some unhappy matches made between the house of David and the house of Ahab the worship of Baal had been brought into the kingdom of Judah, but had been by the reforming kings worked out again; and at the time of the captivity of the ten tribes, which was in the reign of Hezekiah, things were in a good posture: but it lasted not long. In the reign of Manasseh, soon after the kingdom of Judah had seen the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, they became more corrupt than Israel had been in their inordinate love of idols, v. 11. Instead of being made better by the warning which that destruction gave them, they were made worse by it, as if they were displeased because the Lord had made that breach upon Israel, and for that reason became disaffected to him and to his service. Instead of being made to stand in awe of him as a jealous God, they therefore grew strange to him, and liked those gods better that would admit of partners with them. Note, Those may justly expect God’s judgments upon themselves who do not take warning by his judgments upon others, who see in others what is the end of sin and yet continue to make a light matter of it. But it is bad indeed with those who are made worse by that which should make them better, and have their lusts irritated and exasperated by that which was designed to suppress and subdue them. Jerusalem grew worse in her whoredoms than her sister Samaria had been in her whoredoms. This was observed before (ch. xvi. 51), Neither has Samaria committed half of thy sins.
I. Jerusalem, that had been a faithful city, became a harlot, Isa. i. 21. She also doted upon the Assyrians (v. 12), joined in league with them, joined in worship with them, grew to be in love with their captains and rulers, and cried them up as finer and more accomplished gentlemen than any that ever the land of Israel produced. “See how richly, how neatly, they are dressed, clothed most gorgeously; how well they sit a horse; they are horsemen riding on horses; how charmingly they look, all of them desirable young men.” And thus they grew to affect every thing that was foreign and to despise their own nation; and even the religion of it was mean and homely, and not to be compared with the curiosity and gaiety of the heathen temples. Thus she increased her whoredoms; she fell in love, fell in league, with the Chaldeans. Hezekiah himself was faulty this way when he was proud of the court which the king of Babylon made to him and complimented his ambassadors with the sight of all his treasures, Isa. xxxix. 2. And the humour increased (v. 14); she doted upon the pictures of the Babylonian captains (Eze 23:15; Eze 23:16), joined in alliance with that kingdom, invited them to come and settle in Jerusalem, that they might refine the genius of the Jewish nation and make it more polite; nay, they sent for patterns of their images, altars, and temples, and made use of them in their worship. Thus was she polluted with her whoredoms (v. 17), and thereby she discovered her own whoredom (v. 18), her own strong inclination to idolatry. And when she had had enough of the Chaldeans, and grew tired of them and disposed to break her league with them, as Jehoiakim and Zedekiah did, her mind being alienated from them, she courted the Egyptians, doted upon their paramours (v. 20), would come into an alliance with them, and, to strengthen the alliance, would join with them in their idolatries and then depend upon them to be their protectors from all other nations; for so wise, so rich, so strong, was the Egyptian nation, and came to such perfection in idolatry, that there was no nation now which they could take such satisfaction in as in Egypt. Thus they called to remembrance the days of their youth (v. 19), the lewdness of their youth, v. 21. 1. They pleased themselves with the remembrance of it. When they began to set their affections upon Egypt, they encouraged themselves to put a confidence in that kingdom, because of the old acquaintance they had with it, as if they still retained the gust and relish of the leeks and onions they ate there, or rather of the idolatrous worship they learned there, and brought up with them thence. When they began an acquaintance with Egypt they remembered how merrily their fathers worshipped the golden calf, what music and dancing they had at that sport, which they learned in Egypt; and they hoped they should now have a fair pretence to come to that again. Thus she multiplied her whoredoms, repeated her former whoredoms, and encouraged herself to close with present temptations, by calling to remembrance the days of her youth. Note, Those who, instead of reflecting upon their former sins with sorrow and shame, reflect upon them with pleasure and pride, contract new guilt thereby, strengthen their own corruptions, and in effect bid defiance to repentance. This is returning with the dog to his vomit. 2. They called it God’s remembrance, and provoked him to remember it against them. God had said indeed that he would reckon with them for the golden calf, that idol of Egypt (Exod. xxxii. 34); but such was his patience that he seemed to have forgotten it till they, by their league now with the Egyptians against the Chaldeans, did, as it were, put him in mind of it; and in the day when he visits he will now, as he has said, visit for that. It is very observable how this adulteress changes her lovers: she dotes first on the Assyrians; then she thought the Chaldeans finer and courted them; after a while her mind was alienated from them, and she thought the Egyptians more powerful (v. 20) and she must contract an intimacy with them. This shows the folly, (1.) Of fleshly lusts; when they are indulged they grow humoursome and fickle, are soon surfeited but never satisfied; they must have variety, and what is loved one day is loathed the next. Unius adulterium matrimonium vocant–One adultery is called marriage, as Seneca observes. (2.) Of idolatry. Those who think one God too little will not think a hundred sufficient, but will still be for trying more, as finding all insufficient. (3.) Of seeking to creatures for help; we go from one to another, but are disappointed in them all, and can never rest till we have made the God of Israel our help.
II. The faithful God justly gives a bill of divorce to this now faithless city, that has become a harlot. His jealousy soon discovered her lewdness (v. 13): I saw that she was defiled, that she was debauched, and saw which way her inclination was, that the two sisters both took one way, and that Jerusalem grew worse than Samaria. For, if we stretch out our hand to a strange god, will not God search this out? No doubt he will; and when he has found it can he be pleased with it? No (v. 18): Then my mind was alienated from her, as it was from her sister. How could the pure and holy God any longer take delight in such a lewd generation? Note, Sin alienates God’s mind from the sinner, and justly, for it is the alienation of the sinner’s mind from God; but woe, and a thousand woes, to those from whom God’s mind is alienated; for whom he turns from he will turn against.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
SINS OF AHOLIBAH OR JUDAH’S INGRATITUDE
Verses 11-21:
Verse 11 begins a description of the spiritual adultery of Judah by consorting with Assyria in sins more numerous and base than those of Aholah, or Samaria her sister. She corrupted herself in sinful intercourse with Assyria and her idols and entered into alliance with her. She went further by also forming impure connections with Egypt as she had done before in her sojourns there, making her guilt greater, Jer 3:11.
Verse 12 recounts that Aholibah (Judah), like her adulterous sister Aholah (Samaria) before her, beheld the Assyrian uniformed men in gorgeous robes, coveted lustful relations with them. The Assyrians wore the finery of the Orient, fabricated in their cavalry garments, a thing that flattered them in the eyes of Aholibah, v. 6, 23. This led to the eventual idolatrous coalition with Syrian idolatry, as described 2Ki 16:7-9. Her robes were similar to those lovers wore when visiting their mistresses.
Verses 13, 14 recounts that the Lord observed both sisters Aholah and Aholibah (Samaria and Judah) defiled in one way or course of conduct, in forsaking God. Judah, like Samaria before her, increased the number and tempo of her idolatrous defilements and whoredoms with the Assyrians. She beheld or gazed upon the gorgeously robed horsemen, portrayed upon the wall, perhaps brought to the royal place of Judah in Jerusalem, and hung there. The portrayals were in vermilion, as pictures of warriors in battle array, enticements to the people of rebellious Judah, Jer 22:14; Jer 50:2.
Verse 15 describes these princes and warriors of Chaldea as wearing lofty turbans (high turbans) in dyed (colorful) attire upon their heads, varying according to their ranks. Such may yet be seen on the monuments of ancient Nineveh, from Nimrod’s kingdom, the nativity center of these soldiers and horsemen of the Babylonians, or “moon worshipers,” Gen 10:10.
Verse 16, 17 explain that “as soon as she” Aholibah or Judah, saw them she “doted upon them,” or flaunted herself lustfully upon them, sending messenger-love-notes to them into Chaldea, as recounted 2Ki 24:1. They responded to her lust-longing overtures and “came to her into the bed of love and they defiled her with their whoredoms.” It is added that she “was polluted with them and her mind was alienated or turned away from them,” Gen 3:6; Gen 39:7; Psa 119:37, Pro 6:25.
Verse 18 concludes that because she had so wantonly given herself in abandon to nakedness in whoredoms with the idolatrous Chaldeans, God Himself was alienated from her, to have no identity of sanction for her deeds, even as He had from Samaria, her sister, Jer 6:8; Deu 32:19; Psa 78:59; Zec 11:8.
Verse 19 describes Judah or Aholibah as becoming lustfully disgusted and abhorrent of the Assyrian lovers and love-gods; And with sinful, roving mind instead of repentance, she longed for her youthful days, and prostitute lovers of Egypt, where she began her role of harlotry, 2Ki 23:29-35; See also Amo 6:8.
Verse 20 continues an explanation of her continuing sins. She “doted upon their paramours,” threw herself lustfully toward the soldiers and princes of Egypt, saying “I’m available, “bring me your gods and I’ll give myself to you in naked abandon before them. Though their “flesh is as the flesh of asses, and their issue is like the issue of horses.” This alludes to a licentious and lecherous state of barnyard morals and jungle ethics to which the Egyptians turned and to which Judah or Aholibah offered herself, Eze 16:26; Lev 20:2.
Verse 21 charges that “thus” or just like this, Judah had called to remembrance the lewdness of her youthful years down in Egypt. There she had Willfully given up her virginity by the “bruising of her teats,” in cohabiting with the Egyptians. She fell in sex orgies before their idol gods. Her ingratitude for all the goodness of the Living God in delivering her from that early oppression, sustaining her in her wilderness journey, planting her in a pleasant homeland of her own, and giving her an holy temple, was too much for God to tolerate further, Psa 7:11-12; Pro 1:31; Jer 11:14; Jer 14:11-17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(Eze. 23:11-21.)
EXEGETICAL NOTES.The spiritual adultery of Judah with Assyria, in which she surpasses Samaria in her iniquity.
Eze. 23:11. She was more corrupt in her inordinate love. Judah went much further than Samaria. It not only indulged in sinful intercourse with Assyria, which led on to idolatry as the latter had done, but it also allowed itself to be led astray by the splendour of Chaldea to form alliances with that imperial power, and to defile itself with her idolatry. And when it became tired of the Chaldeans it formed impure connections with the Egyptians as it had done once before during its sojourn in Egypt (Keil).
Eze. 23:12. Doted upon the Assyrians, her neighbours. The reference here is to the application made by Ahaz to Tiglath-pileser for his assistance against the Syrians and Israelites (recorded 2Ki. 16:7-9), which led to the idolatrous transaction at Damascus, and the introduction of the Syrian idolatry into Jerusalem (2Ch. 28:16) (Henderson). Clothed most gorgeously. The word means perfection, and the thought intended is, perfect beauty of clothing. The costume of the Assyrian cavalry may be seen in the sculptures brought by Layard from Nineveh, which display all the magnificence of Oriental finery (Henderson).
Eze. 23:14. She saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion. In regard to the Chaldeans, the relation to them was brought about by means of likenesses, which Judah saw. The word means, something engraven or sketched, painted. These were, probably, coloured bas-reliefs, in vermilion, which would be all the more appropriate for warriors. The representation here may probably be the mere drapery of the thought, that the bare report of the military prowess of the Chaldeans had inflamed the imagination and the senses of Judah. Owing to the undeniable intercourse between nations in the Old World, which certainly obtained between Palestine and Babylon, it is not in itself unimaginable that such wall-pictures of representatives of foreign nations may have existed in the royal palaces of Judah.(Lange).
Eze. 23:15. Exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads. The reference is to the lofty turbans, such as may be seen on the monuments of ancient Nineveh.
Eze. 23:18. My mind was alienated from her. The thought in these verses (Eze. 23:16-18) is the following:the acquaintance made by Israel (Judah) with the imperial splendour of the Chaldeans, as exhibited in the sculptures of their palaces, incited Judah to cultivate political and mercantile intercourse with this imperial power, which led to its becoming entangled in the heathen ways and idolatry of the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans themselves came and laid the foundation for an intercourse which led to the pollution of Judah with heathenism, and afterwards filled it with disgust, because it was brought thereby into dependence upon the Chaldeans. The consequence of all this was, that the Lord became tired of Judah. For instead of returning to the Lord, Judah turned to the other power of the world, namely, to Egypt; and in the time of Zedekiah renewed its ancient coquetry with that nation. (Keil).
Eze. 23:19. In calling to remembrance the days of her youth. She had grown disgusted with Babylon; yet she repented not, but turned back again to the old ways which she had learned in Egypt (2Ki. 23:29-35).
Eze. 23:20.Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. This representation is sufficiently explained by the particularly lecherous character of the animals mentioned, and describes the obscene character of the Egyptians (Eze. 16:26).(Lange.)
Eze. 23:21. Calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth (Heb.). And thou didst visit the lewdness of thy youth. The falling back into the old sin is, as it were, a visit which is paid to that which ought to be hated and avoided. The words, When a man of Egypt handled, etc., refer to the attempt of the Egyptians to draw the people in their first beginnings into the Egyptian unity, and so to nationalize theman attempt to which the youth of the people furnished the occasion.(Hengstenberg.)
HOMILETICS
THE SIN OF JUDAH
The sin of Judah was one of special aggravation. Her sin surpassed that of Samaria. She was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
1. She had greater privileges. A purer knowledge of the true way of worship. Greater grace to resist temptation, and to keep in the right way.
2. She had the warning example of Samarias punishment. She saw how God punished them by the very instruments of their inordinate love, and yet took not warning. They both took one way, not reflecting that they who take the same way also reach the same end.
3. She used special devices to increase her sinful desires. She increased her whoredoms. She stimulated her lustful imagination by pictures and representations of forbidden objects. The sight of these would set her longing after the seductive idolatry of the nations, and draw her away from her lawful love and home. The lust of the eye is one of the great dangers of the world. She also suffered herself to be ensnared by the memory of her old sins (Eze. 23:19; Eze. 23:21). It is sad when nations and individuals go back again to the sins of their early life.
4. She brought sad judgment upon herself, yet repented not. When she had obtained her desire and embraced the idolatry of Babylon, she was still unsatisfied and even learned to loathe that which she once so eagerly sought. Her mind was alienated from them. Israel could not find rest in the idolatry of the nations, for she still retained some memory of better things. The people could not become as the heathen in all respects, for their glorious past was still a fact and could not be separated from their history. The idolatry of Babylon could not satisfy the sinful longings of the chosen people. All impure lust, when it has spent its passion, becomes hatred. For all such lust is selfish and will turn, at length, into aversion to its object. Fellowship with sin must only be of short duration. There is no true binding principle in it. But it was the shame and misery of Israel that the judgments of God, and her disgust of Babylon, failed to bring her to repentance.
1. When God executes severe judgments upon cities He looks that others should take warning thereby. God destroyed Samaria for her idolatry and confederating with heathenish nations. When Jerusalem saw this she reformed not, but was more corrupt. God expected that Jerusalem should hereupon have purged out all idolatry, and cleaved wholly to Him, so that she might have been spared, but she made no good use of His dealings with Samaria.
2. Progress in the same sins, after judgments executed upon others is a fearful aggravation of sin. When she saw this she was more corrupt. When Gods hand is lifted, judgment executed, men should fear and learn righteousness; but to go on in wickedness is a horrible slighting, yea, despising of God and His judgments.
3. Sinful cities usually grow worse whatever judgments they see executed upon others. Jerusalem was more corrupt than Samaria. So corrupt is the nature of man that it is not only worse after mercies but even after judgments.
4. The eyes are instruments and occasions of great evil. When she saw the images of the Chaldeans in their dresses, with their belts and aspects, she was taken with them. The images affected her eyes, and they conveyed corruption to her heart, or that which stirred the corruption pre-existent in her heart. Adultery and idolatry have their chief entrance by the eye, and many other sins likewise. What a sad thing was it, that Jerusalems eyes should be taken with the painted images of Babylonians! Some confess there is danger by gazing upon living objects, the beauties of men and women, but they fear none from dead objects; but Achan saw a wedge of gold and a Babylonish garment, and they snared him; Aholibah here saw Babylonish pictures, and they ensnared him.
5. For Gods people to admit any part of Babylonish worship is to defile the bed of love. God is a jealous God, His worship must be pure, and the heart must be pure. If the worship be mixed, or heart lean upon an arm of flesh, the bed of love is defiled. In His worship and ordinances God lets out His love to the soul. When they are pure, by the heart being pure and confiding in God, He lets out Himself and His love. Let us look to our hearts, that they may be disengaged from all creature confidences, and to our worship that it be according to God, and then we shall have communion with and comfort from our Beloved.
6. Wickedness is inconstant. Her mind was alienated from them. She was taken with the very images of the Babylonians; now she cares not for the men themselves, her soul is disjointed from them; but it was to fall in with some others, and they were the Egyptians (Eze. 23:19). But she held not there long; which made the Lord to say, Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wert ashamed of Assyria (Jer. 2:36).
7. Impudence and open sinning cause God to disown and renounce them that do so. Aholibah discovered her whoredoms and nakedness; she talked openly what she had done with the Babylonians, she set up altars and idols in every street, was openly and impudently wicked, prostituting herself to all in the streets. Now it being so, saith the Lord, then my mind was alienated from her, seeing she is become so audaciously wicked, I can affect her no longer. Jerusalems wickedness alienated Gods heart from her, made Him renounce her for a harlot. It is sad when God renounces (Hos. 1:9). If we would not have Gods heart alienated from us, and so be disowned, renounced by Him, let us take heed of all sins, especially of impudency in any sin.
8. Fresh sins bring to mind former old sins. Aholibahs latter trucking with the Egyptians minded God of her primitive whoredoms and abominations, when she lived in Egypt, which was one thousand years before: there she had her lovers; there she defiled herself with the idols of Egypt (Exek. Eze. 20:7); and her affection now to Egypt, and Egypts paramours, caused God to mind those sins of her youth. He had no pleasure in doing so, but Aholibah called them to remembrance, by acting the same or the like things again, she called them out of darkness, and presented them to the view of God. (Greenhill).
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
C. Jerusalems Prostitution 23:1121
TRANSLATION
(11) And her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became corrupt in her doting more than she, and in harlotries more than the harlotries of her sister. (12) She threw herself upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, warriors, clothed handsomely, horsemen riding horses, all of them handsome young men. (13) And I saw that she was defiled; they both went the same way. (14) And she added to her harlotries; for she saw men depicted upon the wall, the images of Chaldeans depicted in red color, (15) girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them with the appearance of captains, the likeness of the sons of Babylon, the Chaldeans, the land of their captivity. (16) And when she saw them she threw herself upon them, and sent messengers to them to Chaldea. (17) And the Babylonians came to her to the bed of love, and they defiled her with their harlotries; and she was defiled by them, and her soul was alienated from them. (18) So she uncovered her harlotries, and she uncovered her nakedness; then My soul was alienated from her as My soul was alienated from her sister. (19) Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt. (20) And she threw herself upon the idea of being their concubine, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose sexual potency is like that of horses. (21) And so you relived the lewdness of your youth when they from Egypt bruised your breasts for the breasts of your youth.
COMMENTS
Oholibah (Jerusalem) learned nothing from the experience of her elder sister. She became yet more corrupt, adopting the same policy of political and religious flirtation with foreign powers, but intensifying it (Eze. 23:11). She too fell for the Assyrians with their handsomely clad officers and warriors (Eze. 23:12; cf. Eze. 23:5-6). Whereas Judah derived much advantage from the alliance with Assyria,[357] from the religious point of view the association was disastrous. God saw immediately that Judah had defiled herself with the Mesopotamian practices. Both sisters Samaria and Jerusalem had pursued the same corrupt way (Eze. 23:13).
[357] The reference may be to King Ahazs appeal to Tiglathpileser for help (2Ki. 16:1).
The harlotries pagan practices of Jerusalem were more extensive than those of Samaria. Oholibah saw paintings depicting the glories of a people who lived beyond Assyria. Her lust for political liaison was kindled by the sight of the martial Chaldeans (Eze. 23:14) girded in native dress. The waist-belt and turban with dangling fillets was the garb which set the sons of Babylon apart as a distinct people in the ancient world (Eze. 23:15).
Oholibah (Jerusalem) was unable to resist the lure to associate with this strange and exotic people. She threw herself upon them by sending messengers there to negotiate the alliance (Eze. 23:16). The Babylonians were quick to take advantage of this thoughtless infatuation. They came to her into the bed of love, i.e., they entered eagerly into the alliance with Judah. The result was inevitable. Judah was further defiled by the Babylonian cults which were transplanted there. Eventually Judah felt revulsion at this alliance and tried several times unsuccessfully to disengage herself from this entanglement.[358]
[358] The reference is to efforts of Jehoiakim and later Zedekiah to free themselves from Babylonian domination.
Yet one step remained before Oholibah (Jerusalem) reached the depth of corruption. In the process of trying to pry herself loose from the clutches of Babylon, Oholibah had uncovered her nakedness in an effort to attract other lovers who might rescue her. Such degrading national conduct was revolting to God. He now felt toward Judah the same antagonism which He had felt towards Samaria over a century earlier. He was alienated from His people (Eze. 23:18).
Oholibah seemed undismayed at the knowledge revealed to her constantly by the prophets that she was alienating herself from God. She multiplied her harlotries. Recalling her ancient association with Egypt, she made overtures in that direction (Eze. 23:19). To break her ties to Babylon she threw herseij upon their concubinage, i.e., Judah was willing to become one of the numerous vassal states of Egypt. The harlot Oholibah was attracted by the sexual potency of Egypt which is likened to that of an ass or horse. Sexual potency here is a symbol for military power (Eze. 23:20). Egyptian customs and cults long forgotten were called to remembrance as Judah plunged headlong into spiritual harlotry and political alliance with their ancient enemy to the south (Eze. 23:21).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(11) She was more corrupt.Enough having been said of Aholah to form the basis for a comparison, the prophet now turns to Aholibah. The idolatries of Judah not only comparatively but actually exceeded those of her sister kingdom. See, e.g., the account of Manaseehs reign (2Ki. 21:1-16; 2Ch. 33:1-9). In addition to her connection with Assyria, Judah also formed alliances with Chalda, and intrigued with Egypt and other nations.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Aholibah was more corrupt Judah, though with greater privileges, was even worse than her sister Samaria (Eze 16:47; Eze 16:51; Jer 3:8; Jer 3:11). She also doted upon the young Assyrian cavalrymen (Eze 23:12) and defiled herself with them (Eze 23:13), and as soon as she saw the wall pictures representing the Babylonian military officers, so passionate did she become that she could not even wait for them to come and offer their illicit affection, but hastened messengers to them calling them to her “bed of love” (Eze 23:14-17). The wall decorations mentioned are very common in the ruins of Chaldean palaces and temples. The pictures are often carved in brick and then enameled in bright colors. So naturalistic is the description in these verses (14-16) that Layard took them for the motto of his Nineveh and its Remains. The Assyrians and Babylonians much resembled each other in the gorgeousness of their dress and other decorations. The robes of the king were richly embroidered, covered often with exquisite designs of genii and symbolic animals set with precious stones. Among the spoils and tribute inscribed on the monuments colored garments of blue and purple are frequently mentioned. The very word used by Ezekiel takiltu (Eze 23:6) often occurs in these lists (Evetts).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Fall of Oholibah, of Jerusalem.
“And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister.”
Jerusalem-Judah was even worse than her sister, for she sought not only to Assyria but to Babylon, and she did it by choice.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 23:11. And when her sister And though, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 23:11 And when her sister Aholibah saw [this], she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in [her] whoredoms.
Ver. 11. And when her sister Aholibah saw this. ] And yet would not be warned; which was a just both presage and desert of her utter destruction.
She was more corrupt.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 23:11-21
11Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she, and her harlotries were more than the harlotries of her sister. 12She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 13I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took the same way. 14So she increased her harlotries. And she saw men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, 15girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16When she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17The Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their harlotry. And when she had been defiled by them, she became disgusted with them. 18She uncovered her harlotries and uncovered her nakedness; then I became disgusted with her, as I had become disgusted with her sister. 19Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses. 21Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom because of the breasts of your youth.
Eze 23:11-17 These verses describe the acts of Oholibah (Jerusalem).
1. more corrupt in her lusts than her sister, Eze 23:11
2. more harlotries than her sister, Eze 23:11
3. lusted after Assyrian (possibly related to 2Ki 15:17-22; 2Ki 17:1-6) officials, Eze 23:12
a. governors, officials
(1) magnificently dressed
(2) riding on horses
(3) desirable young men
b. The Assyrians were famous for their rich and costly apparel. The expression Assyrian garments’ became synonymous with elegant and expensive clothing, James M. Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible, pp. 307-308.
4. defiled herself, Eze 23:13
a. Babylonian and/or Assyrian men portrayed on the wall, Eze 23:13-14
(1) girded with bells, Eze 23:15
(2) flowing turbans
(3) looking like Babylonian officers, Eze 23:15
b. sent messengers to Chaldea (Babylon, cf. 2 Kings 16; 2Ki 20:11-19), Eze 23:16
c. Babylon came, Eze 23:17
(1) to her bed of love
(2) they defiled her with harlotry
(3) uncovered her nakedness
5. her soul became disgusted with them, Eze 23:17 c,22,28, their rich and costly apparel.
The expression ‘Assyrian garments’ became synonymous with elegant and expensive clothing. James M. Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible, pp. 307-308.
Eze 23:11 Judah should have learned from the excesses of her northern sister, but she did not. This description relates to the Syro-Ephraimatic War (cf. 2Ki 16:8; Isa 7:7-9).
Eze 23:14 portrayed on the wall These wall paintings, carvings, and inlays (BDB 348, KB 347, Pual PARTICIPLE) are the source of much of the historical and cultural information moderns possess about the culture of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Ezekiel uses this VERB to describe
1. the idolatry of the temple, Eze 8:10
2. the glory of the Babylonian officers and soldiers, Eze 23:14
with vermilion This (BDB 1059, KB 1666) refers to a red pigment used for wall painting cf. Jer 22:14, here of Babylonian soldiers. The pigment came from one of two sources.
1. a certain insect
2. Egyptian ochre from Sinopis
Eze 23:15
NASB, NRSV,
TEVofficers
NKJVcaptains
This term (BDB 1026) means the third one and refers to
1. the third person in a war chariot, cf. Exo 14:7
a. one to drive
b. one to shield
c. one to fight
2. a high court official, cf. 2Ki 7:2; 2Ki 7:17; 2Ki 7:19; 2Ki 10:25; 2Ki 15:25
3. a military officer, cf. 2Sa 23:8; 2Ki 9:25; Eze 23:15; Eze 23:23
Eze 23:18-35 YHWH’s response to His unfaithful wife Oholibah.
1. YHWH became disgusted (BDB 429, KB 431, Qal IMPERFECT) with her, as with her sister, Eze 23:18, cf. Jer 6:8
2. The repeated reasons for YHWH’s disgust.
a. uncovered her harlotries, Eze 23:18
b. uncovered her nakedness, Eze 23:18
c. multiplied her harlotries, Eze 23:19
d. remembered the days of her youth (i.e., idolatry in Egypt), Eze 23:19
e. lusted after their Egyptian paramours, Eze 23:20-21 (this may refer to Judah seeking help from Egypt against Babylon, who was her supposed ally, cf. 2Ki 24:1-7)
3. YHWH arouses (BDB 734, KB 802, Hiphil PARTICIPLE) her lovers against her, Eze 23:22
a. a large mercenary army of Babylon will attack them from every side, Eze 23:23
b. description of their weaponry, Eze 23:24
c. treat Jerusalem according to their customs (i.e., slaughter and exile), Eze 23:24
4. YHWH sets His jealousy (BDB 888) against them, Eze 23:25
5. YHWH sets His wrath (BDB 404) against them, Eze 23:25
6. Wrath described in vivid terms, Eze 23:25-27
a. remove your nose
b. remove your ears
c. death by the sword
d. death by fire
e. take their wealth
(1) children
(2) clothes, cf. Eze 23:29; Eze 16:39
(3) jewels from Egypt, cf. Eze 16:39
7. YHWH will deal with them in hatred (BDB 971), Eze 23:29
a. take property (i.e., that which they have worked for all their lives, CONSTRUCT BDB 481, 388, cf. Deu 28:33; Jer 20:5) and leave them naked and bare, Eze 23:29, cf. Eze 16:39. Nakedness was part of the curses of Deuteronomy (cf. Deu 28:48).
b. because of their idolatry, Eze 23:30
c. because they walked in the way of their sister, Eze 23:31
d. because they forgot YHWH and cast Him behind their back, they now face the judgment, Eze 23:35 (i.e., lived as if there were no covenant and no YHWH)
Eze 23:20
NASB, NKJV,
NRSVparamours
TEVoversexed men
NJBbig-membered
NIV Interlineargenitals
PESHITTAmale organs
REBmembers
The MT has concubine (BDB 811), which in context seems not to balance the second phrase well. Though it is crude to modern standards Ezekiel is suggesting
1. large penis
2. strong ejaculation
The NIV translation captures the sense well! These sexual metaphors are meant to shock and nauseate God’s people about their idolatry (i.e., foreign alliances). Often the sexual metaphors are also literal because the fertility gods of the Ancient Near East are the national gods.
NASB, NKJVissue of horses
NRSVemission of stallions
NJBejaculating as violently as stallions
LXXmembers of horses
PESHITTAwhose privates are like those of horses
JPSOAwhose organs were like those of stallions
This term (BDB 281) refers either to a sexually ready male organ or a powerful ejaculation. It occurs only here in the Bible, but similar allusions are made to Israel acting in idolatrous ways as animals long for reproduction (i.e., Jer 2:24; Jer 14:6).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Eze 23:11-21
Eze 23:11-21
“And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her doing than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister. She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way, And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw them portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and they defiled her in their whoredom, and sent messengers unto them in Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them. So she uncovered her whoredoms, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the handling of thy bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth.”
“Clothed most gorgeously …” (Eze 23:12). “The word here means `perfection,’ and the thought intended is, perfect beauty of clothing.
Eze 23:12-13 stress the attractiveness of the clothing and appearance of Assyrian and Chaldean cavalry. “Chaldeans, as used later in the paragraph is a symbol for Babylonians.
“Men portrayed upon the wall in vermilion …” (Eze 23:14). “This is illustrated by mural paintings recovered from Mesopotamia.” Also, “Sculpture brought by Layard from Nineveh, display all of the magnificence of Oriental finery.
These things suggest that it was the superior culture of the Assyrians and Babylonians which constituted the chief allurements to the people of God. Inferior cultures have always been attracted and, in a sense, seduced by the luxuries, etc. of the superior culture. We should not be confused by the mention of both the Assyrians and the Chaldeans alike here as the paramour of Oholibah. Judah was “seduced” by both countries. They became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar when Jehoiachim was elevated to the kingship; he rebelled, seeking the friendship of Egypt; Nebuchadnezzar conquered the city, carried Jehoiachin to Babylon, and installed Zedekiah as his vassal; Zedekiah rebelled, seeking friendship and protection from Egypt; and that led to the final destruction of the City and the Temple! The vacillation and fickleness of Judah was a conspicuous element in all such changes
“She … sent messengers unto them into Chaldea …” (Eze 23:16). “This refers to the act of Ahaz (2Ki 16:7).
“Then my soul was alienated from her …” (Eze 23:18). God became disgusted with Oholibah (Jerusalem) because, “The love of Oholibah was not for her husband (God Himself), but for a multitude of paramours whom she received without discretion or shame. This syncretism in politics led to the tragedy of moral deterioration and spiritual decay.
Thus it came to pass that, “Having forsaken God for what she vainly thought was her self-interest, and having abandoned reliance upon Him, Judah came to experience the bitterness of God’s alienation from her.
“Remembering the days of her youth … in Egypt …” (Eze 23:19). Here is an unmistakable reference to adultery and sexual immorality in its unalloyed identification with the lusts of the flesh. In Egypt, there were no political alliances which Israel either would have or could have made. We find no excuse whatever for denying the plain, vulgar, and ordinary meaning of what is said here. Furthermore, where the sexual activity of horses and asses is brought forward in the following verse, we have the full confirmation of this view.
“Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses …” (Eze 23:20). “The reference here is to the ‘membrum virile’ (very large in the ass).
The spectacular and sensational sexual behavior of these animals made an appropriate illustration of the gross immorality of Judah. The scriptures have a number of references to this in Hos 8:9; Jer 2:24; Jer 13:27, etc. Many translations and versions have softened the words to the extent of obscuring their meaning altogether. Perhaps Alexander has done the best job of providing an inoffensive, yet clear, translation of the passage, thus: “Whose genitals were like those of donkeys, and whose emissions were like that of horses.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
her sister: Eze 23:4, Jer 3:8
was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she: Heb. she corrupted her inordinate love more than she. her sister in her whoredoms. Heb. the whoredoms of her sister. Eze 16:47-51, Jer 3:8-11
Reciprocal: Jer 3:6 – backsliding Jer 3:11 – justified Eze 16:15 – and playedst Eze 16:46 – elder Hos 12:2 – and will Amo 2:4 – because Mic 1:13 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 23:11. This verse does not mean that Aholibah (Judah) actually committed more idolatry than did her sister, for such was not the case. Every king of the 10-tribe kingdom without exception was an idolater and encour-aged it among his subjects. But Judah bad a number of faithful kings who tried to stem the tide of corruption. The contrast Is made on the basis of the superior advantages that Judah had over Israel. With increased advantages or opportunities come greater responsibilities. Judah had the bad exampie of Israel and its results before her eyes and should have profited by it Besides, she had possession of the temple and the lawful priesthood to strengthen her and that should have bound her closer to the Liord in a faithful life. But she seemed to overlook all these factors and committed the abomination of false worship. That is why it is said that she became more corrupt.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 23:11-12. When her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt Jerusalem was so far from taking warning by the judgments inflicted on Samaria, that she advanced to greater degrees of idolatry. She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours Ahaz, king of Judah, entered into a confederacy with the king of Assyria, hoping for relief from his power and the bravery of his army, and worshipped the idols which the Assyrians worshipped, in order to ingratiate himself with them. See the margin.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jerusalem’s prostitution 23:11-21
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Oholibah observed her sister’s behavior and fate, but she did not learn from them. As many historians have observed, the one thing we learn from history is that most people do not learn from history. Oholibah became even more unfaithful than her sister. She too lusted after the Assyrians whom she viewed as attractive political allies (2Ki 16:8; cf. Isa 7:7-9), and she added the Babylonians to her list of lovers. Both sisters followed the same pattern of behavior.