Ezekiel 23

Chapter 23 continues the lewd allegory that began in Chapter 16. Both feature the covenant people’s unfaithfulness through graphic marriage metaphors. Chapter 23 rivals Chapter 16 in its pornographic imagery and R-rated content. Guaranteed, neither chapter makes it into many sermons or Bible studies.
Chapter 23 continues the lewd allegory that began in Chapter 16. Both feature the covenant people’s unfaithfulness through graphic marriage metaphors. Chapter 23 rivals Chapter 16 in its pornographic imagery and R-rated content. Guaranteed, neither chapter makes it into many sermons or Bible studies.
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Transcript

Ezekiel 23

Welcome to Bible Fiber! Here, we explore the rich textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through the lens of Twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization dedicated to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. 

Before I start this week’s commentary, I have big news! The very first Bible Fiber book is going to be released on October 1st! The book is a 52-week study of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Do the study of the Twelve Minor Prophets by yourself or in a small group for a comprehensive analysis in twelve months! I am excited to release this book, which has been a labor of love. If you want a reminder when the book launches, go to my website, www.shelleyneese.com and sign up for the Bible Fiber newsletter. I'll have some freebies on the site when it launches. Now, back to Ezekiel.

This week, we are studying Ezekiel 23, an allegory of two unfaithful sisters: Oholah and Oholibah. Oholah represented Samaria, and Oholibah represented Jerusalem (23:4). The sisters’ relentless pursuit of new lovers allegorically portrayed Samaria and Jerusalem’s flirtations with foreign political alliances and their worship of pagan gods. Because of the sisters’ habitual infidelity, God pronounced severe judgment on them. 

In the ancient Near East, smaller nations often sought the support of empires to navigate regional threats. The kings of Samaria and Jerusalem did not operate in radically different ways than other kings. However, the Bible writers recorded history from the divine perspective. In God’s eyes, it was unacceptable that Samaria and Jerusalem put their trust in every entity other than Yahweh. Ezekiel’s allegory of the two sisters depicts how Samaria and Jerusalem’s political alliances added sin on top of sin.

Two sisters

Ezekiel 23’s allegory opens differently than earlier allegories. Instead of commanding Ezekiel to compose his own , God narrates the entire story to Ezekiel. The chapter begins with a direct address from God: “Mortal, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; they prostituted themselves in Egypt; they prostituted themselves in their youth” (23:2). The siblings had the same mother, which means they shared a common origin and upbringing. Although they were God’s covenant people, both Samaria and Jerusalem fell into similar patterns of unfaithfulness and idolatry.

He continued, “Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters” (23:4). Despite early signs of promiscuity, God claimed both sisters and gave them children. Although the allegory never states that the sisters were Yahweh’s wives, it implies a covenant relationship through the statement “they became mine.” The sisters’ children represented the citizens of Samaria and Jerusalem.

The sister allegory was unambiguous. In Hebrew, Oholah and Oholibah share the common root ohel, which means “tent.” Oholah translates to “her tent” and Oholibah translates to “my tent is in her.” Yahweh’s temple in Jerusalem can be called a tent, recalling the days of the transportable tabernacle. Oholibah’s name—my tent is in her—points to the fact that the temple of Yahweh abided in Jerusalem. Samaria housed alternative shrines and places of worship that opposed the temple in Jerusalem. So, she is called “her tent.” The choice of names is a literary flourish. Because Oholah and Oholibah have a similar sound, their names phonetically reinforce the sisters’ shared destiny. 

Oholah

According to the metaphor, Oholah was the first sister to commit adultery. God explained that even when Oholah belonged to him, she grew restless and looked outside their marriage for men who could satisfy her lust (23:5). The Bible’s historical books confirm the Kingdom of Israel’s idolatrous history. Starting during the reign of King Jeroboam I, Israel worshipped golden calves and adopted unauthorized religious practices (1 Kings 12:25-33). King Ahab and his wife Jezebel introduced the worship of Baal, further entrenching Israel’s idolatry (1 Kings 16:29-34).

According to Ezekiel’s uncomfortable descriptions, idolatry was only one way Israel betrayed Yahweh. Because the kingdom lacked trust in Yahweh as their sole protector and provider, it was guilty of pursuing foreign military alliances. The allegory reveals the Assyrians as the first object of Oholah’s passions. The powerful Assyrian warriors teased her with their handsome looks, horses, and fine apparel. Ezekiel recalls, “She bestowed her sexual favors upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone for whom she lusted” (23:6). 

In the eighth century BCE, the Assyrian empire was at the height of its territorial and political power. Because of their extensive military campaigns, they exerted control from Mesopotamia to Egypt. The Oholah allegory may have been a general characterization of Samaria’s infatuation with Assyrian power. However, if Ezekiel was pointing to a specific historical incident in Israel’s history, it was likely King Jehu’s pursuit of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III. 
 
 In 840 BCE, King Jehu recognized the Assyrians were on the rise and allied with them against their common enemies in Jerusalem and Damascus. The Bible does not mention this historical alliance, but it describes Jehu’s reign as being filled with internal struggles and conflict with his Judean and Aramean neighbors. Historians know about Jehu’s submission to Assyria because of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, which was discovered in 1846 during excavations of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud. Among Shalmaneser’s robust military achievements listed on the obelisk, it depicts King Jehu bowing before Shalmaneser. In return for Assyria’s imperial protection, Jehu paid a tribute of gold, silver, and gifts.

Yahweh explained to Ezekiel that he abandoned Oholah and gave her over to the hands of her Assyrian lovers (23:9). In short order, lust turned to violence. Assyria “uncovered her nakedness” and “seized her sons and her daughters” before killing her with the sword (23:10). Underlying the description of Oholah’s rape was the actual Assyrian attack on the Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 18:9-12). In 722 BCE, the Assyrian army killed or captured the entire population of Samaria, flattened the city’s buildings, and robbed her of her wealth and natural resources. 

Oholibah

After describing Oholah’s punishment, the allegory shifts to the story of Oholibah, the younger sister. Oholibah’s pattern of lust was even worse than her adulterous sister (23:11, 14). Rather than avoiding her sister’s disastrous fate, she too seduced the Assyrian warriors. Ezekiel explained, “she lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men” (23:12).

If the allegory was being specific, this episode might refer to King Ahaz of Jerusalem’s alliance with Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III (2 Kings 16:5-20). Ahaz needed help to fend off attacks from King Pekah of Israel and the Arameans. Instead of relying on Yahweh for protection, he acknowledged Assyrian overlordship and sent a heavy tribute to the king. King Ahaz traveled to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser III. During the trip, Ahaz admired the Assyrian pagan altars and ordered a replica to be built in Jerusalem. In another brazen move, he moved the original bronze altar used for Yahweh worship to make room for the Assyrian idols.

After dismissing the Assyrians, Oholibah focused on a bas-relief of Chaldean warriors. These warriors were depicted with red paint, wearing belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads. They all appeared to be officers (23:15). The Bible often uses the term Chaldean synonymously with Babylonian. In this context, Oholibah was attracted to the Chaldeans as the ruling dynasty in Babylon. In the seventh century BCE, the Chaldeans were the Semitic tribal group that took the primary positions of power in the Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar II was the most famous of the Chaldean kings.

Oholibah became infatuated with the Chaldean officers. She sent messengers to them and invited them to her bed (23:16). The description might point to King Hezekiah’s welcoming of Babylonian diplomats into his palace. After King Hezekiah recovered from a long bout of sickness that nearly killed him, the king of Babylon sent envoys with letters and gifts. Hezekiah, seeking to impress the Babylonians, responded to their generosity by giving them a tour of all his wealth and military resources (2 Kings 20:12-21). The prophet Isaiah confronted Hezekiah for his naïve and short-sighted actions. He correctly prophesied that because of Hezekiah’s foolishness, one day the Babylonians would pillage the palace treasures (Isa. 39:1-8).

The Chaldean officers responded to Oholibah’s invitation and “came to her into the bed of love” (23:17). As soon as they had defiled her, she regretted her choice “and turned from them in disgust” (23:17). Neither Assyria nor Babylon could satisfy her cravings, and she hated them for it. In her desperation, she continued to prostitute herself and flaunt her nakedness. She even indulged in an affair with her old lover, Egypt. Ezekiel described the Egyptian affair using repulsive, bestial imagery to show the complete lack of bounds on her sexual appetite (23:21). (I don’t even want to repeat any of it on the show, but you can read it yourself.) At no point did Oholibah return to her husband, Yahweh. As a result, Yahweh recounted to Ezekiel, “I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned from her sister” (23:18). 

Oholibah’s wooing of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Egyptian soldiers backfired. Yahweh stirred up a rabble of her ex-lovers to torture her. The Babylonians and Assyrians used the very weapons, chariots, and horses she once found alluring to defeat her. Assyrian and Babylonian soldiers, known for their mutilation practices, stripped her and cut off her nose and ears (23:25). The army plundered her clothes and jewelry and burned her city. Ezekiel emphasized God’s hand in the frenzy of violence. Yahweh announced, “I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust” (23:28).

Even though Yahweh indicted Oholah and Oholibah for the same charges, Ezekiel gave more attention to Oholibah’s punishment since she represented his listeners. Ezekiel reinforced the point of his allegory: the citizens of Jerusalem will not escape the consequences of their political or spiritual infidelity. In listing their crimes, Ezekiel reiterated the accusations of previous oracles: they violated the Sabbath, worshiped idols, profaned the temple, and sacrificed their children to false gods (23:36-39). They mistook their natural enemies—idols and foreign armies—for potential lovers and paid the price.

Even after the sisters grew weary and aged, they continued in the lifestyle of harlots. They beautified themselves with makeup and jewelry. Yahweh said, “you sat on a stately couch with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil” (23:41). They repurposed the incense and oil, meant for worshiping Yahweh, to beautify and perfume themselves. Predators took advantage of the aging prostitutes (23:43). No longer capable of wooing suitors from Babylon and Assyria, they resorted to desert nomads and drunk wanderers offering bracelets and trinkets for payment of their sexual favors (23:42).

Connection to Chapter 16

Chapter 23 continues the lewd allegory that began in Chapter 16. Both feature the covenant people’s unfaithfulness through graphic marriage metaphors. Chapter 23 rivals Chapter 16 in its pornographic imagery and R-rated content. Guaranteed, neither chapter makes it into many sermons or Bible studies.

While Chapter 16 focuses on Jerusalem, Chapter 23 expands the address to both Samaria and Jerusalem, even though Samaria received her punishment a century earlier. Chapter 16 characterizes Jerusalem as an abandoned infant whom God adopted and later married. Rather than show gratitude for her rescue, she used her beauty and wealth to betray him and go after other lovers. Chapter 23 depicts two promiscuous sisters who pursued affairs with Assyrian, Babylonian, and Egyptian warriors. The allegory of the orphan turned queen focused on God’s unreturned love as his people went after the Canaanite gods. In the story of the two sisters, the tale highlights both cities’ ill-conceived political pursuits.

Another interesting difference is that Chapter 16 details the splendor of Yahweh’s unfaithful queen. Ezekiel described her fine apparel, jewelry, and shoes. Although Yahweh was her benefactor, she used his gifts to bait her lovers. In Chapter 23, Ezekiel did not describe the sisters’ physical characteristics. Instead, he focused on the attractiveness of the military men that she pursued. The Assyrians were “clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men” (23:12). The Babylonians wore “belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers” (23:15). The sisters could not resist the strapping warriors. 

The two different allegories reinforce each other. Jerusalem cannot endlessly pursue other gods and foreign alliances without being disciplined. They were not guilty of one-off affairs; they were serial adulterers. 

Conclusion

Ezekiel used strong rhetoric to erase any doubt in the minds of his listeners that Jerusalem did not deserve the impending punishment. The Judahites believed they were morally and spiritually superior to the Israelites. They were familiar with the story of Israel’s fall, and Samaria had become synonymous with disobedience. While the Kingdom of Israel met its end, the Kingdom of Judah persisted.

Ezekiel’s shocking claim was that Samaria and Jerusalem not only had the same origin story; they also shared the same fate. In the race to the bottom, Samaria arrived first, but Jerusalem followed. Both sisters cast Yahweh aside. By putting God out of their hearts and minds, they justified their whoredom. Yahweh warned, “Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitutions” (23:35).

Jerusalem should have contemplated the actions that led to Samaria’s downfall, so that she could avoid the same mistakes. Instead, she applauded her survival and made no alterations to her own behavior. Ezekiel’s allegory highlighted how Oholibah repeated the same destructive choices of her older sister. Because her prostitution was never ending, her punishment and disgrace were her own doing. 

Yahweh pronounced, “you have gone the way of your sister; therefore, I will give her cup into your hand” (23:31). Ezekiel then inserted a harsh poem describing Oholibah drinking every drop from the same cup of wrath as her sister (23:32-34). Oholibah is “filled with drunkenness and sorrow” (23:33). 

Drinking the cup of Yahweh’s wrath was a common word picture in the prophets, a metaphor which placed God in the role of the divine host serving his guests. At times, he provided a cup of salvation, while at others it was a cup of wrath. Isaiah prophesied the day that Jerusalem would drink the bottomless cup of Yahweh’s wrath and become a staggering drunk (Isa. 51:17). Both Isaiah and Jeremiah promised that, after the age of Judah’s punishment was over, God would deliver the cup of wrath to Judah’s tormentors (Isa. 51:23; Jer. 25:15-16).

Jesus’s words and teachings followed the same prophetic chain of divine word pictures. In the days leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion, he prayed, “Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want” (Mark 14:36). Jesus referred to the divine cup as a symbol of the suffering, sacrifice, and judgment he was about to endure on behalf of humanity. 

Just like the two sisters, we too are sinners and deserve the cup of God's wrath. However, Jesus took our sins upon himself and drank from the cup in our place. Because of the saving effect of his sacrificial death and resurrection, we instead get to drink from the cup of salvation. The cup of salvation is overflowing with Yahweh’s mercy and lovingkindness. Like the Psalmist proclaimed, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” (Ps. 116:13). 

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Until next week, Am Israel Chai!

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