Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
The Wliorcdoins of EZEKIEL XXIII. Aholah and Aholibah.
Its punishment, tliey were mine—previous to apostasy under Jeroboam, Samaria (Israel, or the ten tribes), equally with Judah, worshipped the true God. God theredanger of suf Tering the memory to dwell on the pleasure felt in past sins. 20. their paramours—i. e., her paramours among them (the Egyptians) ; she doted upon their persons as her paramours {v. 5, 12, 16). flesh—the membrum virile (very large in the ass), as Leviticus 15. 2, Margin; Ezekiel 16. 26. issue of horses — the seminal fore never renounced the right over Israel, but sent prophets, as Elijah and Elisha, to declare His will to thera.
5. wlieii . . . mine lit., "under me," i.e., subject to me ns her lawful husband, nelglibours—on the north-east issue. The horse was made by the Egyptians the hieroglyphic for a lustful person. 31. calledst to remembrance —"didst repeat." [Maurek.] in braising—in suflering ... to be bruised. 23. lovers . . . alienated — {v. 17.)
'.lie kingdom of Israel bordered on that of Assyria; for the latter liad occupied much of Syria. Their neighbourhood in locality was emblematical of their being near in corruption of morals and worship. The alliances of Israel with Assyria, which are the chief subject of reprobation here, tended to this (2 Kings 15. 19; 16. 7, 9; 17. 3; Hosea 8.
Illicit love, soon or late, ends in open hatred (2 Samuel 13.
15). The Babylonians, the objects formerly of their Godforgetting love, but now, with characteristic fickleness, objects of their hatred, shall be made by God the instruments of their punishment. 23. Pekod, &c.—(Jeremiah
H). 6. blue—rather, "purple." [Fairbairn.] As a lustful woman's passions are fired by showy dress and youthful appearance in men, so Israel was seduced by the pomp and power of Assyria (cf. Isaiah 10. 8). horsemen—cava-
50. 21.) Not a geographical name, but descriptive of Babylon. " Visitation," peculiarly the land of "judgment ;" in a double sense: actively, the inflicter of judgment on Judah; passively, as about to be afterwards herself the object of judgment. Shoa . . . Koa— "rich . . . noble," descriptive of Babylon in her prosperity . . . having all the world's wealth and dignity at her disposal. Mauker suggests that as descriptive appellatives are subjoined to the proper name, "all the Assyrians" in the second hemistich of the verse (as the verse ought to be divid<!d at " Koa"), so Pekod, Shoa, and Koa must be appellatives descriptive of "The Babylonians and . . . Chaldeans" iu the first hemistich; "Pekod" meaning Prefects; Shoa . .
liers. 7. all tlieir idols—there was nothing that she refused to her lovers. 8. whoredoms brought from Egypt —the calves set up in Dan and Bethel by Jeroboam, answering to the Egyptian bull-formed idol Apis. Her alUancp-1 with E<:ypt po KtieaUy are also meant (Isaiah 30. 2,
3; 31. 1). The ten tribes probably resumed the Egyptian rites, in order to enlist the Egyptians against Jvidah (2 Chronicles 12. 2-4). 9. God, in righteous retribution, turned their objects of trust into the instruments of their punishment : Pal, Tiglatii-pileser, Esar-haddou, and Shalmaneser (2 Kings 15. 19, 29; 17. 3, 6, 2-1; Ezra 4. 2, 10). "It was their sin to have sought after such lovers, and it was
Koa, " rich . . . princely." desirable young men—strong irony; alluding to v. 12, these "desirable young men" whom thou didst so "dote upon" for their manly vigour of appearance, shall by that very vigour be the better able to chastise thee. 24r. with chariots— or, "with armaments:" .soLXX. ; "axes" [Maurer]; or, joining it with "wagons," translate, "with scythe - armed wagons," or "chariots." [Grotius.] wheels—the unusual height of these increased their formidable appearance (ch. 1. 16-20). tlieir Judgments — which awarded barbarously severe punishments (Jeremiah 52. 9; 29. 22). 25. take away thy nose . . . ears—adulteresses were punished so among the Egyptians and Chaldeans. Oriental beauties wore ornaments in the ear and nose. Howjust the retribution, that the features most bejewelled should be mutilated ! So, allegorically as to Judah, the spiritual adulteress. 26. strip lobe their punishment that these lovers should become their destroyers." [Fairbairn.] 10. became famous lit., "she became a name," i.e., as notorious by her punishment as she liad been by her sins, so as to be quoted as a icarninrj to others, women—i. e., neighbouring peoples. 11. Judah, the southern kingdom, though having the "warning" {Note, ti. 10) of the northern kingdom before her eyes, instead of profiting by it, went to even greater lengths in corruption than Israel. Her greater spiritual privileges made her guilt the greater (ch. 16. 47, 51; Jeremiah 3.11). 1^. (Ver. 6, 23.) vaost ^orgeov Lsly—lU., to perfection. Grotius translates, " wearing a crown," or " chaplet," .such as lovers wore in visiting their mistresses. 13. one way— botli alike forsaking God for heathen confidences. 1*. vermilion-the peculiar colour of the Chaldeans, as purple was of the Assyrians. In striking agreement witli this verse is the fact that the Assyrian sculptures lately discovered have painted and coloured bas-reliefs, red, blue, and black. The Jews (for instance Jehoiakim, Jeremiah 22. 14) copied these (cf. ch. 8. 10). 13. exceeding in dyed attire—rather, " in ample dyed tttrbftns ;" lit., "redundant with dyed turbans." The Assyrians delighted in ample, flowing, and richly-coloured tunics, scarfs, girdles, and head-dresses or turbans,varying In ornaments according to the rank. Chnldea . . . land of their i»atlvlty—between the Black and Caspian Seas {Note, Isaiah 2.3. 13). "Princes;" lit., a first-rate military class that fouglit by threes in the chariots, one guiding the. . . of . . . clothes—whereby she attracted her paramours
(ch. 16. 39). 27. Thus . . . make . . . lewdness to cease—The captivity has made the Jews ever since abhor Idolatry, not only on their return from Babylon, but for the last eighteen centuries of their dispersion, as foretold (Hosea 3. 4). 38. (Ver. 17, 18; ch. 16. 37.) 29. take away . . . thy labour i. e., the fruits of thy labour, leave thee naked —as captive females are treated. 31. her cup—of punishment (Psalm 11. 6; 75. 8; Jeremiah 25. 15, Ac). Thy guilt and that of Israel being alike, your punishment shall be alike. 34. break . . . sherds—so greedily shalt thou suck out every drop like one drinking to madness (the effect invariably ascribed to drinking God's cup of wratii, Jeremiah 51. 7; Habakkuk 2. 16) that thou shalt craunch the very shreds of it, i. e., there shall be no evil left which thou shalt not taste, pluck ofl' thine own breasts—enraged against them as the ministers to thine adultery.
horses, tlie other two fighting. 16. sent messengers . . . into Chaldea—(Ch. 16. 29.) It was she tliat .solicited tlie Chaldeans, not they her. Probably the occasion was when Judah sought to strengthen herself by a Chaldean alliance against a menaced attack by Egypt (cf. 2 Kings 23. 29-
3.'j. forgotten me—(Jeremiah 2. 32; 13. 25.) cast me behind tliy back—(1 Kings 14. 9; Nehemiah 9. 26.) bear . . . tliy lewdness—i. e., its penal consequences (Proverbs 1.
.3.5; 24. 1-7). God made the object of their sinful desire the instrument of their punishment. .Jehoiakim, probably by a stipulation of tribute, enlisted Nebuchadnezzar against
31). 36-414r. A summing up of the sins of the two sisters, especially tjiose of Judah. 36. Wilt thou (not) Judge {Note, ch. 20. 4). 38. the same day—on the very day that they had burned their children to Molech In the valley of Gehenna, they shamelessly and hypocritically presented themselves as worshippers In Jehovah's temple (.Jeremiah 7. 9, 10). 40. messenger waa sent viz., by Judah {v. 16; Isaiah 57. 9). paintedst . . . eyes—(2 Kings
Pharaoh, whose tributary he previously had been; failing to keep his stipulation, he brought on himself Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance. 17. alienated from them viz., from the Chaldeans: turning again to the Egyptians {v. 19), trying by their help to throw of Ther solemn engagements to Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 37. 5,7; 2 Kings 24.7). 18. my mind was alienated from her lit., ivas broken off from her. Just retribution for "her mind being alienated {broken off) from the Chaldeans" (v. 17), to whom she had sworn fealty (ch. 17. 12-19). "Discovered" implies the open shamelessness of her apostasy. 19. Israel first "called"
9. 30, Margin; Jeremiah 4. 30). Black paint was spread on the eyelids of beauties to make the white of the eye more attractive by the contrast, so Judah left no seductive art untried. 41. bed—divan. Whilst men reclined at table, women sat, as It seemed indelicate for them to lie down. (Amos 6. 4.) [Grotius.] table—i. e., the idolatrous altar.
licr lusts, practised when In Egypt, "to her (fond) remembrance," and then actually returned to them. Mark the 596