Ezekiel 23:5

5 And Oholah was untrue to me when she was mine; she was full of desire for her lovers, even for the Assyrians, her neighbours,

Ezekiel 23:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 23:5

And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine
His married wife, and so ought to have cleaved to him alone: or, under me {o}; under his cover, power, and protection, and therefore it was their interest to serve him only: or, "instead of me" ^F16; or, as the Syriac version, "besides me": they worshipped other gods in the room of the true God, or other gods besides him. The Targum is,

``and Aholah erred from my worship;''

the ten tribes fell into idolatry, when they were God's professing people: and she doted on her lovers;
whom she loved even to madness; she was mad with love, to the idols, temples, altars, and idolatrous worship of the Heathens; particularly doted "on the Assyrians her neighbours"; who were become so by the conquest of Syria; and these they treated as their neighbours, and sought to have them to be their allies and confederates; courted their help and assistance, and gave them much money for that purpose; as Menahem gave to Pul king of Assyria a thousand talents of silver, to confirm the kingdom in his hand, ( 2 Kings 15:19 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (ytxt) "sub me", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Tigurine version. Piscator, Cocceius, Starckius.
F16 "Exteros excipiens loco meo", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.

Ezekiel 23:5 In-Context

3 They were acting like loose women in Egypt; when they were young their behaviour was loose: there their breasts were crushed, even the points of their young breasts were crushed.

4 Their names were Oholah, the older, and Oholibah, her sister: and they became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem, Oholibah

5 And Oholah was untrue to me when she was mine; she was full of desire for her lovers, even for the Assyrians, her neighbours,

6 Who were clothed in blue, captains and rulers, all of them young men to be desired, horsemen seated on horses.

7 And she gave her unclean love to them, all of them the noblest men of Assyria: and she made herself unclean with the images of all who were desired by her.