Ezekiel 23:4

23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah 1  the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. 2  Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 23:11

23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, 3  but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister.

Ezekiel 23:31-33

23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment 4  in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; 5  you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by 6  drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation.

1 tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”

2 sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.

3 tn The word “this” is not in the original text.

4 tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).

5 sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.

6 tn Heb “filled with.”