Who are Aholah and Aholibah in this passage?

Aholah and Aholibah are picture names for the two kingdoms of God’s people. Aholah represents Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. Aholibah represents Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. God speaks of them as two sisters who were meant to belong to Him but went after other “lovers,” meaning idols and foreign nations. By using these names and this family picture, God shows how personal their sin is, like a wife turning her back on her husband.

What does it mean that they committed adultery with idols?

Here adultery is not only about sex, but about the heart. God had entered into a covenant with His people, like a marriage. When they worshiped other gods, trusted in idols, and copied the ways of foreign nations, it was like a wife leaving her husband for other men. So their idol worship is called adultery. It shows that they did not just break rules, they broke faith with the One who loved them and had chosen them to be His own people.

Why is child sacrifice described and why is it so serious?

The passage says they had “blood in their hands” because they caused their sons, whom they bore to God, to pass through the fire to idols. This means they killed their own children as offerings. These children were seen as belonging to God, yet they were burned for false gods. Then, on the same day, the people walked into God’s sanctuary as if they could still worship Him. This is shown as a shocking evil, a deep betrayal of both God’s love and the basic value of human life.

How did Samaria and Jerusalem defile God’s sanctuary and sabbaths?

They defiled God’s sanctuary and profaned His sabbaths by living in open sin and then pretending to worship as if nothing was wrong. The passage says they killed their children for idols and then came the same day into God’s house. Their worship became empty and offensive, because they would not turn from their idolatry and cruelty. Treating holy things like this, while clinging to sin, showed that they had no real respect for God’s presence, His day, or His commands.

What is the meaning of the “men from far” and the decorated bed and table?

The “men from far” are foreign nations they eagerly invited into their lives. The washing, eye paint, ornaments, and stately bed picture a woman getting ready to attract lovers. The prepared table with God’s incense and oil shows they even used what belonged to God in these false relationships. In plain terms, God’s people chased foreign powers and their religions, dressing up for them and offering them what should have been kept for God alone. This is another way of showing their spiritual adultery.

Why does God say righteous men will judge them like adulteresses and murderers?

The passage says that “righteous men” will judge them “after the manner of adulteresses” and “women that shed blood.” This means their public judgment will fit the sins they have committed. Adultery and murder both carried heavy penalties, and these charges match their idolatry and child sacrifice. God is showing that what they did is not a small mistake, but a crime that deserves open judgment. The coming enemy armies are pictured as carrying out that sentence as part of God’s justice.

What is the purpose of the harsh judgment described here?

The judgment is severe: stones, swords, and fire on their houses and families. But the passage also explains why. God says He will “cause lewdness to cease out of the land,” and that “all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.” In other words, this punishment is meant to put a stop to open sin and to warn others not to follow the same path. It also ends by saying, “you shall know that I am the Lord God,” showing that His justice reveals who He is.

What does this passage teach about God’s character?

This passage shows that God is patient but not indifferent to evil. He cares deeply about faithfulness, the protection of life, and the holiness of worship. When His people mix child sacrifice and idol worship with visits to His sanctuary, He does not shrug it off. He acts in justice and allows painful judgment so that sin will stop and people will know He is the Lord. At the same time, His words here show that He takes His relationship with His people very seriously, like a faithful husband who has been betrayed.

How can this passage about Aholah and Aholibah apply today?

Today we may not bow to carved idols or sacrifice children in the same way, but the heart issues are similar. Trusting in anything more than God, shaping life around power, money, or influence, or trying to mix open sin with outward worship all reflect the same kind of unfaithfulness. This passage calls people to be honest about their loyalties, to treat life as precious, and to keep worship from becoming a cover for disobedience. It urges turning back fully to God instead of trying to serve Him and idols together.

Ezek.23.36

Ezekiel 23:36

King James Version (KJV)

¶ The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;

Chapter:

Context:

Judgment on Both Sisters

¶ The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;

That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.

Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.

And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,

And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?

Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

¶ And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

For thus saith the Lord God; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.