23:1-3 The Lord gave Ezekiel a story about two sisters who had one mother (cf. Jer. 3:7). These young girls became prostitutes in Egypt and allowed men to fondle their breasts. That is, they allowed the Egyptians to become intimate with them even though they were to be faithful to the Lord alone (cf. 16:26; 20:7-8; Num. 25:3-9; Josh. 24:14; 2 Kings 21:15; Hos. 1:2). One evidence of the idolatry that the Israelites had adopted from the Egyptians came to the surface in the Golden Calf incident in the wilderness (Exod. 32). Joshua later warned the Israelites about the dangers of idolatry, which had persisted since they had departed from Egypt (Josh. 24:14).
Israel and Judah became separate entities after the division of the kingdom following Solomon's reign, though relations between the northern and southern tribes had become increasingly unfriendly long before that (cf. Judg. 8:1; 12:1; 2 Sam. 19:43). However, God projected their identities back to the time when they were still within their mother, ancient Israel, in Egypt. The common origin of these sisters accounts in part for their similar behavior. Their father, unstated, was Yahweh.
23:4 Oholah was the name of the older sister (lit. "her tent,"probably a reference to her pagan tent shrines), and she represents Samaria, the capital of the kingdom of Israel. Oholibah was the younger sister (lit. "my tent is in her,"probably a reference to the temple), and she represents Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom of Judah.318They became the wife of the Lord and bore Him sons and daughters (i.e., inhabitants and surrounding villages). Evidently the Lord regarded Samaria as the older sister because the Northern Kingdom was the first to apostatize and to establish political alliances with foreign nations, particularly the Assyrians (Hos. 8:9).
While this allegory suggests that Yahweh committed bigamy and incest, He obviously did nothing in relation to Israel that was in any way improper. This is an excellent example of why we should not apply what the parable excludes; there is no reference to the sisters' father in the parable. The story makes certain comparisons, but if we try to apply all the implications of the story we end up with some incongruities.
