Two Lewd Sisters Whore Against Yahweh – Chapter 23 is a sort of sequel to chapter 16. As chapter 16 is the longest in the book, chapter 23 is the second longest. In both chapters, the aim is not to titillate the audience with pornography, but to shock it, to dramatize how such behavior departed from Yahweh’s will as sharply as the people’s attitude toward Him did in other respects. Nymphomania is a metaphor here for a theological pathology. Jerusalem’s “sister” Samaria gets an additional mention. The focus is much more on political entanglements than cultic “whoredom” as in chapter 16. There isn’t the same hint of great reversal and new covenant here. Commentators note that Ezekiel was inspired by Jeremiah 3:6–11. vv.1–4 Introduction – Until 23:21, Yahweh is narrating to the prophet a rhetorical account of the lives of the two sisters. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah are called “sisters” because of their common origin. Little sympathy is aroused for either. The immorality is traced back to their premarital youth in Egypt, but speci c historical references are lacking. Ezekiel’s overriding concern is rhetorical and theological, not historical. Yahweh’s action parallels the command to Hosea to marry Gomer, “a woman of whoredom” (Hos 1:2). Yahweh is the jealous husband for His marriage, clearly consummated because the sisters bear “sons and daughters.” Some note this is bigamous, although ultimately, the only “wife” He takes for His people Israel in a metaphorical and theological sense, just as in the NT, the church is the bride of Christ. “Israel” was one undivided people of God, eschatologically restored (Ezek 37:15–28). The traditional understanding of the names is Oholah as “her [own] tent” and Oholibah as “my tent is in her,” referring to the tent of meeting in Jerusalem and the false “tents” of Dan and Bethel. vv.5–10 The Whorings and Judgment of Oholah – The northern Israelites might easily be compared with the groupies surrounding the modern entertainment demimonde. The accent is on the physical attractiveness of the young men, and all the more if they possessed power and wealth. Religious and political promiscuity go hand in glove, virtually synonymous. While the northern kingdom was generally anti-Assyrian politically, capitulation by Jehu and Menahem (2 Ki 15:19-20) led to their eventual conquest by Shalmaneser V, and deportation by his successor, Sargon II. Since her idolatrous “love” cannot be abated, Yahweh gives her what…