Ezekiel 23:5 - Exposition

The history of both the sisters passes from the time of the Exodus to that of their separate existence, and starts, in fact, from their first intercourse with the great monarchies of Asia. So far it is less a survey of their successive stages of degradation, like that of Ezekiel 16:1-63 ; than a retrospect of their political alliances. Aholah played the harlot . The lovers, as in Ezekiel 16:33 , are the nations with which the kings of Israel were in alliance, and of these the Assyrians are named as pre-eminent. The word neighbors , which in its literal sense is hardly applicable, is probably to be taken of spiritual affinity, or may be taken as "come near" is in Genesis 20:4 ; Ezekiel 18:6 ; Le Ezekiel 20:16 . The Assyrians were those who, in that sense, came near to the harlot city. We have in 2 Kings 15:20 the fact that Menahem paid tribute to Pul. Hosea 5:13 and Hosea 7:11 speak generally of such alliances. The black obelisk of Shalmaneser records the fact that Jehu paid tribute to him ('Records of the Past,' 5.41). In the last-named case the tribute consisted chiefly of vessels of gold, bowls, goblets, etc.