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Passage Research

Ezekiel 23 — Sermon Preparation

The allegory of two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, depicts Israel and Judah's long history of spiritual prostitution with foreign nations. Below is a research summary for Ezekiel 23, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

49
verses
621 / 237
Hebrew words / lemmas
3
classic sermon excerpts
3
preachers & commentators

Ezekiel 23 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

HebrewTransliterationStrong'sCountGlosses
תַּזְנוּתtaznûwthH845711harlotry, idolatry
זִמָּהzimmâhH21548plan, bad one
אׇהֳלִיבָהʼOhŏlîybâhH1726Oholibah
עֲגַבʻăgabH56896breathe after, love
זָנָהzânâhH21817commit adultery, commit idolatry
אׇהֳלָהʼOhŏlâhH1705Oholah
אָחוֹתʼâchôwthH2697sister

How preachers through history handled this text

3 public-domain excerpts on Ezekiel 23, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Gregory the Great1Matthew Henry1John Wesley1

“XXIII The apostacy of Israel and Samaria from God, ver. 1-8. Their ruin, ver. 9, 10. The apostacy of Judah and Jerusalem from God, ver. 11-21. Their ruin, ver. 22-35. The joint wickedness of them both, ver. 36- 44. And their joint ruin, ver. 45-49. 2. Two women - Judah, and Israel, two kingdoms. 3. Whoredoms - Idolatry. 4. Aholah - That is, his own tabernacle; for Israel falling off from the house of David, fell off from the tabernacle, or temple of God; so that all the temple they had was of their own making. …”

— John Wesley, Wesley's Notes on the Whole Bible, on Ezekiel 23:2–49 (Public Domain)

Places in the text

Based on ancient-geography data

  • Chaldea— Ezek 23:14
  • Egypt— Ezek 23:19

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