Ezekiel 23 Study Notes: Oholah and Oholibah
God pictures Samaria and Jerusalem as two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, whose reliance on Assyria, Babylon and Egypt and their idols is portrayed as adultery. Samaria falls to Assyria, yet Jerusalem sinks lower and must drink her sister's cup, and both stand condemned for child sacrifice and defiling God's temple.
General
After Oholibah saw what happened to her sister, how did she respond (Ezekiel 23:11)?
Answer: She became even more corrupt than her sister
The LORD handed Samaria over to the very Assyrians she had chased after (23:9-10). History records that judgment: Assyria’s king besieged Samaria, captured it and carried its people into exile (2 Kings 17:5-6). Jerusalem watched all of this happen to her sister. Instead of learning from it, she became even more depraved than Samaria, and the LORD says both sisters walked the same path (23:11-13, 31). Kings makes the same point: after Israel was removed, Judah still disobeyed the LORD’s commands and followed the ways Israel had brought in (2 Kings 17:18-19). Jeremiah says Judah saw what happened to her sister and had no fear (Jeremiah 3:8). Seeing judgment fall on someone else did not change Jerusalem’s heart.
- Ezekiel 23:13 (BSB)“And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.”The LORD observes that both sisters walked the same road.
- Ezekiel 23:31 (BSB)“Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’”Since Jerusalem walked the same road as Samaria, she will share Samaria’s judgment.
- 2 Kings 17:5-6 (BSB)“Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.”Assyria besieged and captured Samaria and carried the northern Israelites into exile.
- 2 Kings 17:18-19 (BSB)“So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained, and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced.”After Israel was removed, Judah still did not keep the LORD’s commands but followed the north’s practices.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (BSB)“She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.”Jeremiah likewise says Judah saw what happened to Israel and was not afraid.
Theological
How did Oholibah respond to the judgment she witnessed falling on her sister (Ezekiel 23:11)?
Answer: She became even more corrupt than her sister
Samaria was handed over to the Assyrians she had pursued (23:9-10), a judgment carried out when Assyria besieged and captured the city and deported its people (2 Kings 17:5-6). Jerusalem witnessed this, yet rather than taking warning she exceeded her sister in corruption, and the LORD notes that the two sisters walked one and the same way (23:11-13, 31). Kings records the same pattern, with Judah persisting in the practices Israel had begun even after the north was removed (2 Kings 17:18-19), and Jeremiah observes that Judah saw it and was unafraid (Jeremiah 3:8). The episode shows that a sinful heart is not reformed merely by witnessing judgment on others.
- Ezekiel 23:13 (BSB)“And I saw that she too had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.”The LORD observes that both sisters walked the same road.
- Ezekiel 23:31 (BSB)“Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’”Since Jerusalem walked the same road as Samaria, she will share Samaria’s judgment.
- 2 Kings 17:5-6 (BSB)“Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.”Assyria besieged and captured Samaria and carried the northern Israelites into exile.
- 2 Kings 17:18-19 (BSB)“So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained, and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced.”After Israel was removed, Judah still did not keep the LORD’s commands but followed the north’s practices.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (BSB)“She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.”Jeremiah likewise says Judah saw what happened to Israel and was not afraid.
General
The LORD charges the two sisters with sacrificing their children to idols. What else did they do that same day (Ezekiel 23:37-39)?
Answer: They entered His temple and made it unholy
The LORD tells Ezekiel to confront the two sisters with their detestable acts (23:36). They were guilty of bloodshed, because they had offered their own children, whom they had borne to the LORD, in the fire to their idols (23:37). On that same day they came into His sanctuary, the temple where He had placed His name, and defiled it, and they also profaned His Sabbaths, the weekly days set apart to Him (23:38-39). The LORD stresses that this happened within His own house. They tried to keep coming to God while serving idols in the worst possible way. Jeremiah condemned the same thing: people who followed other gods and then came to stand before the LORD in His house (Jeremiah 7:9-11), who defiled His house and burned their own children (Jeremiah 7:30-31). King Manasseh had built altars to false gods inside the LORD’s house and put his own son to death as an offering (2 Kings 21:4-6).
- Ezekiel 23:36 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.”The LORD tells Ezekiel to confront Oholah and Oholibah with their detestable acts.
- Jeremiah 7:9-11 (BSB)“Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’? Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.”Jeremiah condemns people who serve other gods and then come to stand before the LORD in His house.
- Jeremiah 7:30-31 (BSB)“For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.”Judah defiled the LORD’s house with detestable things and burned its children in the fire at Topheth.
- 2 Kings 21:4-6 (BSB)“Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.” In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.”King Manasseh built altars to false gods inside the LORD’s house and put his own son to death as an offering.
Theological
Alongside the sacrifice of their children to idols, what further outrage does the LORD say the sisters committed on the same day (Ezekiel 23:37-39)?
Answer: They entered His temple and made it unholy
Ezekiel is commissioned to declare the sisters’ abominations (23:36). They are bloodguilty, having offered to their idols in the fire the children they bore to the LORD (23:37). On that very day they entered His sanctuary and profaned it, and they desecrated His Sabbaths, doing this within His own house (23:38-39). The charge is not only idolatry but the attempt to combine it with the worship of the LORD, bringing the guilt of child sacrifice into His holy dwelling. Jeremiah indicts the same hypocrisy of serving other gods and then standing before the LORD in the house called by His name (Jeremiah 7:9-11), along with defiling that house and burning children at Topheth (Jeremiah 7:30-31). Manasseh had already set up pagan altars in the temple courts and sacrificed his son (2 Kings 21:4-6).
- Ezekiel 23:36 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.”The LORD tells Ezekiel to confront Oholah and Oholibah with their detestable acts.
- Jeremiah 7:9-11 (BSB)“Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’? Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.”Jeremiah condemns people who serve other gods and then come to stand before the LORD in His house.
- Jeremiah 7:30-31 (BSB)“For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.”Judah defiled the LORD’s house with detestable things and burned its children in the fire at Topheth.
- 2 Kings 21:4-6 (BSB)“Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.” In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.”King Manasseh built altars to false gods inside the LORD’s house and put his own son to death as an offering.
General
True or False: The LORD says Jerusalem will be made to drink the same cup of ruin that Samaria drank (Ezekiel 23:31-33).
Answer: True
This is true. Because Jerusalem followed in her sister’s footsteps, the LORD says He will put Samaria’s cup into her hand (23:31). He describes it as a large, deep cup that brings mockery and scorn, sorrow and drunkenness, devastation and ruin, and He calls it the cup of her sister Samaria (23:32-33). In the prophets, a cup from the LORD’s hand is a picture of His judgment that people must drink. Jeremiah was handed a cup holding the wine of God’s anger for the nations (Jeremiah 25:15). A psalm speaks of a cup in the LORD’s hand that the wicked drink down to the bottom (Psalm 75:8). Isaiah describes Jerusalem as having drunk the cup of God’s fury (Isaiah 51:17). Jerusalem had shared Samaria’s sin, so she would share Samaria’s judgment.
- Ezekiel 23:31-33 (BSB)“Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’ This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much. You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.”Because Jerusalem followed Samaria’s path, the LORD gives her the same deep cup of ruin and grief to drink.
- Jeremiah 25:15 (BSB)“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.”The LORD gives Jeremiah a cup of the wine of His wrath for the nations to drink, the same image of judgment.
- Psalm 75:8 (BSB)“For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.”The psalmist pictures a cup in the LORD’s hand that the wicked must drain.
- Isaiah 51:17 (BSB)“Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.”Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem having drunk the cup of the LORD’s fury to the dregs.
Theological
True or False: The LORD declares that Jerusalem will drink the same cup of ruin her sister Samaria drank (Ezekiel 23:31-33).
Answer: True
This is true. Since Jerusalem walked in her sister’s way, the LORD places Samaria’s cup in her hand (23:31): a deep, broad cup bringing derision, grief, devastation and desolation, explicitly named the cup of her sister Samaria (23:32-33). The cup is a standard prophetic figure for divine judgment administered from the LORD’s own hand, as in the cup of God’s anger handed to the nations (Jeremiah 25:15), the cup the wicked must drain (Psalm 75:8), and the cup of fury Jerusalem is said to have drunk (Isaiah 51:17). Shared guilt brings shared judgment: Jerusalem, having repeated Samaria’s sin, receives Samaria’s portion.
- Ezekiel 23:31-33 (BSB)“Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’ This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much. You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.”Because Jerusalem followed Samaria’s path, the LORD gives her the same deep cup of ruin and grief to drink.
- Jeremiah 25:15 (BSB)“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.”The LORD gives Jeremiah a cup of the wine of His wrath for the nations to drink, the same image of judgment.
- Psalm 75:8 (BSB)“For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.”The psalmist pictures a cup in the LORD’s hand that the wicked must drain.
- Isaiah 51:17 (BSB)“Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.”Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem having drunk the cup of the LORD’s fury to the dregs.
General
At the close of the chapter, what does the LORD say the judgment will bring the sisters to (Ezekiel 23:49)?
Answer: Knowing by experience that He is the Lord GOD
The root of the sisters’ sin was not only what they did but whom they left. The LORD says Jerusalem forgot Him and threw Him behind her back, so she must bear the results of her unfaithfulness (23:35). The chapter ends with the sisters bearing the penalty of their idolatry, and then the LORD says they will know that He is the Lord GOD (23:49). People who would not know Him by trusting Him would come to know Him through His judgment. Jeremiah grieves over the same thing: God’s people had forgotten Him for days beyond counting (Jeremiah 2:32). This saying about knowing the LORD runs all through Ezekiel, often after judgment (Ezekiel 6:7). The book also promises a day when Israel will know Him because He deals with them for His own name’s sake and not as their wicked ways deserve (Ezekiel 20:44).
- Ezekiel 23:49 (BSB)“They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’””The chapter closes with the sisters bearing the penalty of their idolatry and coming to know the Lord GOD.
- Jeremiah 2:32 (BSB)“Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.”Jeremiah grieves that God’s people have forgotten Him for countless days.
- Ezekiel 6:7 (BSB)“The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.”The same refrain about knowing the LORD follows judgment earlier in Ezekiel.
- Ezekiel 20:44 (BSB)“Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt acts, declares the Lord GOD.””Ezekiel also says Israel will know the LORD when He deals with them for His name’s sake, not as their ways deserve.
Theological
What end does the LORD assign to the judgment on the two sisters at the close of the chapter (Ezekiel 23:49)?
Answer: Knowing by experience that He is the Lord GOD
The underlying charge is relational: Jerusalem has forgotten the LORD and cast Him behind her back, and therefore must suffer the results of her unfaithfulness (23:35). The chapter closes with the sisters bearing the penalty for their idolatry, with the stated outcome that they will know He is the Lord GOD (23:49). God’s self-revelation is the goal of His judgments: those who would not acknowledge Him in faith will acknowledge Him under His hand. Jeremiah laments the same forgetfulness (Jeremiah 2:32), and the recognition formula recurs throughout Ezekiel in contexts of judgment (Ezekiel 6:7). Yet the book also holds out a knowledge of the LORD that comes through mercy, when He deals with Israel for His name’s sake rather than according to their deeds (Ezekiel 20:44), so that both judgment and mercy serve the glory of His name.
- Ezekiel 23:49 (BSB)“They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’””The chapter closes with the sisters bearing the penalty of their idolatry and coming to know the Lord GOD.
- Jeremiah 2:32 (BSB)“Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.”Jeremiah grieves that God’s people have forgotten Him for countless days.
- Ezekiel 6:7 (BSB)“The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.”The same refrain about knowing the LORD follows judgment earlier in Ezekiel.
- Ezekiel 20:44 (BSB)“Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt acts, declares the Lord GOD.””Ezekiel also says Israel will know the LORD when He deals with them for His name’s sake, not as their ways deserve.
General
In the LORD’s parable of two sisters, whom do Oholah and Oholibah represent (Ezekiel 23:4)?
Answer: Oholah stands for Samaria; Oholibah stands for Jerusalem
The LORD tells Ezekiel a parable about two women born to one mother. He calls the older one Oholah and the younger Oholibah, says that both became His and bore children, and then explains them plainly: Oholah stands for Samaria and Oholibah stands for Jerusalem (23:2-4). The people of God had split into two kingdoms. The northern tribes, called Israel, followed Jeroboam, while only Judah stayed loyal to David’s family (1 Kings 12:19-20). Samaria was the chief city of the north, and Jerusalem was the capital of Judah. Both belonged to the LORD by covenant, a binding promise that made them His own people, so turning away from Him is pictured as a wife being unfaithful to her husband. Jeremiah used the same picture of two unfaithful sisters (Jeremiah 3:8), and Ezekiel had already called Samaria the older sister of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:46).
- Ezekiel 23:4 (BSB)“The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.”The LORD names the two sisters, says they became His, and explains which cities they stand for.
- 1 Kings 12:19-20 (BSB)“So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David. When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.”After the kingdom divided, the northern tribes followed Jeroboam while Judah alone stayed with David’s royal line.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (BSB)“She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.”Jeremiah also pictured the northern kingdom and Judah as two unfaithful sisters.
- Ezekiel 16:46 (BSB)“Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.”An earlier allegory in Ezekiel had already named Samaria as Jerusalem’s older sister.
Theological
Whom does the LORD identify as Oholah and Oholibah in the allegory of the two sisters (Ezekiel 23:4)?
Answer: Oholah stands for Samaria; Oholibah stands for Jerusalem
The allegory presents two sisters, daughters of one mother, whom the LORD names Oholah (the older) and Oholibah. Both became His and bore sons and daughters, an image of the covenant bond between the LORD and His people, and He interprets the figures directly: Oholah stands for Samaria, Oholibah for Jerusalem (23:2-4). The two cities represent the divided kingdom, the north having broken from David’s house while Judah alone remained with it (1 Kings 12:19-20). Because the relationship is covenantal, idolatry and misplaced trust are cast as marital unfaithfulness. Jeremiah employs the same figure of two faithless sisters (Jeremiah 3:8), and Ezekiel’s earlier allegory already designated Samaria as Jerusalem’s older sister (Ezekiel 16:46).
- Ezekiel 23:4 (BSB)“The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.”The LORD names the two sisters, says they became His, and explains which cities they stand for.
- 1 Kings 12:19-20 (BSB)“So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David. When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.”After the kingdom divided, the northern tribes followed Jeroboam while Judah alone stayed with David’s royal line.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (BSB)“She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.”Jeremiah also pictured the northern kingdom and Judah as two unfaithful sisters.
- Ezekiel 16:46 (BSB)“Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.”An earlier allegory in Ezekiel had already named Samaria as Jerusalem’s older sister.
General
The two sisters’ unfaithfulness is a picture of real sin. What sin does it chiefly stand for (Ezekiel 23:30)?
Answer: Trusting foreign powers and taking up their idols
The chapter uses the picture of an unfaithful wife, but it is speaking about worship and trust. Samaria looked to the Assyrians and defiled herself with their idols (23:5-7), and Jerusalem went further, courting Babylon and returning to her old reliance on Egypt (23:12-19). The LORD sums it up: Jerusalem gave herself to the nations and was made unclean by their idols (23:30), and the chapter closes by naming their sins as idolatry (23:49). Idols are images or false gods that people worship in place of the true God. Instead of relying on the LORD, both kingdoms looked to powerful empires for safety and took up their gods along the way. Hosea describes the northern kingdom appealing first to Egypt and next to Assyria (Hosea 7:11). Ahaz king of Judah begged the Assyrian king for rescue and paid him with treasure from the LORD’s house (2 Kings 16:7-8). Isaiah warned against turning to Egypt for aid instead of seeking the LORD (Isaiah 31:1).
- Ezekiel 23:49 (BSB)“They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’””The closing verse names the sisters’ sins as idolatry, for which they will bear the penalty.
- Hosea 7:11 (BSB)“So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.”Hosea pictures the northern kingdom flitting between Egypt and Assyria for help.
- 2 Kings 16:7-8 (BSB)“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.”King Ahaz of Judah sent to the king of Assyria for rescue and paid him with treasure from the LORD’s house.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah pronounces woe on those who look to Egypt’s horses and chariots instead of seeking the LORD.
Theological
What actual covenant breach does the image of the sisters’ unfaithfulness signify (Ezekiel 23:30)?
Answer: Trusting foreign powers and taking up their idols
The marital imagery is a figure for covenant infidelity in two forms that belonged together: political reliance on pagan empires and the adoption of their gods. Samaria attached herself to Assyria and was defiled by its idols (23:5-7); Jerusalem did the same with Assyria, then Babylon, and kept returning to Egypt (23:12-19). The LORD’s verdict joins the two: she gave herself over to foreign peoples and was made unclean by their idols (23:30), and the closing verse names the sisters’ sins as idolatry (23:49). Trusting the nations for security meant transferring to them the confidence owed to the LORD, and their religion came with them. Hosea depicts Ephraim oscillating between Egypt and Assyria (Hosea 7:11); Ahaz bought Assyrian protection with treasure from the LORD’s house (2 Kings 16:7-8); and Isaiah condemns those who rely on Egypt rather than seeking the LORD (Isaiah 31:1).
- Ezekiel 23:49 (BSB)“They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’””The closing verse names the sisters’ sins as idolatry, for which they will bear the penalty.
- Hosea 7:11 (BSB)“So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.”Hosea pictures the northern kingdom flitting between Egypt and Assyria for help.
- 2 Kings 16:7-8 (BSB)“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.”King Ahaz of Judah sent to the king of Assyria for rescue and paid him with treasure from the LORD’s house.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah pronounces woe on those who look to Egypt’s horses and chariots instead of seeking the LORD.