What is the meaning of Ezekiel 23:2? Son of man Ezekiel 23:2 opens with God addressing the prophet: “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.” • “Son of man” (Ezekiel 2:1; 3:1, 4) reminds Ezekiel—and us—that the messenger is human, yet entrusted with a divine word. • The phrase highlights Ezekiel’s responsibility to speak plainly about sin (Ezekiel 3:17–19), just as Jesus later used the same title to reveal His own messianic authority (Matthew 9:6). • By beginning this oracle with the familiar address, the Lord signals continuity with earlier visions (Ezekiel 8–11) and sets a sober tone for the shocking allegory that follows. there were two women Immediately God introduces an extended parable: two women who stand for the two kingdoms. • Ezekiel soon names them Oholah (Samaria, the northern kingdom) and Oholibah (Jerusalem, the southern kingdom) in Ezekiel 23:4. • Both women engage in blatant, lifelong adultery, picturing Israel’s and Judah’s persistent idolatry (Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 3:6–10). • Their unfaithfulness isn’t occasional but patterned: “They gave themselves as prostitutes even in Egypt” (Ezekiel 23:3), recalling the golden-calf episode (Exodus 32:1–6) and the calf shrines Jeroboam later set up (1 Kings 12:28–30). • The allegory underscores that spiritual adultery brings devastating consequences—Assyria for Samaria (2 Kings 17:6) and Babylon for Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1–11). daughters of the same mother The two women share one mother, symbolizing their common covenant origin. • Both kingdoms descended from the patriarchs, heard the same Law at Sinai, and worshiped in the same tabernacle before the split (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Kings 11:31). • Their shared “mother” exposes the tragedy: identical privileges did not prevent identical rebellion (Hosea 2:2; Ezekiel 16:44-45). • Sin therefore cannot be excused by heritage or tradition; each generation must personally cling to the Lord (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). • The phrase also foreshadows a future reunification under one Shepherd (Ezekiel 37:22, 24), because God disciplines to restore, not to discard (Jeremiah 30:11). summary Ezekiel 23:2 sets the framework for a vivid parable: God tells His human prophet to confront the northern and southern kingdoms—two “women” who, though born of the same covenant mother, chose parallel paths of spiritual adultery. The verse reminds us that shared heritage offers no immunity from judgment, but it also hints at God’s redemptive intent to reclaim and reunite His wayward people. |
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