Ezekiel 23:11

"And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her doing than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister. She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way, And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw them portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and they defiled her in their whoredom, and sent messengers unto them in Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them. So she uncovered her whoredoms, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the handling of thy bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth."

"Clothed most gorgeously ..." (Ezekiel 23:12). "The word here means `perfection,' and the thought intended is, perfect beauty of clothing."[10]

Ezekiel 23:12,13 stress the attractiveness of the clothing and appearance of Assyrian and Chaldean cavalry. "Chaldeans, as used later in the paragraph is a symbol for Babylonians."[11]

"Men portrayed upon the wall in vermilion ..." (Ezekiel 23:14). "This is illustrated by mural paintings recovered from Mesopotamia."[12] Also, "Sculpture brought by Layard from Nineveh, display all of the magnificence of Oriental finery."[13]

These things suggest that it was the superior culture of the Assyrians and Babylonians which constituted the chief allurements to the people of God. Inferior cultures have always been attracted and, in a sense, seduced by the luxuries, etc. of the superior culture. We should not be confused by the mention of both the Assyrians and the Chaldeans alike here as the paramour of Oholibah. Judah was "seduced" by both countries. They became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar when Jehoiachim was elevated to the kingship; he rebelled, seeking the friendship of Egypt; Nebuchadnezzar conquered the city, carried Jehoiachin to Babylon, and installed Zedekiah as his vassal; Zedekiah rebelled, seeking friendship and protection from Egypt; and that led to the final destruction of the City and the Temple! The vacillation and fickleness of Judah was a conspicuous element in all such changes

"She ... sent messengers unto them into Chaldea ..." (Ezekiel 23:16). "This refers to the act of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:7)."[14]

"Then my soul was alienated from her ..." (Ezekiel 23:18). God became disgusted with Oholibah (Jerusalem) because, "The love of Oholibah was not for her husband (God Himself), but for a multitude of paramours whom she received without discretion or shame. This syncretism in politics led to the tragedy of moral deterioration and spiritual decay."[15]

Thus it came to pass that, "Having forsaken God for what she vainly thought was her self-interest, and having abandoned reliance upon Him, Judah came to experience the bitterness of God's alienation from her."[16]

"Remembering the days of her youth ... in Egypt ..." (Ezekiel 23:19). Here is an unmistakable reference to adultery and sexual immorality in its unalloyed identification with the lusts of the flesh. In Egypt, there were no political alliances which Israel either would have or could have made. We find no excuse whatever for denying the plain, vulgar, and ordinary meaning of what is said here. Furthermore, where the sexual activity of horses and asses is brought forward in the following verse, we have the full confirmation of this view.

"Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses ..." (Ezekiel 23:20). "The reference here is to the 'membrum virile' (very large in the ass)."[17]

The spectacular and sensational sexual behavior of these animals made an appropriate illustration of the gross immorality of Judah. The scriptures have a number of references to this in Hosea 8:9; Jeremiah 2:24; 13:27, etc. Many translations and versions have softened the words to the extent of obscuring their meaning altogether. Perhaps Alexander has done the best job of providing an inoffensive, yet clear, translation of the passage, thus: "Whose genitals were like those of donkeys, and whose emissions were like that of horses."[18]