Ezekiel 23:1-3

The Lord gave Ezekiel a story about two sisters who had one mother (cf. Jeremiah 3:7). These young girls became prostitutes in Egypt and allowed men to fondle their breasts. That is, they allowed the Egyptians to become intimate with them even though they were to be faithful to the Lord alone (cf. Ezekiel 16:26; Ezekiel 20:7-8; Numbers 25:3-9; Joshua 24:14; 2 Kings 21:15; Hosea 1:2). One evidence of the idolatry that the Israelites had adopted from the Egyptians came to the surface in the Golden Calf incident in the wilderness (Exodus 32). Joshua later warned the Israelites about the dangers of idolatry, which had persisted since they had departed from Egypt (Joshua 24:14).

Israel and Judah became separate entities after the division of the kingdom following Solomon’s reign, though relations between the northern and southern tribes had become increasingly unfriendly long before that (cf. Judges 8:1; Judges 12:1; 2 Samuel 19:43). However, God projected their identities back to the time when they were still within their mother, ancient Israel, in Egypt. The common origin of these sisters accounts in part for their similar behavior. Their father, unstated, was Yahweh.