Aholah
“Her own tent, or she has her own tabernacle”
Summary
A symbolic name used by Ezekiel to represent Samaria (the northern kingdom of Israel), depicting her spiritual adultery through idolatry and foreign alliances.
☩The Allegory
In Ezekiel 23, God speaks of two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, representing Samaria and Jerusalem respectively. Both are depicted as unfaithful wives who prostituted themselves to Egypt and Assyria, imitating their idolatries and seeking their political alliances instead of trusting in God.
☩Meaning of the Name
The name Aholah means 'her own tent' or 'she has her own tabernacle.' This signifies that Samaria's worship was self-invented and never sanctioned by God—referring to Jeroboam's golden calves at Dan and Bethel. In contrast, her sister Aholibah's name means 'my tent is in her,' indicating Jerusalem's divinely-appointed worship.
☩Judgment
God's principle of judgment is illustrated: when His people corrupt themselves through worldly alliances, the very instrument of their sin becomes the instrument of their punishment. The Assyrians on whom Samaria leaned carried her away into captivity.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Aholah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Aholah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Aholah," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).