Analogy of Oholah and Oholibah
There is some disagreement as to the actual significance of the meaning of the names but there is no disagreement as to the fact that they to be understood figuratively. Rashi, commenting on this passage calls them "nicknames".
He further states,
Samaria is the one I nickname Oholah, for from the beginning she
became a tent (אֹהֶל) for the calves of Jeroboam and for Ahab’s temple
of Baal. Although Samaria was not built until the days of Omri, He
calls the kings of Israel by its name, because as soon as it was
built, it became the capital.(Taken from here)
It is with her sister(Oholibah), that there is some disagreement. He states,
Oholibah: Because My tent (אֹהֹלִי) was in her (בָה), and My sanctuary
In Keil and Delitzsch's Commentary on the same passage, they challenge the conclusion that some have in regarding this meaning:
The name אהליבה is formed from אהלי בהּ, "my tent in her;" and,
accordingly, אהלה is to be derived from אהלהּ, "her tent," and not to
be regarded as an abbreviation of אהלהּ בהּ, "her tent in her," as
Hitzig and Kliefoth maintain. There is no ground for this assumption,
as "her tent," in contrast with "my tent in her," expresses the
thought with sufficient clearness, that she had a tent of her own, and
the place where her tent was does not come into consideration.(Taken from here)
The names that they are representing of course are שֹׁמְר֣וֹן(Samaria), which is derived from שָׁמַר(shamar-to keep watch), and וִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם(Jerusalem), (place of peace). An interesting sidenote is that "Bethel"(House of God) was located at one time in both Ephraim(Samaria) and Benjamin, where Jacob had received his vision. The fact the Temple was in Jerusalem was to be in no way misunderstood as God's presense was only in Jerusalem, "Bethel" was the place that Israel anointed and paid his tithes to, where "The house of God" and the "gateway to heaven" was revealed to him.(Gen. 28:17)
To further expound on this imagey of 'tents', when Jacob returned with his 2 wives, Leah and Rachel, they dwelt in tents near Shalem which was in Shechem.
שָׁלֵם(shalem) of course is "complete" or "whole"-a derivative word is shalom, which means peace. שכם(Shechem) means "shoulder" in the masculine; but it means "to rise early" in it's feminine form. Isn't it a coincidence that Samaria(shamar) was to "rise up early to shoulder" or watch it's "peace"(shalem/shalom)?
I believe it's also no accident that Rachel 'stole' her father Laban's idols(Gen. 31:34), the consequence of the nation of Israel having "idols" hidden in the tent, which certainly follows Ezekiel's analogy.
The rest of the passage illustrates in graphic detail what these sister's sins were, which compared to the sins of Israel(Samaria) and Judah in their allegiences and pursuit of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Syrian empires, in complete rejection of God's protection and provision for them. They adopted the practices and idolatry of these nations and became as bad or worse than the nations around them. The graphic sexual imagery is analgous to the way that a jealous husband (God), sees an unfaithful wife who is persistant in exploiting her unfaithfulness. The judgments He spells out for them will for all time settle the matter of idolatry for them.
Summary
Though there appears no actual 'play' on words "Ohola" and "Oholibah" that I have been able to find in my research, there is considerable comparison to Jacob's wives, who were 'tents' for their children to dwell in "peace and watchfulness". But because of idolatry, they left their "place of security" and "played the harlot" to the nations which surrounded them. God's impending judgment towards them was that He would tolerate it no longer, but would thoroughly purge them from this sin.
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