Ezekiel 23:5
And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine,.... His married wife, and so ought to have cleaved to him alone: or, under me {o}; under his cover, power, and protection, and therefore it was their interest to serve him only: or, "instead of me" {p}; or, as the Syriac version, "besides me": they worshipped other gods in the room of the true God, or other gods besides him. The Targum is,
"and Aholah erred from my worship;''
the ten tribes fell into idolatry, when they were God's professing people:
and she doted on her lovers; whom she loved even to madness; she was mad with love, to the idols, temples, altars, and idolatrous worship of the Heathens; particularly doted "on the Assyrians her neighbours"; who were become so by the conquest of Syria; and these they treated as their neighbours, and sought to have them to be their allies and confederates; courted their help and assistance, and gave them much money for that purpose; as Menahem gave to Pul king of Assyria a thousand talents of silver, to confirm the kingdom in his hand,
{o} ytxt "sub me", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Tigurine version. Piscator, Cocceius, Starckius.
{p} "Exteros excipiens loco meo", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.