Ezekiel 16:24
That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
Original Language Analysis
וַתִּבְנִי
That thou hast also built
H1129
וַתִּבְנִי
That thou hast also built
Strong's:
H1129
Word #:
1 of 8
to build (literally and figuratively)
גֶּ֑ב
unto thee an eminent place
H1354
גֶּ֑ב
unto thee an eminent place
Strong's:
H1354
Word #:
3 of 8
the back (as rounded); by analogy, the top or rim, a boss, a vault, arch of eye, bulwarks, etc
וַתַּעֲשִׂי
and hast made
H6213
וַתַּעֲשִׂי
and hast made
Strong's:
H6213
Word #:
4 of 8
to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
Cross References
Isaiah 57:7Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.Psalms 78:58For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.Jeremiah 2:20For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.Ezekiel 16:31In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;Ezekiel 16:39And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.Jeremiah 3:2Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
Historical Context
Archaeological evidence from Iron Age II Judah (8th-6th centuries BC) reveals numerous 'high places' (bamot)—open-air cultic sites often featuring standing stones, altars, and Asherah poles. Despite Hezekiah's and Josiah's reforms (2 Kings 18:4, 23:5-20), local shrines proliferated. Jeremiah witnessed similar corruption (Jeremiah 7:31, 19:5).
Questions for Reflection
- What 'high places' have you constructed in your heart—areas where self-made religion replaces Spirit-led obedience?
- How does public, unashamed sin differ in culpability from private struggle with temptation?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place—The Hebrew gavh (גֶּב, eminent place) likely refers to elevated cultic platforms or shrines, possibly related to Akkadian gabu (summit). The phrase high place (ramah, רָמָה) typically denotes pagan worship sites, but here describes Jerusalem's systematic construction of idolatrous infrastructure in every street.
The spiritual adultery metaphor becomes architectural: Jerusalem didn't passively drift into idolatry but actively built monuments to betrayal. Like the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:4), humanity's religious impulse apart from revelation constructs counterfeit worship. Paul warns that without the Spirit, religious zeal produces 'will-worship' (Colossians 2:23)—self-made religion that honors man, not God. Jerusalem's streets advertised spiritual prostitution publicly, shamelessly.