יחזקאל, פרק ט״ז, פסוק מ״ו

To highlight the severity of Jerusalem's actions, the prophet compares her to two familiar entities from both the recent and distant past [שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל]. These two locations surround Jerusalem, creating a striking spatial picture.

Samaria, the capital of the kingdom of Ephraim, is characterized as the greater sister because she surpassed Jerusalem in area, status, and population, encompassing the ten tribes [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל]. The small villages and dependent settlements surrounding this central city act as her daughters [מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ].

The primary approach among commentators is that the geographic orientation is based on a person facing east. In this stance, the left side represents the north. Samaria is situated to the north of Jerusalem, as the territory of the tribe of Joseph lay north of the tribe of Judah. Because Judah formed the southern boundary of the Land of Israel, the remaining tribes were positioned to its left [רש״י, רד״ק, מלבי״ם].

On the opposite side stands the smaller sister, Sodom. She is considered smaller because she had fewer residents than Jerusalem [מצודת דוד]. Positioned on the right, Sodom is located south of Jerusalem, in the region of the plain [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. This geographic description places Jerusalem exactly in the center, standing squarely between her two sisters, with Sodom to the south on her right and Samaria to the north on her left [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].