יחזקאל, פרק כ״ג, פסוק י׳

The downfall of the Kingdom of Israel, allegorically called Oholah, reaches a tragic and ironic climax as she is destroyed by Assyria, the very nation she once lusted after and desperately tried to draw close to. The punishment inflicted upon her is cruel, gradual, and entirely public. Her utter defeat and the conquest of her land are compared to a total stripping of dignity. The Assyrians, her former lovers, act as her judges and expose her shame to the world. This mirrors the harsh, public humiliation of a prostitute who is stripped and paraded naked before the crowds [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם].

The devastation unfolds in two distinct stages, operating on both historical and demographic levels. Historically, the exile occurred in phases. The Assyrians first captured and exiled the tribes living in the Transjordan and the Galilee—Reuben, Gad, Zebulun, and Naphtali—and only later moved to destroy the capital city of Samaria [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. Demographically, the population was divided by their fate. Children and non-combatants were taken away as captives, while the military and leadership faced a brutal slaughter. The king, government ministers, young men, and soldiers were all killed, ensuring the complete and final collapse of the kingdom [רד״ק, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

In the aftermath of this slaughter, the fallen kingdom is left as a dark symbol for others. She becomes a notorious example among the "women," a metaphor representing the surrounding nations and countries [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary approach among commentators is that her public ruin was designed to be a severe warning and a moral lesson. It stood as a glaring sign for the rest of the world, and specifically for the neighboring Kingdom of Judah, showing the inevitable fate of a nation that sins and betrays God. Ultimately, the Assyrians served as the instrument of justice, carrying out the fitting revenge and exacting the punishment the kingdom had earned for her actions.