Aholibah
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Also known as Oholibah
No verified Aholibah/Oholibah type or antitype statement was found in the Russell period (1879–1916). In 1918 Aholibah pictured the Protestant church. In 1931 the identification was narrowed to the British-American or Anglo-American Empire system, the Protestant wing of Christendom. A 1936 article used Aholibah contextually for Jerusalem and the professed and hypocritical clergy. Under Knorr, publications in 1946 and 1954 explicitly returned to the historical allegory in which Aholibah represented Judah. In 1971 the modern antitype was stated explicitly again and broadened to Christendom as a whole. No verified Aholibah/Oholibah statement was found in the Franz period from 1977 through 1980.
- Ezek. 23:1-49
Key moments
- 1918 Introduced Aholibah pictured the Protestant church, contrasted with Aholah as the Roman Catholic church.
- 1931 Narrowed Aholibah was narrowed from Protestantism generally to the British-American Empire system, elsewhere described in the same discussion as the Anglo-American Empire and the Protestant wing of Christendom.
- 1971 Broadened The modern antitype was again stated explicitly, but now Oholibah foreshadowed Christendom as a whole rather than merely Protestantism or its Anglo-American wing.
- 2018 Dropped The modern antitype was expressly withdrawn: neither sister represented any part of Christendom. Their accounts instead illustrated spiritual unfaithfulness; Christendom had never shared Israel’s covenant relationship with Jehovah.
Russell
Charles Taze Russell · 1877–1916
No statement filed for this period.
Rutherford
Joseph F. Rutherford · 1917–1942
-
Aholibah pictured the Protestant church, contrasted with Aholah as the Roman Catholic church.
1 quote
Chapter 23 describes the church‐state unions of the Roman Catholic church, pictured as an unchaste woman, Aholah, and of the Protestant church, her unchaste sister, Aholibah, and the destruction of both in the Time of Trouble by the nations with which they have made unions.
The Finished Mystery, 1918 -
Aholibah was narrowed from Protestantism generally to the British-American Empire system, elsewhere described in the same discussion as the Anglo-American Empire and the Protestant wing of Christendom.
1 quote
The first one was, and is called, “The Holy Roman Empire,” which was entirely Roman Catholic until 1521; and the second is called the British-American Empire system. The name applied to the first, in the Scriptures, is “Aholah”, and that applied to the latter is “Aholibah her sister”.
Vindication, Book One, 1931 -
In this particular application of Ezekiel 23:22, Aholibah was glossed as Jerusalem and the professed and hypocritical clergy. The surrounding article applies the passage to the clergy then opposing Jehovah's witnesses, so this is a contextual use rather than a clear replacement of the 1931 standing identification.
1 quote
“Therefore, O Aholibah [Jerusalem; professed and hypocritical clergy], thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side: They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.”
The Watchtower, July 15, 1936
Knorr
Nathan H. Knorr · 1942–1977
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In a survey of Ezekiel, Aholibah was explained in the historical allegory together with Aholah as depicting the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. No new modern antitype was stated in this sentence.
1 quote
Under the figures of two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, the filthy evils of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel and of the kingdom of Judah are shown, and their fall at the hands of their one-time lovers, the Assyrians and Babylonians, is pictured.
Equipped for Every Good Work, 1946 -
The historical identification was repeated explicitly: Oholibah pictured Judah.
1 quote
But her sister Oholibah, picturing Judah, was not warned away from such a corrupt course by seeing Israel overthrown and taken captive by Assyria in 740 B.C.
The Watchtower, July 15, 1954 -
The modern antitype was again stated explicitly, but now Oholibah foreshadowed Christendom as a whole rather than merely Protestantism or its Anglo-American wing.
1 quote
And inasmuch as Christendom was specifically typed or foreshadowed by the adulterous Oholibah (Jerusalem), this makes it certain that she will share in the disastrous finale of Babylon the Great, which finale closely parallels that of the prostitute Oholibah.
The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah—How?, 1971
Franz
Frederick W. Franz · 1977–1992
No statement filed for this period.
Governing Body
1992–
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The modern antitype was expressly withdrawn: neither sister represented any part of Christendom. Their accounts instead illustrated spiritual unfaithfulness; Christendom had never shared Israel’s covenant relationship with Jehovah.
1 quote
Clarification: These prostitute sisters are not prophetic types of any parts of Christendom.
Pure Worship of Jehovah—Restored At Last! (2018), “Summary of Clarifications”, Oholah and Oholibah
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