🔼The name Oholah: Summary
- Meaning
- Her Tent, Tent Woman
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun אהל ('ohel), tent, and (2) the feminine pronominal suffix ה (he), her.
🔼The name Oholah in the Bible
The name Oholah occurs only in Ezekiel's parable of the two sisters. The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel and explained, "There were two women, daughters of one mother, and they played the harlot in Egypt". The name of the oldest of the two was Oholah, and she represented Samaria. The youngest he called Oholibah, and she represented Jerusalem (Ezekiel 23:4).
🔼Etymology of the name Oholah
The name Oholah consists of the feminine pronominal suffix ה (meaning her) and the noun אהל ('ohel), meaning tent:
אהל
The unused verb אהל ('ahal) appears to have described the formation of a deliberate and artificial societal hub for the explicit purpose of exchanging thoughts and forming language and cultural expressions.
In such hubs, minds could both be honed and made to merge into great synergic entities such as widespread standardized language. The ancients created massive hubs such as the one found at Göbekli Tepe long before the agricultural revolution took place. The obvious purpose of those centers was to create shared wisdom.
This synergetic effect is deeply essential to the way the universe works and is mimicked by processes such as the making of wine from mushed grapes or perfume from mushed flowers. It also occurs as nuclear fusion in stars, and the Bible's many similes featuring stars and minds strongly suggests that the ancients knew more about the universe than was previously surmised.
Derived noun אהל ('ohel) describes a place where minds merge. It is the common word for tent (and thus the Tabernacle; a.k.a. the Tent of Meeting) but may also refer to a general settlement or habitation. Denominative verb אהל ('ahal) means to pitch or make a tent.
🔼Oholah meaning
For a meaning of the name Oholah, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Her Tent. BDB Theological Dictionary gives this name an explanatory twist and reads She Who Has A Tent, Tent-Woman. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names does not treat this name.