And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine,.... His married wife, and so ought to have cleaved to him alone: or, under me o; under his cover, power, and protection, and therefore it was their interest to serve him only: or, "instead of me" p; or, as the Syriac version, "besides me": they worshipped other gods in the room of the true God, or other gods besides him. The Targum is,
"and Aholah erred from my worship;''
the ten tribes fell into idolatry, when they were God's professing people:
and she doted on her lovers; whom she loved even to madness; she was mad with love, to the idols, temples, altars, and idolatrous worship of the Heathens; particularly doted "on the Assyrians her neighbours"; who were become so by the conquest of Syria; and these they treated as their neighbours, and sought to have them to be their allies and confederates; courted their help and assistance, and gave them much money for that purpose; as Menahem gave to Pul king of Assyria a thousand talents of silver, to confirm the kingdom in his hand,
o תחתי "sub me", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Tigurine version. Piscator, Cocceius, Starckius. p "Exteros excipiens loco meo", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.