And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
Aholah - i:e., 'Her tent, or her own tent' (put for worship, as the first worship of God in Israel was in a tent or tabernacle), as contrasted with Aholibah - i:e., MY tent in her' х 'Aahaalaah (H170) ... 'Aahaaliybaah (H172)]. The Bethel-worship of Samaria was of her own devising, not of God's appointment: the temple-worship of Jerusalem was expressly appointed by Yahweh, who "dwelt" there, "setting up His tabernacle among the people as His" (Exodus 25:8; Leviticus 26:11-12; Joshua 22:19; Psalms 76:2, "In Salem (Jerusalem) is His tabernacle, and His dwelling-place in Zion").
The elder - Samaria is called "the older," because she preceded Judah in her apostasy and its punishment.
They were mine. Previous to the apostasy under Jeroboam, Samaria (Israel, or the ten tribes), equally with Judah, worshipped the true God. God therefore never renounced the right over Israel, but sent prophets, as Elijah and Elisha, to declare His will to them.