As a seminary student in junior high I first read this Isaiah chapter in the Book of Mormon and I came across this railing on the "daughters of Zion."
"Moreover, the Lord saith: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet" (2 Nephi 13: 16; Isaiah 3: 16).
I continued to read about the rings, nose jewels, and other jewelry accessories, some of which were not fashionable in my younger days but have grown in popularity. I hadn't seen many of the boys wearing such apparel, but had seen some of the girls with jewelry, bonnets, etc.
I wondered why the Lord was singling out the girls. They seemed to be at least as righteous as the boys, and seemed more righteous than the guys I hung out with. What about the men? Are they blameless here?
Much, much later in life, after I had begun a serious study of the scriptures, and they became alive for me, I would realize the men are on trial too.
Specifically, Zion had two daughters, and these are figurative daughters. It's not so much about specific people as it is about geographic regions.
We can actually find these two daughters of Zion in a later Old Testament chapter. They are described as two sisters, daughters of one mother. The sisters even have names--"Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister." Then the Lord begins to decode this for us, in case we haven't figured out the figurative style. "Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah" (see Ezekiel 23: 2, 4).
Their names are interesting. Aholah means "her own tent," and Aholibah means "the tent is in her." These names are derived from the Hebrew root ohel meaning tent or tabernacle. After the time of Solomon, Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. The tabernacle was once pitched in the northern region, near Samaria, at Shiloh (see Joshua 18: 1). Later, the tabernacle would be replaced by a temple in Jerusalem.
Both kingdoms became idolatrous to a certain extent. The "daughters of Zion," these two sisters, having tents (or temples), represent the Lord's covenant people, both men and women. Now we are on equal ground, men and women.
It is interesting that when God proposes a tabernacle He said, "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25: 8). The Hebrew word for dwell is shakan where the word Shekinah is derived. It is as if the Lord were saying, "Let them make me sanctuary, so I can tent among them." The "whoredoms" of these two "sisters" is a symbolic representation of Israel's disregard for God's covenants, as Israel prefers its own gods rather than Jehovah.
The Shekinah was considered to be the sacred tent of Jehovah. Click here for a link (it's Wikipedia so it can't be wrong) to the tabernacle or tent called the Shekinah. You may read in this link that "The Shekinah is held by some to represent the feminine attributes of the presence of God (Shekinah being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the Talmud." It is the context of Noah's experience in the tent (Shekinah) where the King James Version says he is "drunken." This should probably convey the message instead that Noah was entranced in a heavenly temple-like vision, and Ham looked upon things for which he was not authorized. But that's for another post.
You may also notice the feminine images on the veil. Whoops, that now puts us on unequal grounds with us brethren lagging a tad bit behind the sisters. But I'm sure we'll catch up somewhere in the New Testament, with the apostles and such. But wait, while the apostles are trying with good intent to protect Jesus, and thus block the Atonement with lines like, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee," the sisters are, on the other hand, anointing His head and feet, recognizing Him as King of kings and the Great High Priest, in preparation for His atoning mission (see Matthew 16: 21-22; Mark 14: 3; John 12: 3). But I'm sure we'll catch up somewhere in the Book of Mormon with Captain Moroni, Helaman, and the stripling warriors. But wait, Mormon inserts an editorial comment on how successful Korihor was to lead the people astray with false doctrine by saying, "And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women . . ." (Alma 30: 18).
As if to say, it's not that hard to lead the men astray, but you know society is in trouble if you lose the women.
Then I think about my wife and her sheer loyalty, obedience, and goodness, and my valiant daughter, who stands courageously in defense of her values. And I think of a dear sister in Sunday School this afternoon, who while trying to read some verses in Helaman about the atoning blood of the Savior, was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't speak.
I concede.
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