“has not eaten on the mountains.” There were shrines and altars to pagan gods on the mountains, and sacrifices to the pagan gods were made there (cp. Deut. 12:2; 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 16:4; 2 Kings 17:10; 2 Chron. 28:4; Jer. 3:6; Hos. 4:13). When a sacrifice was made on the altar it was customary to have a community meal for the worshippers gathered there.

It was also common that one of the goddesses that was worshipped on the hills was Asherah, the female consort of the god Baal, and she was worshipped in part by sacred prostitution. So although “eaten” in Ezekiel 18:6 does not have the primary meaning of enjoying sexual pleasure, it was likely included as a sub-theme of “eaten” here (see commentary on Jeremiah 3:6). Sex was often spoken of euphemistically as eating (Prov. 9:17; 30:20; Song of Sol. 2:3; 4:16; 5:1).