Exodus 25:18

25:18 You are to make two cherubim ¹  of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid.

Exodus 37:7

37:7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid,

Exodus 37:17

The Making of the Lampstand

37:17 He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece. ² 

Exodus 37:22

37:22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece; ³  all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold.

¹ tn The evidence suggests that the cherubim were composite angelic creatures that always indicated the nearness of God. So here images of them were to be crafted and put on each end of the ark of the covenant to signify that they were there. Ezekiel 1 describes four cherubim as each having human faces, four wings, and parts of different animals for their bodies. Traditions of them appear in the other cultures as well. They serve to guard the holy places and to bear the throne of God. Here they were to be beaten out as part of the lid.

² tn Heb “from it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “were from it.”