2 Kings 6:17

6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he can see.” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw that ¹  the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Psalms 68:17

68:17 God has countless chariots;

they number in the thousands. ² 

The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor. ³ 

Psalms 104:3-4

104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. ⁴ 

He makes the clouds his chariot,

and travels along on the wings of the wind. ⁵ 

104:4 He makes the winds his messengers,

and the flaming fire his attendant. ⁶ 

Ezekiel 1:4-28

1:4 As I watched, I noticed ⁷  a windstorm ⁸  coming from the north – an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, ⁹  such that bright light ¹⁰  rimmed it and came from ¹¹  it like glowing amber ¹²  from the middle of a fire. 1:5 In the fire ¹³  were what looked like ¹⁴  four living beings. ¹⁵  In their appearance they had human form, ¹⁶  1:6 but each had four faces and four wings. 1:7 Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like calves’ feet. They gleamed ¹⁷  like polished bronze. 1:8 They had human hands ¹⁸  under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 1:9 their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead. ¹⁹ 

1:10 Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and also the face of an eagle. ²⁰  1:11 Their wings were spread out above them; each had two wings touching the wings of one of the other beings on either side and two wings covering their bodies. 1:12 Each moved straight ahead ²¹  – wherever the spirit ²²  would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 1:13 In the middle ²³  of the living beings was something like ²⁴  burning coals of fire ²⁵  or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire. 1:14 The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning. ²⁶ 

1:15 Then I looked, ²⁷  and I saw one wheel ²⁸  on the ground ²⁹  beside each of the four beings. 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ³⁰  was like gleaming jasper, ³¹  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ³²  1:17 When they moved they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved. 1:18 Their rims were high and awesome, ³³  and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around.

1:19 When the living beings moved, the wheels beside them moved; when the living beings rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up too. 1:20 Wherever the spirit ³⁴  would go, they would go, ³⁵  and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit ³⁶  of the living being was in the wheel. 1:21 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped. ³⁷  When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel.

1:22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a platform, ³⁸  glittering awesomely like ice, ³⁹  stretched out over their heads. 1:23 Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering ⁴⁰  its body. 1:24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings – it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Almighty, ⁴¹  or the tumult ⁴²  of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

1:25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. ⁴³  1:26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 1:27 I saw an amber glow ⁴⁴  like a fire enclosed all around ⁴⁵  from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 1:28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. ⁴⁶  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ⁴⁷  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

Ezekiel 10:9-22

10:9 As I watched, I noticed ⁴⁸  four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; ⁴⁹  the wheels gleamed like jasper. ⁵⁰  10:10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel. ⁵¹  10:11 When they ⁵²  moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow ⁵³  without turning as they moved, 10:12 along with their entire bodies, ⁵⁴  their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 10:13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork” ⁵⁵  as I listened. 10:14 Each of the cherubim ⁵⁶  had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, ⁵⁷  the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

10:15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings ⁵⁸  I saw at the Kebar River. 10:16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread ⁵⁹  their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 10:17 When the cherubim ⁶⁰  stood still, the wheels ⁶¹  stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels ⁶²  rose up with them, for the spirit ⁶³  of the living beings ⁶⁴  was in the wheels. ⁶⁵ 

10:18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 10:19 The cherubim spread ⁶⁶  their wings, and they rose up from the earth ⁶⁷  while I watched (when they went the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

10:20 These were the living creatures ⁶⁸  which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim. 10:21 Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings. 10:22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose appearance I had seen at the Kebar River. Each one moved straight ahead.

Habakkuk 3:8

3:8 Is the Lord mad at the rivers?

Are you angry with the rivers?

Are you enraged at the sea? ⁶⁹ 

Is this why ⁷⁰  you climb into your horse-drawn chariots, ⁷¹ 

your victorious chariots? ⁷² 

Zechariah 3:8

3:8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you ⁷³  are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch. ⁷⁴ 

Zechariah 6:1-8

Vision Eight: The Chariots

6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. ⁷⁵  6:2 Harnessed to the first chariot were red horses, to the second black horses, 6:3 to the third white horses, and to the fourth spotted horses, all of them strong. ⁷⁶  6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger ⁷⁷  who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?” 6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ⁷⁸  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6:6 The chariot with the black horses is going to the north country and the white ones are going after them, but the spotted ones are going to the south country. 6:7 All these strong ones ⁷⁹  are scattering; they have sought permission to go and walk about over the earth.” The Lord had said, “Go! Walk about over the earth!” So they are doing so. 6:8 Then he cried out to me, “Look! The ones going to the northland have brought me ⁸⁰  peace about the northland.” ⁸¹ 

Hebrews 1:14

1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those ⁸²  who will inherit salvation?

[6:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.”

[68:17]  ² tn Heb “thousands of [?].” The meaning of the word שִׁנְאָן (shin’an), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Perhaps the form should be emended to שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan, “at ease”) and be translated here “held in reserve.”

[68:17]  ³ tc The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֲדֹנָי בָּא מִסִּינַי (’adonay ba’ missinay; see BHS note b-b and Deut 33:2).

[104:3]  ³ tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.

[104:3]  ⁴ sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[104:4]  ⁴ tc Heb “and his attendants a flaming fire.” The lack of agreement between the singular “fire” and plural “attendants” has prompted various emendations. Some read “fire and flame.” The present translation assumes an emendation to “his attendant” (יו in the Hebrew text being virtually dittographic).

[1:4]  ⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[1:4]  ⁶ sn Storms are often associated with appearances of God (see Nah 1:3; Ps 18:12). In some passages, the “storm” (סְעָרָה, sÿ’arah) may be a whirlwind (Job 38:1, 2 Kgs 2:1).

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “fire taking hold of itself,” perhaps repeatedly. The phrase occurs elsewhere only in Exod 9:24 in association with a hailstorm. The LXX interprets the phrase as fire flashing like lightning, but it is possibly a self-sustaining blaze of divine origin. The LXX also reverses the order of the descriptors, i.e., “light went around it and fire flashed like lightning within it.”

[1:4]  ⁸ tn Or “radiance.” The term also occurs in 1:27b.

[1:4]  ⁹ tc Or “was in it”; cf. LXX ἐν τῷ μέσῳ αὐτοῦ (en tw mesw autou, “in its midst”).

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn The LXX translates חַשְׁמַל (khashmal) with the word ἤλεκτρον (hlektron, “electrum”; so NAB), an alloy of silver and gold, perhaps envisioning a comparison to the glow of molten metal.

[1:5]  ⁶ tc Heb “from its midst” (מִתּוֹכָהּ, mitokhah). The LXX reads ἐν τῷ μέσῳ (en tw mesw, “in the midst of it”). The LXX also reads ἐν for מִתּוֹךְ (mitokh) in v. 4. The translator of the LXX of Ezekiel either read בְּתוֹךְ (bÿtokh, “within”) in his Hebrew exemplar or could not imagine how מִתּוֹךְ could make sense and so chose to use ἐν. The Hebrew would be understood by adding “from its midst emerged the forms of four living beings.”

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “form, figure, appearance.”

[1:5]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term is feminine plural yet thirty-three of the forty-five pronominal suffixes and verbal references which refer to the living beings in the chapter are masculine plural. The grammatical vacillation between masculine and feminine plurals suggests the difficulty Ezekiel had in penning these words as he was overcome by the vision of God. In ancient Near Eastern sculpture very similar images of part-human, part-animal creatures serve as throne and sky bearers. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:26-31. Ezekiel’s vision is an example of contextualization, where God accommodates his self-revelation to cultural expectations and norms.

[1:5]  ⁹ sn They had human form may mean they stood erect.

[1:7]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew verb translated gleamed occurs only here in the OT.

[1:8]  ⁸ tc The MT reads “his hand” while many Hebrew mss as well as the Qere read “hands of.” Two similar Hebrew letters, vav and yod, have been confused.

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “They each went in the direction of one of his faces.”

[1:10]  ¹⁰ tc The MT has an additional word at the beginning of v. 11, וּפְנֵיהֶם (ufÿnehem, “and their faces”), which is missing from the LXX. As the rest of the verse only applies to wings, “their faces” would have to somehow be understood in the previous clause. But this would be very awkward and is doubly problematic since “their faces” are already introduced as the topic at the beginning of v. 10. The Hebrew scribe appears to have copied the phrase “and their faces and their wings” from v. 8, where it introduces the content of 9-11. Only “and (as for) their wings” belongs here.

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn See the note on “straight ahead” in v. 9.

[1:12]  ¹² tn Or “wind.”

[1:13]  ¹² tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures” (וּדְמוּת הַחַיּוֹת, udÿmut hakhayyot). The LXX reads “and in the midst of the creatures,” suggesting an underlying Hebrew text of וּמִתּוֹךְ הַחַיּוֹת (umittokh hakhayyot). The subsequent description of something moving among the creatures supports the LXX.

[1:13]  ¹³ tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures – their appearance was like burning coals of fire.” The LXX reads “in the midst of the creatures was a sight like burning coals of fire.” The MT may have adjusted “appearance” to “their appearance” to fit their reading of the beginning of the verse (see the tc note on “in the middle”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:13]  ¹⁴ sn Burning coals of fire are also a part of David’s poetic description of God’s appearance (see 2 Sam 22:9, 13; Ps 18:8).

[1:14]  ¹³ tc The LXX omits v. 14 and may well be correct. The verse may be a later explanatory gloss of the end of v. 13 which was copied into the main text. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:15]  ¹⁴ tc The MT adds “at the living beings” which is absent from the LXX.

[1:15]  ¹⁵ sn Another vision which includes wheels on thrones occurs in Dan 7:9. Ezek 10 contains a vision similar to this one.

[1:15]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew word may be translated either “earth” or “ground” in this context.

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[1:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning of this term is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB); “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV); or “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). The description given in v. 17 favors the latter idea.

[1:18]  ¹⁶ tc The MT reads וְיִרְאָה לָהֶם (vÿyir’ah lahem, “and fear belonged to them”). In a similar vision in 10:12 the wheels are described as having spokes (יִדֵיהֶם, yideyhem). That parallel would suggest יָדוֹת (yadot) here (written יָדֹת without the mater). By positing both a ד/ר (dalet/resh) confusion and a ת/ה (hey/khet) confusion the form was read as וְיָרֵה (vÿyareh) and was then misunderstood and subsequently written as וְיִרְאָה (vÿyir’ah) in the MT. The reading וְיִרְאָה does not seem to fit the context well, though in English it can be made to sound as if it does. See W. H. Brownlee, Ezekiel 1-19 (WBC), 8-9. The LXX reads καὶ εἶδον αὐτά (kai eidon auta, “and I saw”), which assumes וָאֵרֶא (va’ere’). The existing consonants of the MT may also be read as “it was visible to them.”

[1:20]  ¹⁷ tn Or “wind”; the same Hebrew word can be translated as either “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context.

[1:20]  ¹⁸ tc The MT adds the additional phrase “the spirit would go,” which seems unduly redundant here and may be dittographic.

[1:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “wind.” The Hebrew is difficult since the text presents four creatures and then talks about “the spirit” (singular) of “the living being” (singular). According to M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:45) the Targum interprets this as “will.” Greenberg views this as the spirit of the one enthroned above the creatures, but one would not expect the article when the one enthroned has not yet been introduced.

[1:21]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX reads “when it went, they went; when it stood, they stood.”

[1:22]  ¹⁹ tn Or “like a dome” (NCV, NRSV, TEV).

[1:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “like crystal” (NRSV, NLT).

[1:23]  ²⁰ tc Heb “each had two wings covering and each had two wings covering,” a case of dittography. On the analogy of v. 11 and the support of the LXX, which reads the same for v. 11 and this verse, one should perhaps read “each had two wings touching another being and each had two wings covering.”

[1:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “Shaddai” (probably meaning “one of the mountain”), a title that depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world who dispenses justice. The Old Greek translation omitted the phrase “voice of the Almighty.”

[1:24]  ²² tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew word translated “tumult” is in Jer 11:16. It indicates a noise like that of the turmoil of a military camp or the sound of an army on the march.

[1:25]  ²² tc The MT continues “when they stood still they lowered their wings,” an apparent dittography from the end of v. 24. The LXX commits haplography by homoioteleuton, leaving out vv. 25b and 26a by skipping from רֹאשָׁם (rosham) in v. 25 to רֹאשָׁם in v. 26.

[1:27]  ²³ tn See Ezek 1:4.

[1:27]  ²⁴ tc The LXX lacks this phrase. Its absence from the LXX may be explained as a case of haplography resulting from homoioteleuton, skipping from כְּמַרְאֵה (kÿmar’eh) to מִמַּרְאֵה (mimmar’eh). On the other hand, the LXX presents a much more balanced verse structure when it is recognized that the final words of this verse belong in the next sentence.

[1:28]  ²⁴ sn Reference to the glowing substance and the brilliant light and storm phenomena in vv. 27-28a echoes in reverse order the occurrence of these phenomena in v. 4.

[1:28]  ²⁵ tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.

[10:9]  ²⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[10:9]  ²⁶ tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.

[10:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[10:10]  ²⁶ tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). See also 1:16.

[10:11]  ²⁷ sn That is, the cherubim.

[10:11]  ²⁸ tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.

[10:12]  ²⁸ tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words.

[10:13]  ²⁹ tn Or “the whirling wheels.”

[10:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:14]  ³¹ sn The living creature described here is thus slightly different from the one described in Ezek 1:10, where a bull’s face appeared instead of a cherub’s. Note that some English versions harmonize the two descriptions and read the same here as in 1:10 (cf. NAB, NLT “an ox”; TEV, CEV “a bull”). This may be justified based on v. 22, which states the creatures’ appearance was the same.

[10:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “it was the living creature.”

[10:16]  ³² tn Heb “lifted.”

[10:17]  ³³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ³⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ³⁶ tn Or “wind.”

[10:17]  ³⁷ tn Heb “living creature.”

[10:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “lifted.”

[10:19]  ³⁵ tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV).

[10:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “That was the living creature.”

[3:8]  ³⁶ sn The following context suggests these questions should be answered, “Yes.” The rivers and the sea, symbolizing here the hostile nations (v. 12), are objects of the Lord’s anger (vv. 10, 15).

[3:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “so that.” Here כִּי (ki) is resultative. See the note on the phrase “make it” in 2:18.

[3:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “you mount your horses.” As the next line makes clear, the Lord is pictured here as a charioteer, not a cavalryman. Note NRSV here, “when you drove your horses, // your chariots to victory.”

[3:8]  ³⁹ tn Or “chariots of deliverance.”

[3:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “these men.” The cleansing of Joshua and his elevation to enhanced leadership as a priest signify the coming of the messianic age.

[3:8]  ³⁸ sn The collocation of servant and branch gives double significance to the messianic meaning of the passage (cf. Isa 41:8, 9; 42:1, 19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21; Ps 132:17; Jer 23:5; 33:15).

[6:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:3]  ³⁹ tc For the MT reading אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) Aquila and Syriac presuppose אֲדֻמִּים (’adummim, “red”), thus giving the red horse an assignment and eliminating the problem of a fifth, “spotted” horse. The fourth would be a mottled red horse according to this view. There is, however, no manuscript support for this interpretation.

[6:4]  ⁴⁰ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[6:5]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “spirit” here may also be translated “wind” or “breath” depending on the context (cf. ASV, NRSV, CEV “the four winds of heaven”; NAB similar).

[6:7]  ⁴² tn The present translation takes אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) to be a descriptive of all the horses – white, black, red, and spotted (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

[6:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “my spirit.” The subject appears to be the Lord who exclaims here that the horsemen have accomplished their task of bringing peace.

[6:8]  ⁴⁴ sn The immediate referent of peace about the northland is to the peace brought by Persia’s conquest of Babylonia, a peace that allowed the restoration of the Jewish people (cf. 2 Chr 36:22-23; Isa 44:28; 45:1-2). However, there is also an eschatological dimension, referring to a time when there will be perfect and universal peace.

[1:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “sent for service for the sake of those.”