Discovery BoxExodus 25:2
Context25:2 “Tell the Israelites to take 1 an offering 2 for me; from every person motivated by a willing 3 heart you 4 are to receive my offering.
Exodus 25:20
Context25:20 The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowing 5 the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other, 6 looking 7 toward the atonement lid.
Exodus 25:22
Context25:22 I will meet with you there, 8 and 9 from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.
Exodus 25:1
Context25:1 10 The Lord spoke to Moses:
Exodus 4:4
Context4:4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail” – so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand 11 –
Exodus 4:1
Context4:1 12 Moses answered again, 13 “And if 14 they do not believe me or pay attention to me, 15 but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”
Exodus 6:25
Context6:25 Now Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas.
These are the heads of the fathers’ households 16 of Levi according to their clans.
Psalms 80:1
ContextFor the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 18 a psalm of Asaph.
80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!
You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, 19 reveal your splendor! 20
Psalms 99:1
Context99:1 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble. 22
He sits enthroned above the winged angels; 23
the earth shakes. 24
Psalms 104:4
Context104:4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant. 25
Ezekiel 10:2-22
Context10:2 The Lord 26 said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork 27 underneath the cherubim. 28 Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.
10:3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side 29 of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 10:4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God 30 when he speaks.
10:6 When the Lord 31 commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man 32 went in and stood by one of the wheels. 33 10:7 Then one of the cherubim 34 stretched out his hand 35 toward the fire which was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 10:8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form 36 of human hands under their wings.)
10:9 As I watched, I noticed 37 four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; 38 the wheels gleamed like jasper. 39 10:10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel. 40 10:11 When they 41 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 42 without turning as they moved, 10:12 along with their entire bodies, 43 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” 44 as I listened. 10:14 Each of the cherubim 45 had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, 46 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 47 I saw at the Kebar River. 10:16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread 48 their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 10:17 When the cherubim 49 stood still, the wheels 50 stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels 51 rose up with them, for the spirit 52 of the living beings 53 was in the wheels. 54
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 55 their wings, and they rose up from the earth 56 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 57 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.
Hebrews 1:7
Context1:7 And he says 58 of the angels, “He makes 59 his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,” 60
[25:2] 1 tn The verb is וְיִקְחוּ (vÿyiqkhu), the Qal imperfect or jussive with vav; after the imperative “speak” this verb indicates the purpose or result: “speak…that they may take” and continues with the force of a command.
[25:2] 2 tn The “offering” (תְּרוּמָה, tÿrumah) is perhaps better understood as a contribution since it was a freewill offering. There is some question about the etymology of the word. The traditional meaning of “heave-offering” derives from the idea of “elevation,” a root meaning “to be high” lying behind the word. B. Jacob says it is something sorted out of a mass of material and designated for a higher purpose (Exodus, 765). S. R. Driver (Exodus, 263) corrects the idea of “heave-offering” by relating the root to the Hiphil form of that root, herim, “to lift” or “take off.” He suggests the noun means “what is taken off” from a larger mass and so designated for sacred purposes. The LXX has “something taken off.”
[25:2] 3 tn The verb יִדְּבֶנּוּ (yiddÿvennu) is related to the word for the “freewill offering” (נְדָבָה, nÿdavah). The verb is used of volunteering for military campaigns (Judg 5:2, 9) and the willing offerings for both the first and second temples (see 1 Chr 29:5, 6, 9, 14, 17).
[25:2] 4 tn The pronoun is plural.
[25:20] 5 tn The verb means “overshadowing, screening” in the sense of guarding (see 1 Kgs 8:7; 1 Chr 28:18; see also the account in Gen 3:24). The cherubim then signify two things here: by their outstretched wings they form the throne of God who sits above the ark (with the Law under his feet), and by their overshadowing and guarding they signify this as the place of atonement where people must find propitiation to commune with God. Until then they are barred from his presence. See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 330-35.
[25:20] 6 tn Heb “their faces a man to his brother.”
[25:20] 7 tn Heb “the faces of the cherubim will be” (“the cherubim” was moved to the preceding clause for smoother English).
[25:22] 8 sn Here then is the main point of the ark of the covenant, and the main point of all worship – meeting with God through atonement. The text makes it clear that here God would meet with Moses (“you” is singular) and then he would speak to the people – he is the mediator of the covenant. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 272) makes the point that the verb here is not the word that means “to meet by chance” (as in Exod 3:18), but “to meet” by appointment for a purpose (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי, vÿno’adti). The parallel in the NT is Jesus Christ and his work. The theology is that the Law condemns people as guilty of sin, but the sacrifice of Christ makes atonement. So he is the “place of propitiation (Rom 3:25) who gains communion with the Father for sinners. A major point that could be made from this section is this: At the center of worship must be the atoning work of Christ – a perpetual reminder of God’s righteous standard (the testimony in the ark) and God’s gracious provision (the atonement lid).
[25:22] 9 tn The verb is placed here in the text: “and I will speak”; it has been moved in this translation to be closer to the direct object clause.
[25:1] 10 sn Now begin the detailed instructions for constructing the tabernacle of Yahweh, with all its furnishings. The first paragraph introduces the issue of the heavenly pattern for the construction, calls for the people to make willing offerings (vv. 2-7), and explains the purpose for these offerings (vv. 8-9). The message here is that God calls his people to offer of their substance willingly so that his sanctuary may be made.
[4:4] 11 sn The signs authenticated Moses’ ministry as the
[4:1] 12 sn In chap. 3, the first part of this extensive call, Yahweh promises to deliver his people. At the hesitancy of Moses, God guarantees his presence will be with him, and that assures the success of the mission. But with chap. 4, the second half of the call, the tone changes sharply. Now Moses protests his inadequacies in view of the nature of the task. In many ways, these verses address the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” There are three basic movements in the passage. The first nine verses tell how God gave Moses signs in case Israel did not believe him (4:1-9). The second section records how God dealt with the speech problem of Moses (4:10-12). And finally, the last section records God’s provision of a helper, someone who could talk well (4:13-17). See also J. E. Hamlin, “The Liberator’s Ordeal: A Study of Exodus 4:1-9,” Rhetorical Criticism [PTMS], 33-42.
[4:1] 13 tn Heb “and Moses answered and said.”
[4:1] 14 tn Or “What if.” The use of הֵן (hen) is unusual here, introducing a conditional idea in the question without a following consequence clause (see Exod 8:22 HT [8:26 ET]; Jer 2:10; 2 Chr 7:13). The Greek has “if not” but adds the clause “what shall I say to them?”
[4:1] 15 tn Heb “listen to my voice,” so as to respond positively.
[6:25] 16 tn Heb “heads of the fathers” is taken as an abbreviation for the description of “households” in v. 14.
[80:1] 17 sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.
[80:1] 18 tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.
[80:1] 19 sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
[80:1] 20 tn Heb “shine forth.”
[99:1] 21 sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
[99:1] 22 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the
[99:1] 23 sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
[99:1] 24 tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).
[104:4] 25 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).
[10:2] 26 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[10:2] 27 tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).
[10:2] 28 tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum
[10:3] 29 tn Heb “right side.”
[10:5] 30 tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.
[10:6] 31 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[10:6] 32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:7] 34 tn Heb “the cherub.”
[10:7] 35 tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”
[10:8] 36 tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the plan or pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).
[10:9] 37 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[10:9] 38 tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.
[10:9] 39 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] 40 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] 41 sn That is, the cherubim.
[10:11] 42 tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.
[10:12] 43 tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words.
[10:13] 44 tn Or “the whirling wheels.”
[10:14] 45 tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:14] 46 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] 47 tn Heb “it was the living creature.”
[10:17] 49 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 50 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 51 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 53 tn Heb “living creature.”
[10:17] 54 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:19] 56 tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV).
[10:20] 57 tn Heb “That was the living creature.”
[1:7] 58 sn The Greek correlative conjunctions μέν and δέ (men and de) emphasize the contrastive parallelism of vs. 7 (what God says about the angels) over against vv. 8-9 and vv. 10-12 (what God says about the son).
