Exodus 25:20

25:20 The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowing ¹  the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other, ²  looking ³  toward the atonement lid.

Daniel 8:13

8:13 Then I heard a holy one ⁴  speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”

Daniel 12:5-6

12:5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. ⁵  12:6 One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?”

Luke 15:10

15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels ⁶  over one sinner who repents.”

Ephesians 3:10

3:10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that ⁷  through the church the multifaceted wisdom ⁸  of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.

Revelation 5:11

5:11 Then ⁹  I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their ¹⁰  number was ten thousand times ten thousand ¹¹  – thousands times thousands –

[25:20]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “their faces a man to his brother.”

[25:20]  ³ tn Heb “the faces of the cherubim will be” (“the cherubim” was moved to the preceding clause for smoother English).

[8:13]  ⁴ sn The holy one referred to here is presumably an angel. Cf. 4:13[10], 23 [20].

[12:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “one to this edge of the river and one to that edge of the river.”

[15:10]  ⁶ sn The whole of heaven is said to rejoice. Joy in the presence of God’s angels is a way of referring to God’s joy as well without having to name him explicitly. Contemporary Judaism tended to refer to God indirectly where possible out of reverence or respect for the divine name.

[3:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.

[3:10]  ⁸ tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”

[5:11]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.