Discovery BoxExodus 25:18
Context25:18 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 25:22
Context25:22 I will meet with you there, 2 and 3 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 4 The Lord spoke to Moses:
Exodus 6:23
Context6:23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Exodus 6:2
Context6:2 God spoke 5 to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 6
Exodus 3:10
Context3:10 So now go, and I will send you 7 to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
Ezekiel 1:5-28
Context1:5 In the fire 8 were what looked like 9 four living beings. 10 In their appearance they had human form, 11 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 12 like polished bronze. 1:8 They had human hands 13 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. 14
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. 15 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 16 – wherever the spirit 17 would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 1:13 In the middle 18 of the living beings was something like 19 burning coals of fire 20 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. 21
1:15 Then I looked, 22 and I saw one wheel 23 on the ground 24 beside each of the four beings. 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction 25 was like gleaming jasper, 26 and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. 27 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, 28 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 29 would go, they would go, 30 and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit 31 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. 32 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, 33 glittering awesomely like ice, 34 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 35 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, 36 or the tumult 37 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. 38 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 39 like a fire enclosed all around 40 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. 41 This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw 42 it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel 10:1-19
Context10:1 As I watched, I saw 43 on the platform 44 above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 10:2 The Lord 45 said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork 46 underneath the cherubim. 47 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 48 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 49 when he speaks.
10:6 When the Lord 50 commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man 51 went in and stood by one of the wheels. 52 10:7 Then one of the cherubim 53 stretched out his hand 54 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 55 of human hands under their wings.)
10:9 As I watched, I noticed 56 four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; 57 the wheels gleamed like jasper. 58 10:10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel. 59 10:11 When they 60 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 61 without turning as they moved, 10:12 along with their entire bodies, 62 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” 63 as I listened. 10:14 Each of the cherubim 64 had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, 65 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 66 I saw at the Kebar River. 10:16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread 67 their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 10:17 When the cherubim 68 stood still, the wheels 69 stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels 70 rose up with them, for the spirit 71 of the living beings 72 was in the wheels. 73
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 74 their wings, and they rose up from the earth 75 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.
[25:18] 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.
[25:22] 2 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] 3 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] 4 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.
[6:2] 5 tn Heb “And God spoke.”
[6:2] 6 sn The announcement “I am the
[3:10] 7 tn The verse has a sequence of volitives. The first form is the imperative לְכָה (lÿkha, “go”). Then comes the cohortative/imperfect form with the vav (ו), “and I will send you” or more likely “that I may send you” (וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ, vÿ’eshlakhakha), which is followed by the imperative with the vav, “and bring out” or “that you may bring out” (וְהוֹצֵא, vÿhotse’). The series of actions begins with Moses going. When he goes, it will be the
[1:5] 8 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] 9 tn Heb “form, figure, appearance.”
[1:5] 10 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] 11 sn They had human form may mean they stood erect.
[1:7] 12 sn The Hebrew verb translated gleamed occurs only here in the OT.
[1:8] 13 tc The MT reads “his hand” while many Hebrew
[1:9] 14 tn Heb “They each went in the direction of one of his faces.”
[1:10] 15 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] 16 tn See the note on “straight ahead” in v. 9.
[1:13] 18 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] 19 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] 20 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] 21 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] 22 tc The MT adds “at the living beings” which is absent from the LXX.
[1:15] 23 sn Another vision which includes wheels on thrones occurs in Dan 7:9. Ezek 10 contains a vision similar to this one.
[1:15] 24 tn The Hebrew word may be translated either “earth” or “ground” in this context.
[1:16] 25 tc This word is omitted from the LXX.
[1:16] 26 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] 27 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] 28 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] 29 tn Or “wind”; the same Hebrew word can be translated as either “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context.
[1:20] 30 tc The MT adds the additional phrase “the spirit would go,” which seems unduly redundant here and may be dittographic.
[1:20] 31 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] 32 tc The LXX reads “when it went, they went; when it stood, they stood.”
[1:22] 33 tn Or “like a dome” (NCV, NRSV, TEV).
[1:22] 34 tn Or “like crystal” (NRSV, NLT).
[1:23] 35 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] 36 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] 37 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] 38 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] 40 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] 41 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] 42 tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.
[10:1] 43 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[10:1] 44 tn Or “like a dome.” See 1:22-26.
[10:2] 45 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[10:2] 46 tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).
[10:2] 47 tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum
[10:3] 48 tn Heb “right side.”
[10:5] 49 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] 50 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[10:6] 51 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:7] 53 tn Heb “the cherub.”
[10:7] 54 tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”
[10:8] 55 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] 56 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[10:9] 57 tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.
[10:9] 58 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] 59 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] 60 sn That is, the cherubim.
[10:11] 61 tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.
[10:12] 62 tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words.
[10:13] 63 tn Or “the whirling wheels.”
[10:14] 64 tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:14] 65 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] 66 tn Heb “it was the living creature.”
[10:17] 68 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 69 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 70 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:17] 72 tn Heb “living creature.”
[10:17] 73 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
