Ezekiel 1:5

1:5 In the fire ¹  were what looked like ²  four living beings. ³  In their appearance they had human form, ⁴ 

Ezekiel 1:22

1:22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a platform, ⁵  glittering awesomely like ice, ⁶  stretched out over their heads.

Ezekiel 10:17

10:17 When the cherubim ⁷  stood still, the wheels ⁸  stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels ⁹  rose up with them, for the spirit ¹⁰  of the living beings ¹¹  was in the wheels. ¹² 

Ezekiel 31:13

31:13 On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals ¹³  will walk ¹⁴  on its branches.

Ezekiel 34:5

34:5 They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. ¹⁵ 

[1:5]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “form, figure, appearance.”

[1:5]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn They had human form may mean they stood erect.

[1:22]  ⁵ tn Or “like a dome” (NCV, NRSV, TEV).

[1:22]  ⁶ tn Or “like crystal” (NRSV, NLT).

[10:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[10:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:17]  ¹² tn Or “wind.”

[10:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “living creature.”

[10:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.

[31:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “be.”

[34:5]  ¹⁷ tn As a case of dittography, the MT repeats “and they were scattered” at the end of the verse.