Ezekiel 28:16

28:16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, ¹  and you sinned;

so I defiled you and banished you ²  from the mountain of God –

the guardian cherub expelled you ³  from the midst of the stones of fire.

Exodus 25:17-20

25:17 “You are to make an atonement lid ⁴  of pure gold; ⁵  its length is to be three feet nine inches, and its width is to be two feet three inches. 25:18 You are to make two cherubim ⁶  of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid. 25:19 Make ⁷  one cherub on one end ⁸  and one cherub on the other end; from the atonement lid ⁹  you are to make the cherubim on the two ends. 25:20 The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowing ¹⁰  the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other, ¹¹  looking ¹²  toward the atonement lid.

Exodus 30:26

30:26 “With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony,

Exodus 40:9

40:9 And take ¹³  the anointing oil, and anoint ¹⁴  the tabernacle and all that is in it, and sanctify ¹⁵  it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.

[28:16]  ¹ tn Heb “they filled your midst with violence.”

[28:16]  ² tn Heb “I defiled you.” The presence of the preposition “from” following the verb indicates that a verb of motion is implied as well. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

[28:16]  ³ tn Heb “and I expelled you, O guardian cherub.” The Hebrew text takes the verb as first person and understands “guardian cherub” as a vocative, in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the verb. However, if the emendation in verse 14a is accepted (see the note above), then one may follow the LXX here as well and emend the verb to a third person perfect. In this case the subject of the verb is the guardian cherub. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

[25:17]  ⁴ tn The noun is כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet), translated “atonement lid” or “atonement plate.” The traditional translation “mercy-seat” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) came from Tyndale in 1530 and was also used by Luther in 1523. The noun is formed from the word “to make atonement.” The item that the Israelites should make would be more than just a lid for the ark. It would be the place where atonement was signified. The translation of “covering” is probably incorrect, for it derives from a rare use of the verb, if the same verb at all (the evidence shows “cover” is from another root with the same letters as this). The value of this place was that Yahweh sat enthroned above it, and so the ark essentially was the “footstool.” Blood was applied to the lid of the box, for that was the place of atonement (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 269-270).

[25:17]  ⁵ tn After verbs of making or producing, the accusative (like “gold” here) may be used to express the material from which something is made (see GKC 371 §117.hh).

[25:18]  ⁶ 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.

[25:19]  ⁷ tn The text now shifts to use an imperative with the vav (ו) conjunction.

[25:19]  ⁸ tn The use of זֶה (zeh) repeated here expresses the reciprocal ideas of “the one” and “the other” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 26, §132).

[25:19]  ⁹ sn The angels were to form one piece with the lid and not be separated. This could be translated “of one piece with” the lid, but it is likely the angels were simply fastened to it permanently.

[25:20]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their faces a man to his brother.”

[25:20]  ¹² tn Heb “the faces of the cherubim will be” (“the cherubim” was moved to the preceding clause for smoother English).

[40:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “you will take” (perfect with vav, ו).

[40:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and you will anoint” (perfect with vav, ו).

[40:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and you will sanctify” (perfect with vav, ו).