Psalms 18:10

18:10 He mounted ¹  a winged angel ²  and flew;

he glided ³  on the wings of the wind. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 33:2

33:2 He said:

A Historical Review

The Lord came from Sinai

and revealed himself ⁵  to Israel ⁶  from Seir.

He appeared in splendor ⁷  from Mount Paran,

and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. ⁸ 

With his right hand he gave a fiery law ⁹  to them.

Deuteronomy 33:2

33:2 He said:

A Historical Review

The Lord came from Sinai

and revealed himself ¹⁰  to Israel ¹¹  from Seir.

He appeared in splendor ¹²  from Mount Paran,

and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. ¹³ 

With his right hand he gave a fiery law ¹⁴  to them.

Deuteronomy 2:11

2:11 These people, as well as the Anakites, are also considered Rephaites; ¹⁵  the Moabites call them Emites.

Deuteronomy 6:16-17

Exhortation to Obey the Lord Exclusively

6:16 You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. ¹⁶  6:17 Keep his ¹⁷  commandments very carefully, ¹⁸  as well as the stipulations and statutes he commanded you to observe.

Ezekiel 1:15-28

1:15 Then I looked, ¹⁹  and I saw one wheel ²⁰  on the ground ²¹  beside each of the four beings. 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ²²  was like gleaming jasper, ²³  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ²⁴  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, ²⁵  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 ²⁶  would go, they would go, ²⁷  and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit ²⁸  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. ²⁹  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, ³⁰  glittering awesomely like ice, ³¹  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 ³²  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, ³³  or the tumult ³⁴  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. ³⁵  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 ³⁶  like a fire enclosed all around ³⁷  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. ³⁸  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ³⁹  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

Daniel 7:10

7:10 A river of fire was streaming forth

and proceeding from his presence.

Many thousands were ministering to him;

Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. ⁴⁰ 

The court convened ⁴¹ 

and the books were opened.

Matthew 26:53

26:53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions ⁴²  of angels right now?

Revelation 5:11

5:11 Then ⁴³  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 ⁴⁴  number was ten thousand times ten thousand ⁴⁵  – thousands times thousands –

Revelation 9:16

9:16 The ⁴⁶  number of soldiers on horseback was two hundred million; ⁴⁷  I heard their number.

[18:10]  ¹ tn Or “rode upon.”

[18:10]  ² tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.

[18:10]  ³ tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.

[18:10]  ⁴ sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[33:2]  ⁵ tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).

[33:2]  ⁶ tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.

[33:2]  ⁷ tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[33:2]  ⁸ tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.

[33:2]  ⁹ tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.

[33:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).

[33:2]  ¹¹ tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.

[33:2]  ¹² tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[33:2]  ¹³ tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.

[33:2]  ¹⁴ tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.

[2:11]  ¹⁵ sn Rephaites. The earliest reference to this infamous giant race is, again, in the story of the invasion of the eastern kings (Gen 14:5). They lived around Ashteroth Karnaim, probably modern Tell Ashtarah (cf. Deut 1:4), in the Bashan plateau east of the Sea of Galilee. Og, king of Bashan, was a Rephaite (Deut 3:11; Josh 12:4; 13:12). Other texts speak of them or their kinfolk in both Transjordan (Deut 2:20; 3:13) and Canaan (Josh 11:21-22; 14:12, 15; 15:13-14; Judg 1:20; 1 Sam 17:4; 1 Chr 20:4-8). They also appear in extra-biblical literature, especially in connection with the city state of Ugarit. See C. L’Heureux, “Ugaritic and Biblical Rephaim,” HTR 67 (1974): 265-74.

[6:16]  ¹⁶ sn The place name Massah (מַסָּה, massah) derives from a root (נָסָה, nasah) meaning “to test; to try.” The reference here is to the experience in the Sinai desert when Moses struck the rock to obtain water (Exod 17:1-2). The complaining Israelites had, thus, “tested” the Lord, a wickedness that gave rise to the naming of the place (Exod 17:7; cf. Deut 9:22; 33:8).

[6:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[6:17]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb to emphasize the statement. The imperfect verbal form is used here with an obligatory nuance that can be captured in English through the imperative. Cf. NASB, NRSV “diligently keep (obey NLT).”

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tc The MT adds “at the living beings” which is absent from the LXX.

[1:15]  ²⁰ sn Another vision which includes wheels on thrones occurs in Dan 7:9. Ezek 10 contains a vision similar to this one.

[1:15]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew word may be translated either “earth” or “ground” in this context.

[1:16]  ²² tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[1:16]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Or “wind”; the same Hebrew word can be translated as either “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context.

[1:20]  ²⁷ tc The MT adds the additional phrase “the spirit would go,” which seems unduly redundant here and may be dittographic.

[1:20]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tc The LXX reads “when it went, they went; when it stood, they stood.”

[1:22]  ³⁰ tn Or “like a dome” (NCV, NRSV, TEV).

[1:22]  ³¹ tn Or “like crystal” (NRSV, NLT).

[1:23]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn See Ezek 1:4.

[1:27]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.

[7:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Aram “were standing before him.”

[7:10]  ⁴¹ tn Aram “judgment sat.”

[26:53]  ⁴² sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.

[5:11]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:11]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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.

[9:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “twenty thousand of ten thousands.”