1. The cherubim were prominent spiritual beings depicted throughout Solomon's Temple. They had features of lions, oxen, eagles and men and were seen as guarding God's presence. 2. In the Bible, cherubim first appear guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden with a flaming sword after Adam and Eve are expelled. 3. Commentators believe the cherubim were intelligent spiritual beings that served as guards protecting God's holiness and means of transporting his presence and glory from place to place.

1. WHAT I THE WORLD ARE CHERUBIM?
Written and edited By Glenn Pease
Here we are dealing with creatures so prominent in the eyes and mind of God that
he had them portrayed all over the temple. They were on the walls, and ceiling, and
embroidered on the cloth curtains that separated the holy and most holy place. On
top of that there were two sculptured in gold to sit on each end of the mercy seat,
which was the top of the ark of the covenant.
Exodus 25:17,18 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a
half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And
thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the
two ends of the mercy seat.
Exodus 25:19,20 And make on cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the
other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends
thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the
mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the
mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
I think it is safe to say that they were the favorite pieces of art in the mind of God.
He loved these creatures, and he wanted them on display all around him, and
around those who would worship in his temple. Kings and Emperors want lions
around their thrones, but God wants his cherubims.
The ancient world had many such creatures that guarded the king or temples.
Babylon had winged bulls and lions, as did Assyria. Egypt had the Sphinxes, and
in Scythia the Griffins with heads and wings of the eagle and body of the lion. In
Judaism they can be male or female. They were everywhere in the temple-I
Kings 6:29,35; 7:29-36 IIChron. 3:7,14 Ezek. 41:18-25. Solomon’s temple and
the temple of Herod had no cherubim but they were painted on the walls
according to ISBE.
In Jewish tradition the archangel Gabriel is the head of the class of angels called
cherubim. There is so much more that we do not know about these beings than we
do know that we can identify with Ogden ash who wrote,
I like to watch the clouds roll by,
And think of cherubs in the sky,
But when I think of cherubim
I don’t know if they’re her or him.
Their sex is the least we need to know, however, for they play such a major role
in representing the presence of God. That is their chief purpose, and so where
you find them, you find the presence of God. God is enthroned between them in

2. the Tabernacle and the Temple. Lockyer says they represent, “The immediate
presence of the God of holiness.” They are symbolic of all forms of life, angel,
animal, and man.
They are connected with the chariot, and with their great wings they carry God to
any destination swiftly. They symbolize speed, and they enable God to be anywhere
in a moment. They are guards that protect the tree of life from anyone getting to it.
They appear to be guides as well, and like lights on our cars that guide us in the
dark, so they guide God’s chariot to their destination as the star guided the wise
men. That star could have been a cherubim. John Milton wrote,
But first and chiefest, with Thee bring
Him that yon soars on golden wing
Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne
The cherub Contemplation.
The chariot of God was one of the great mysteries to the Jewish scholars, and some
felt that if you could master the secret of it you could master the secrets of creation.
They seem to be the pilots of this flying machine. God is everywhere, but His glory
has to be carried from place to place by this chariot to be manifest to man. In Ezek.
10 they take God’s presence from the temple and the glory departs and it is God
forsaken.
Joseph Parker says the earth is in any mile flat, but the whole of it is round. o part
of the earth is round, but all of it is. The parts are flat, but all of these flat parts put
together make a round world. The whole changes the parts. The parts of the
alphabet are pointless. What does an L mean, or a Z, or an F or W. By themselves
they have no meaning or message. But out of these meaningless parts come the
whole of literature. The whole changes the parts and gives them meaning. So all of
the parts of the cherubim seem to be mysterious and of no value, but the whole
brings them together and gives meaning. The first reference to these creatures is in
Gen. 3:24. A look at what the commentators say gives us a picture of a very scary
being to keep us away from the presence of God for our own sake.
Genesis 3:24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east
side [Or placed in front] of the Garden of Eden and a flaming
sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of
life.
1. Barnes, “This word occurs about eighty-seven times in the Hebrew scriptures; in
sixty of which it refers to carved or embroidered figures; in twenty-two to the living
in the vision of Ezekiel Ezek. 10; in two figuratively to the king of Tyre Eze_28:14,

3. Eze_28:16; in two to a being on which the Lord is poetically described as riding
2Sa_22:11; Psa_18:11; and in the present passage unequivocally to real and well-known
beings. The root is not otherwise extant in Hebrew proper. But from the
class of actions to which it refers, and from a review of the statements of Scripture
concerning these creatures, we are led to the following conclusions:
First. The cherubim are real creatures, and not mere symbols. In the narrative of
the fall they are introduced as real into the scenes of reality. Their existence is
assumed as known; for God is said to place or station the cherubim at the east of the
garden of Eden. The representation of a cherub too in vision, as part of a symbolic
figure, implies a corresponding reality Eze_10:14. A symbol itself points to a reality.
Second. They are afterward described as “living creatures,” especially in the visions
of Ezekiel Eze_1:10. This seems to arise, not from their standing at the highest stage
of life, which the term does not denote, but from the members of the various
animals, which enter into their variously-described figure. Among these appear the
faces of the man, the lion, the ox, and the eagle, of which a cherubic form had one,
two or four Exo_25:20; Eze_41:18; Eze_1:16. They had, besides, wings, in number
two or four Exo_25:20; 1Ki_6:27; Eze_1:6. And they had the hands of a man under
their wings on their four sides Eze_1:8; Eze_10:8. Ezekiel also describes their feet as
being straight, and having the sole like that of a calf. They sometimes appear too
with their bodies, hands, wings, and even accompanying wheels full of eyes Eze_
1:18; Eze_10:12. The variety in the figuration of the cherubim is owing to the
variety of aspects in which they stand, and of offices or services they have to
perform in the varying posture of affairs. This figuration is evidently symbolic. For
the real being has not a varying number or order of its constituent parts in the same
stage of its existence, though it may be readily represented by a diversity of symbols,
according to the diversity of the circumstances in which it appears, and of
operations it has to perform. The figuration is merely intended to shadow forth its
nature and office in sensible forms to those who have not entered the spiritual
world.
Third. The cherubim are intelligent beings. This is indicated by their form,
movement, and conduct. In their visible appearance the human form predominates:
“They had the likeness of a man” Eze_1:5. The human face is in front, and has
therefore the principal place. The “hands of a man” determine the erect posture,
and therefore the human form of the body. The parts of other animal forms are only
accessory, and serve to mark the possession of qualities which are not prominent in
man. The lion indicates the active and destructive powers; the ox, the patient and
productive; the eagle denotes rapid motion, with which the wings coincide, and
quick sight with which the many eyes accord; and the man signifies reason, which
rationalizes all these otherwise physical qualities.
The four faces indicate powers of observation that sweep the whole horizon. The
straight feet, with soles like those of a calf, mark an elasticity of step appertaining
only to beings unaffected by the force of gravitation. Their motion, “straight
forward,” combined with the four faces, and the wheel within a wheel going

4. according to its quarters, points to a capacity of moving in any direction without
turning by the mere impulse of the will. The intelligence of their conduct will appear
from the nature of the duties they have to discharge.
Fourth. Their special office seems to be “intellectual and potential” rather than
moral. They have to do with the physical more than the moral aspect of being.
Hence, they stand related, on the one side, to God, as אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym, “the
Everlasting, the God of omnipotence;” and, on the other, to the universe of created
things, in its material, animal, and intellectual departments, and to the general
administration of the divine will in this comprehensive sphere. The radical
meanings of the terms “carve, plow, grasp,” point to the potential. The hand
symbolizes intelligent agency. The multiplicity of eyes denotes many-sided
intelligence. The number four is evidently normal and characteristic. It marks their
relation to the cosmos - universe of system of created things.
Fifth. Their place of ministry is about the throne, and in the presence of the
Almighty. Accordingly, where he manifests himself in a stated place, and with all the
solemnity of a court, there they generally appear.
Sixth. Their special functions correspond with these indications of their nature and
place. They are stationed at the east of the garden of Eden, where God had
condescended to walk with man before his fall, and where he still lingers on earth to
hold communion with man, for the purpose of mercy, and their business is to keep
the way of the tree of life. They are figured in the most holy place, which was
appropriated to the divine presence, and constructed after the pattern seen in the
mount. They stand on the mercy-seat, where God sits to rule his people, and they
look down with intelligent wonder on the mysteries of redemption. In the vision of
the likeness of the glory of God vouchsafed to Ezekiel, they appear under the
expanse on which rests the throne of God, and beside the wheels which move as they
move. And when God is represented as in movement for the execution of his
judgments, the physical elements and the spiritual essences are alike described as
the vehicles of his irresistible progress Psa_18:11. All these movements are mysteries
to us, while we are in a world of sense. We cannot comprehend the relation of the
spiritual and the physical. But of this we may be assured, that material things are at
bottom centers of multiform forces, or fixed springs of power, to which the
Everlasting Potentate has given a local habitation and a name, and therefore
cognate with spiritual beings of free power, and consequently manageable by them.
Seventh. The cherubim seem to be officially distinct from angels or messengers who
go upon special errands to a distance from the presence-chamber of the Almighty. It
is possible that they are also to be distinguished in function from the seraphim and
the living beings of the Apocalypse, who like them appear among the attendants in
the court of heaven.
2. Clarke, “So he drove out the man - things are noted here:

5. 1. God’s displeasure against sinful man, evidenced by his expelling him from this
place of blessedness;
2. Man’s unfitness for the place, of which he had rendered himself unworthy by his
ingratitude and transgression; and,
3. His reluctance to leave this place of happiness. He was, as we may naturally
conclude, unwilling to depart, and God drove him out.
He placed at the east - מכדם mikkedem, or before the garden of Eden, before what
may be conceived its gate or entrance; Cherubims, הכרבים hakkerubim, The
cherubim. Hebrew plurals in the masculine end in general in im: to add an sto this
when we introduce such words into English, is very improper; therefore the word
should be written cherubim, not cherubims. But what were these? They are utterly
unknown. Conjectures and guesses relative to their nature and properties are
endless. Several think them to have been emblematical representations of the sacred
Trinity, and bring reasons and scriptures in support of their opinion; but as I am
not satisfied that this opinion is correct, I will not trouble the reader with it. From
the description in Exo_26:1, Exo_26:31; 1Ki_6:29, 1Ki_6:32; 2Ch_3:14, it appears
that the cherubs were sometimes represented with two faces, namely, those of a lion
and of a man; but from Eze_1:5, etc.; Eze_10:20, Eze_10:21, we find that they had
four faces and four wings; the faces were those of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle;
but it seems there was but one body to these heads. The two-faced cherubs were
such as were represented on the curtains and veil of the tabernacle, and on the wall,
doors, and veil of the temple; those with four faces appeared only in the holy of
holies. The word כרב or כרוב kerub never appears as a verb in the Hebrew Bible,
and therefore is justly supposed to be a word compounded of כ ke a particle of
resemblance, like to, like as, and רב rab, he was great, powerful, etc. Hence it is very
likely that the cherubs, to whatever order of beings they belonged, were emblems of
the All-Mighty, and were those creatures by whom he produced the great effects of
his power. The word רב rab is a character of the Most High, Pro_26:10: The great
God who formed all; and again in Psa_48:2, where he is called the Great King, מלך
רב melech rab. But though this is rarely applied as a character of the Supreme
Being in the Hebrew Bible, yet it is a common appellative of the Deity in the Arabic
language. , and 'ulalameenLord of both worlds, or, Lord of the universe, are
expressions repeatedly used to point out the almighty energy and supremacy of God.
On this ground, I suppose, the cherubim were emblematical representations of the
eternal power and Godhead of the Almighty. These angelic beings were for a time
employed in guarding the entrance to Paradise, and keeping the way of or road to
the tree of life. This, I say, for a time; for it is very probable that God soon removed
the tree of life, and abolished the garden, so that its situation could never after be
positively ascertained.
By the flaming sword turning every way, or flame folding back upon itself, we may
understand the formidable appearances which these cherubim assumed, in order to
render the passage to the tree of life inaccessible. Thus terminates this most awful
tragedy; a tragedy in which all the actors are slain, in which the most awful murders

6. are committed, and the whole universe ruined! The serpent, so called, is degraded;
the woman cursed with pains, miseries, and a subjection to the will of her husband,
which was never originally designed; the man, the lord of this lower world, doomed
to incessant labor and toil; and the earth itself cursed with comparative barrenness!
To complete all, the garden of pleasure is interdicted, and this man, who was made
after the image of God, and who would be like him, shamefully expelled from a
place where pure spirits alone could dwell. Yet in the midst of wrath God
remembers mercy, and a promise of redemption from this degraded and cursed
state is made to them through Him who, in the fullness of time, is to be made flesh,
and who, by dying for the sin of the world, shall destroy the power of Satan, and
deliver all who trust in the merit of his sacrifice from the power, guilt, and nature of
sin, and thus prepare them for the celestial Paradise at the right hand of God.
Reader, hast thou repented of thy sin? for often hast thou sinned after the similitude
of thy ancestor’s transgression. Hast thou sought and found redemption in the blood
of the Lamb? Art thou saved from a disposition which led thy first parents to
transgress? Art thou living a life of dependence on thy Creator, and of faith and
loving obedience to him who died for thee? Wilt thou live under the curse, and die
eternally? God forbid! Return to him with all thy soul, and receive this exhortation
as a call from his mercy.
To what has already been said on the awful contents of this chapter, I can add little
that can either set it in a clearer light, or make its solemn subject more impressive.
We see here that by the subtlety and envy of the devil sin entered into the world,
and death by sin; and we find that death reigned, not only from Adam to Moses, but
from Moses to the present day. Flow abominable must sin be in the sight of God,
when it has not only defaced his own image from the soul of man, but has also
become a source of natural and moral evil throughout every part of the globe!
Disruption and violence appear in every part of nature; vice, profligacy, and misery,
through all the tribes of men and orders of society. It is true that where sin hath
abounded, there grace doth much more abound; but men shut their eyes against the
light, and harden their hearts against the truth. Sin, which becomes propagated into
the world by natural generation, growing with the growth and strengthening with
the strength of man, would be as endless in its duration, as unlimited in its influence,
did not God check and restrain it by his grace, and cut off its extending influence in
the incorrigibly wicked by means of death. How wonderful is the economy of God!
That which entered into the world as one of the prime fruits and effects of sin, is
now an instrument in his hands to prevent the extension of its contagion.
If men, now so greatly multiplied on the earth, and fertile in mischievous inventions,
were permitted to live nearly a thousand years, as in the ancient world, to mature
and perfect their infectious and destructive counsels, what a sum of iniquity and
ruin would the face of the earth present! Even while they are laying plans to extend
the empire of death, God, by the very means of death itself, prevents the completion
of their pernicious and diabolic designs. Thus what man, by his wilful obstinacy
does not permit grace to correct and restrain, God, by his sovereign power, brings in
death to control. It is on this ground that wicked and blood-thirsty men live not out
half their days; and what a mercy to the world that it is so! They who will not

7. submit to the scepter of mercy shall be broken in pieces by the rod of iron. Reader,
provoke not the Lord to displeasure; thou art not stronger than he. Grieve not his
Spirit, provoke him not to destroy thee; why shouldst thou die before thy time?
Thou hast sinned much, and needest every moment of thy short life to make thy
calling and election sure. Shouldst thou provoke God, by thy perseverance in
iniquity, to cut thee off by death before this great work is done, better for thee thou
hadst never been born!
How vain are all attempts to attain immortality here! For some thousands of years
men have been laboring to find out means to prevent death; and some have even
boasted that they had found out a medicine capable of preserving life for ever, by
resisting all the attacks of disease, and incessantly repairing all the wastes of the
human machine. That is, the alchymistic philosophers would have the world to
believe that they had found out a private passage to the tree of immortality; but
their own deaths, in the common order of nature, as well as the deaths of the
millions which make no such pretensions, are not only a sufficient confutation of
their baseless systems, but also a continual proof that the cherubim, with their
flaming swords, are turning every way to keep the passage of the tree of life. Life
and immortality are, however, brought to light by the Gospel; and he only who
keepeth the sayings of the Son of God shall live for ever. Though the body is dead -
consigned to death, because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness; and
on those who are influenced by this Spirit of righteousness, the second death shall
have no power!
3. Jamison, “... cherbim— The passage should be rendered thus: “And he dwelt
between the cherubim at the East of the Garden of Eden and a fierce fire, or
Shekinah, unfolding itself to preserve the way of the tree of life.” This was the mode
of worship now established to show God’s anger at sin and teach the mediation of a
promised Savior as the way of life, as well as of access to God. They were the same
figures as were afterwards in the tabernacle and temple; and now, as then, God
said, “I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two
cherubims” (Exo_25:22).
4. Gill, “he drove out the man,.... Being unwilling to go out upon the orders given,
some degree of force was used, or power exerted, in some way or other, to oblige
him to depart; the word it is expressed by is used of divorces: there was a conjugal
relation between God and man, the covenant between them had the nature of a
matrimonial contract; which covenant man broke, though he was an husband to
him, by committing idolatry, that is, spiritual adultery, not giving credit to him, but
believing the devil before him; wherefore he wrote him a bill of divorce, and sent
him away; drove him from his presence and communion with him, from his house
and habitation, from his seat of pleasure, and garden of delight, and from all the
comfortable enjoyments of life; an emblem of that separation and distance which sin
makes between God and his creature, and of that loss which is sustained thereby:

8. and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims; the Septuagint version
is,and he placed him, or caused him (Adam) to dwell over against the paradise of
pleasure, and he ordered the cherubim''But the words are not to be understood
either of placing man, or placing the cherubim, but of Jehovah's placing himself, or
taking up his habitation and residence before the garden of Eden, or at the east of it:
while man abode in a state of innocence, the place of the divine Presence, or where
God more gloriously manifested himself to him, was in the garden; but now he
sinned, and being driven out of it, he fixes his abode in a very awful manner at the
entrance of the garden, to keep man out of it; for so the words may be rendered,
and he inhabited the cherubim, or dwelt over, or between the cherubim, before or
at the east of the garden of Eden (q); so the Jerusalem Targum,and he made the
glory of his Shechinah, or glorious Majesty, to dwell of old at the east of the garden
of Eden, over or above the two cherubim;''or between them, as the Targum of
Jonathan; and very frequently is Jehovah described as sitting and dwelling between
the cherubim, 1Sa_4:4by which are meant not flying animals or fowls, whose form
no man ever saw, as Josephus (r); nor angels, which is the more generally received
opinion; for these were not real living creatures of any sort, but forms and
representations, such as were made afterwards in the tabernacle of Moses, and
temple of Solomon; and which Ezekiel and John saw in a visionary way, and from
whom we learn what figures they were: and these were hieroglyphics, not of a
trinity of persons, as some of late have stupidly imagined; for these were the seat of
the divine Majesty, and between which he dwelt: and besides, as these had four
faces, they would rather represent a quaternity than a trinity, and would give a
similitude of the divine Being, which cannot be done, and be contrary to the second
command; to which may be added, that the word is sometimes singular as well as
plural: but these were hieroglyphics of the ministers of the word, whose
understanding, humility, and tenderness, are signified by the face of a man; their
strength, courage, and boldness, by that of a lion; their labour and diligence by that
of an ox; and their quick sight and penetration into divine things by that of an eagle,
which are the forms and figures of the cherubim; see Gill on Eze_1:10. Among these
Jehovah is; with these he grants his presence, and by them signifies his mind and
will to men; and these he makes use of to show them the vanity of all self-confidence,
and to beat them off of seeking for life and righteousness by their own works, and to
direct them alone to Christ, and point him out as the alone way of salvation; and of
this use the hieroglyphic might be to fallen Adam, now driven out of Eden:
and a flaming sword, which turned every way; a drawn sword, brandished, and
which being very quick in its motion, as it was turned to and fro, glittered and
looked like a flame of fire: this is not to be understood as by itself, and as of itself,
turning about every way without a hand to move it, nor as with the cherubim, or as
in the hands of angels, as in 1Ch_21:16or as being they themselves, which are made
as flames of fire; but as in the hand of the Lord God, that dwelt between the
cherubim; for so it may be rendered, he inhabited the cherubim and that with a
flaming sword (s); that is, with one in his hand, an emblem of the fiery law of God
now broken, and of the fire of divine wrath on the account of that, and of the
flaming justice of God, which required satisfaction; and this turning on all sides:

9. to keep the way of the tree of life; showing, that life and salvation were not to be
had, unless the law and justice of God were satisfied; and that they were not to be
expected on the foot of men's works, but only through Christ, the way, the truth,
and the life; that no happiness was to be looked for from the covenant of works, now
broke, nothing but wrath and vengeance; and that there must be another way
opened, or there could be no enjoyment of the heavenly paradise.
5. Henry, “kept him out, and forbade him all hopes of a re-entry; for he placed at the
east of the garden of Edena detachment of cherubim,God's hosts, armed with a
dreadful and irresistible power, represented by flaming swords which turned every
way, on that side the garden which lay next to the place whither Adam was sent, to
keep the way that led to the tree of life, so that he could neither steal nor force an
entry; for who can make a pass against an angel on his guard or gain a pass made
good by such force? ow this intimated to Adam, [1.] That God was displeased with
him. Though he had mercy in store for him, yet at present he was angry with him,
was turned to be his enemy and fought against him, for here was a sword drawn
(um_22:23); and he was to him a consuming fire, for it was a flaming sword. [2.]
That the angels were at war with him; no peace with the heavenly hosts, while he
was in rebellion against their Lord and ours. [3.] That the way to the tree of life was
shut up, namely, that way which, at first, he was put into, the way of spotless
innocency. It is not said that the cherubim were set to keep him and his for ever
from the tree of life (thanks be to God, there is a paradise set before us, and a tree of
life in the midst of it, which we rejoice in the hopes of); but they were set to keep
that way of the tree of life which hitherto they had been in; that is, it was
henceforward in vain for him and his to expect righteousness, life, and happiness, by
virtue of the first covenant, for it was irreparably broken, and could never be
pleaded, nor any benefit taken by it. The command of that covenant being broken,
the curse of it is in full force; it leaves no room for repentance, but we are all undone
if we be judged by that covenant. God revealed this to Adam, not to drive him to
despair, but to oblige and quicken him to look for life and happiness in the promised
seed, by whom the flaming sword is removed. God and his angels are reconciled to
us, and a new and living way into the holiest is consecrated and laid open for us.
6. KD, “in this sign of mercy, the man was driven out of paradise, to bear the
punishment of his sin. The words of Jehovah, “The man is become as one of Us, to
know good and evil,” contain no irony, as though man had exalted himself to a
position of autonomy resembling that of God; for “irony at the expense of a
wretched tempted soul might well befit Satan, but not the Lord.” Likeness to God is
predicated only with regard to the knowledge of good and evil, in which the man
really had become like God. In order that, after the germ of death had penetrated
into his nature along with sin, he might not “take also of the tree of life, and eat and
live for ever( חַי contracted from חָיָה = חָיַי , as in Gen_5:5; 1Sa_20:31), God sent him
forth from the garden of Eden.” With וַיְשַׁלְּחֵהוּ (sent him forth) the narrative passes
over from the words to the actions of God. From the גַּם (also) it follows that the man
had not yet eaten of the tree of life. Had he continued in fellowship with God by

10. obedience to the command of God, he might have eaten of it, for he was created for
eternal life. But after he had fallen through sin into the power of death, the fruit
which produced immortality could only do him harm. For immortality in a state of
sin is not the ζωὴαἰώνιος, which God designed for man, but endless misery, which
the Scriptures call “the second death” (Rev_2:11; Rev_20:6, Rev_20:14; Rev_21:8).
The expulsion from paradise, therefore, was a punishment inflicted for man's good,
, while exposing him to temporal death, to preserve him from eternal death. To keep
the approach to the tree of life, “God caused cherubim to dwell(to encamp) at the east
(on the eastern side) of the garden, and the(i.e., with the) flame of the sword turning
to and fro” ( מִתְהַפֶּכֶת , moving rapidly). The word כְּרוּב cherub has no suitable
etymology in the Semitic, but is unquestionably derived from the same root as the
Greek γρύψor γρυπές, and has been handed down from the forefathers of our race,
though the primary meaning can no longer be discovered. The Cherubim, however,
are creatures of a higher world, which are represented as surrounding the throne of
God, both in the visions of Ezekiel (Eze_1:22., Gen_10:1) and the Revelation of John
(Joh_4:6); not, however, as throne-bearers or throne-holders, or as forming the
chariot of the throne, but as occupying the highest place as living beings ( חַיּוֹת , ζῷα)
in the realm of spirits, standing by the side of God as the heavenly King when He
comes to judgment, and proclaiming the majesty of the Judge of the world. In this
character God stationed them on the eastern side of paradise, not “to inhabit the
garden as the temporary representatives of man,” but “to keep the way of the tree of
life,” i.e., to render it impossible for man to return to paradise, and eat of the tree of
life. Hence there appeared by their side the flame of a sword, apparently in constant
motion, cutting hither and thither, representing the devouring fire of the divine
wrath, and showing the cherubim to be ministers of judgment. With the expulsion of
man from the garden of Eden, paradise itself vanished from the earth. God did not
withdraw from the tree of life its supernatural power, nor did He destroy the garden
before their eyes, but simply prevented their return, to show that it should be
preserved until the time of the end, when sin should be rooted out by the judgment,
and death abolished by the Conqueror of the serpent (1Co_15:26), and when upon
the new earth the tree of life should flourish again in the heavenly Jerusalem, and
bear fruit for the redeemed (Rev_20:1-15and 21).”
TTTThhhhiiiissss iiiinnnniiiittttiiiiaaaallll ssssttttuuuuddddyyyy mmmmoooottttiiiivvvvaaaatttteeeedddd mmmmeeee ttttoooo sssseeeeeeeekkkk mmmmoooorrrreeee iiiinnnnffffoooorrrrmmmmaaaattttiiiioooonnnn oooonnnn tttthhhheeeesssseeee ssssttttrrrraaaannnnggggeeee bbbbeeeeiiiinnnnggggssss,,,,
aaaannnndddd ssssoooo IIII aaaammmm ccccoooonnnnttttiiiinnnnuuuuiiiinnnngggg aaaa ssssttttuuuuddddyyyy ooooffff tttthhhheeeemmmm iiiinnnn EEEEzzzzeeeekkkkiiiieeeellll 11110000 wwwwhhhheeeerrrreeee mmmmuuuucccchhhh mmmmoooorrrreeee iiiissss ssssaaaaiiiidddd ooooffff
tttthhhheeeemmmm.... WWWWhhhheeeennnn IIII ffffiiiinnnniiiisssshhhh tttthhhhaaaatttt ssssttttuuuuddddyyyy IIII wwwwiiiillllllll post it. For those interested in personal study I
have shared the many texts below.
Exodus 25:18
Read chapter
And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.
Exodus 25:19

11. Read chapter
Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the
cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.
Exodus 25:20
Read chapter
The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with
them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.
Exodus 25:22
Read chapter
There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the
covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
Exodus 26:1
Read chapter
[ The Tabernacle ] “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and
blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker.
Exodus 26:31
Read chapter
“Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with
cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker.
Exodus 36:8
Read chapter
[ The Tabernacle ] All those who were skilled among the workers made the
tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet
yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands.
Exodus 36:35
Read chapter
They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with
cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker.
Exodus 37:7
Read chapter
Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.

12. Exodus 37:9
Read chapter
The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them.
The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
umbers 7:89
Read chapter
When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the
voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on
the ark of the covenant law. In this way the LORD spoke to him.
1 Samuel 4:4
Read chapter
So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of
the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons,
Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
2 Samuel 6:2
Read chapter
He and all his men went to Baalah [That is, Kiriath Jearim (see 1 Chron. 13:6)] in
Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the ame, [Hebrew;
Septuagint and Vulgate do not have the ame.] the name of the LORD Almighty,
who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.
2 Samuel 22:11
Read chapter
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared [Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also
Psalm 18:10); most Hebrew manuscripts appeared] on the wings of the wind.
1 Kings 6:23
Read chapter
For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim out of olive wood, each ten
cubits high.
1 Kings 6:25
Read chapter
The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in
size and shape.

13. 1 Kings 6:27
Read chapter
He placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings
spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other
touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the
room.
1 Kings 6:28
Read chapter
He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
1 Kings 6:29
Read chapter
On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved
cherubim, palm trees and open flowers.
1 Kings 6:32
Read chapter
And on the two olive-wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers,
and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.
1 Kings 6:35
Read chapter
He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with
gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
1 Kings 7:29
Read chapter
On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on the
uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered
work.
1 Kings 7:36
Read chapter
He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on
the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around.

14. 1 Kings 8:6
Read chapter
The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner
sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the
cherubim.
1 Kings 8:6
Read chapter
The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner
sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the
cherubim.
1 Kings 8:7
Read chapter
The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the
ark and its carrying poles.
2 Kings 19:15
Read chapter
And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned between
the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made
heaven and earth.
1 Chronicles 13:6
Read chapter
David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from
there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark
that is called by the ame.
1 Chronicles 28:18
Read chapter
and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan
for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and
overshadow the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 3:7
Read chapter
He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold,

15. and he carved cherubim on the walls.
2 Chronicles 3:10
Read chapter
For the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them
with gold.
2 Chronicles 3:11
Read chapter
The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub
was five cubits [That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 15] long
and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the
wing of the other cherub.
2 Chronicles 3:13
Read chapter
The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing
the main hall. [Or facing inward]
2 Chronicles 3:14
Read chapter
He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim
worked into it.
2 Chronicles 5:7
Read chapter
The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner
sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the
cherubim.
2 Chronicles 5:8
Read chapter
The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and
its carrying poles.
Psalm 18:10
Read chapter
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

16. Psalm 80:1
Read chapter
[ Psalm 80 [In Hebrew texts 80:1-19 is numbered 80:2-20.] ] For the director of music.
To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm. Hear us, Shepherd
of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the
cherubim, shine forth
Psalm 99:1
Read chapter
The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
Isaiah 37:16
Read chapter
“LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone
are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
Ezekiel 9:3
Read chapter
ow the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had
been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man
clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side
Ezekiel 10:1
Read chapter
[ God’s Glory Departs From the Temple ] I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne
of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim.
Ezekiel 10:2
Read chapter
The LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the
cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter
them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
Ezekiel 10:3
Read chapter
ow the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went
in, and a cloud filled the inner court.

17. Ezekiel 10:4
Read chapter
Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the
threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the
radiance of the glory of the LORD.
Ezekiel 10:5
Read chapter
The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer
court, like the voice of God Almighty [Hebrew El-Shaddai] when he speaks.
Ezekiel 10:6
Read chapter
When the LORD commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels,
from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.
Ezekiel 10:7
Read chapter
Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He
took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and
went out.
Ezekiel 10:8
Read chapter
(Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)
Ezekiel 10:9
Read chapter
I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the
cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz.
Ezekiel 10:11
Read chapter
As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced;
the wheels did not turn about [Or aside] as the cherubim went. The cherubim went
in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went.

18. Ezekiel 10:14
Read chapter
Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the
face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an
eagle.
Ezekiel 10:15
Read chapter
Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the
Kebar River.
Ezekiel 10:16
Read chapter
When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim
spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side.
Ezekiel 10:17
Read chapter
When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose,
they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
Ezekiel 10:18
Read chapter
Then the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and
stopped above the cherubim.
Ezekiel 10:19
Read chapter
While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as
they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate
of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
Ezekiel 10:20
Read chapter
These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar
River, and I realized that they were cherubim.

19. Ezekiel 11:22
Read chapter
Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory
of the God of Israel was above them.
Ezekiel 41:18
Read chapter
were carved cherubim and palm trees. Palm trees alternated with cherubim. Each
cherub had two faces:
Ezekiel 41:20
Read chapter
From the floor to the area above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were carved
on the wall of the main hall.
Ezekiel 41:25
Read chapter
And on the doors of the main hall were carved cherubim and palm trees like those
carved on the walls, and there was a wooden overhang on the front of the portico.
Hebrews 9:5
Read chapter
Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover.
But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.