v. Angel, Seraphim
Gen 3:24 put east of the Garden of Eden
Exo 25:18; 37:7
Cherub (Heb. kerûb, kerûbîm and kerubîm, gr. jeróub, jeroubéin). Special category of angel. There is no known Hebrew root from which this term can be derived, but there is a possible connection with ac. karâbu, “bless” and “pray”, from whose root karibi and karibâti derive. I. Uses in the Bible. 1. God put cherubim to guard the path to the tree of life, so that man, expelled from the Garden of Eden, would not eat of its fruit (Gen 3:24). 2. A pair of hammered gold cherubim stood on the mercy seat of the ark of the testimony in the tabernacle, one at each end. With their faces facing each other they looked down (Exo 25:18-20, 22; 37:8, 9) and their wings covered the mercy seat. Above it and between the cherubim God expressed his will (Num 7:89). In Solomon’s temple, the 2 cherubim made of olive wood and overlaid with gold were larger, but perhaps had the same appearance as those in the tabernacle (1Ki 6:23-28; 8:6-8; 2Ch 3:10 -13), although their faces looked towards “the house”, that is, the holy place (2Ch 3:13). 3. Cherubim figures were decorative motifs on the curtains of the tabernacle (Exo 26:1, 31; 36:8, 35) and the temple (2Ch 3:14), and were carved on the wall panels and leaves from the gates of Solomon’s temple (1Ki 6:29, 32); there were also carved cherubim in Ezekiel’s temple (Eze 41:18). 4. In poetic and symbolic language they are spoken of as messengers of God (2Sa 22:11; Psa 18:10), and sitting on them (1Sa 4:4, BJ; 2 966 S. 6:2, BJ; Psa 99:1) or who dwells among them (2Ki 19:15; 1Ch 13:6; Isa 37:16). 5. Complicated forms and groups of cherubim are described in Ezekiel’s vision (Eze 1:4-25; 9:3; 10; 11:22). They had feet like calves, wings, human hands and 4 different faces: of a cherub (“ox”, Eze 1:10), a human being, a lion and an eagle. The 4 beings in Rev 4:6-8 probably have some relationship to Ezekiel’s cherubim. 6. They are not mentioned in the NT, with the exception of Heb 9:5, where the old sanctuary is discussed), their apartments and their furniture. 420. Cherub on an altar in Sidon, 5th century BC II. Eastern parallels. In almost all the countries of the ancient East, superhuman beings are described or illustrated that in form and functions resemble those of the Biblical cherubim. 1. Assyria had the k~ribu or karâbu (plural karibi; male intercessors), and the karibatu (plural karibâti; female intercessors), before the gods. In a cuneiform text a k~ribu is described as standing to the right of the door of the most holy place of the pagan temple, as a kind of divine guardian. 2. The Egyptian representations are the most similar to those of the cherubim that covered the ark. In the tomb of King Seti I, two winged beings in human form are depicted, looking at each other and spreading their wings to protect the god or king between them. Similar representations have been found carved on the walls of pagan temples or sanctuaries. A pair of these beings are represented on 2 sides of a Phoenician altar found in Sidon, now in the Istanbul Museum (fig 420). 3. Most of the representations of winged beings that appear on objects found in Palestine or Phoenicia are similar in appearance to a sphinx, such as those on the ivories from Ahab’s palace in Samaria (fig 338), the one on the throne in an ivory of Megiddo, and the sphinx on the throne of King Abiram of Byblos, carved on his sarcophagus (fig 219). 4. In the stone sculptures found in the ruins of the Hittite city-states of northern Syria, hybrid beings are represented, with various heads and wings, more similar to the cherubim of Ezekiel than to those of Mesopotamia. III. Interpretation of the evidence. There can be no doubt that the Biblical cherubim designate a class of angels. Nowhere are they represented as objects of worship, and therefore they cannot be divine beings. They always appear in the service of God and generally in his immediate presence. In poetic and symbolic language they are represented as carrying God, or protecting or guarding his throne. His appearance is not uniformly depicted and may have varied, like depictions in the ancient East. The cherubim in the tabernacle and temple would have resembled those depicted on Egyptian reliefs. The cherubim of Ezekiel’s vision, being hybrid creatures, would have their closest parallels in the multi-headed beings of the Syro-Hittite world.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Angels.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
guy, ANGE
see, MERCY SEAT, TABERNÍ CULO, Í ANGEL, DEVIL
vet, Guardians placed east of Eden to prevent Adam and Eve from reaching the tree of life after their fall and expulsion from paradise (Gen. 3:24). When the ark of the Tabernacle was built, two cherubim were placed in one piece with the cover or propitiatory, arranged face to face, one at each end, and covering it with their wings (Ex. 25:18-20; 37:7- 9; see MERCY SEAT). They were a symbol of the presence of the Lord and of the distance that separates him from the sinner; his glory was manifested between the cherubim (Lev. 16:2). God thus dwelt in the midst of his people; Jehovah was present in the Tabernacle to receive the worship (Ex. 25:22; Lev. 1:1; see TABERNICLE). There are numerous passages that allude to the presence of Jehovah between the cherubim (Numbers 7:89; 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; Ps. 80:2; 99 :1; Isa. 37:16). There were figures of cherubim embroidered on the tapestries of the Tabernacle (Ex. 26:1). Solomon’s Temple, much more splendid, had two gigantic cherubs. Its height was 10 cubits, or almost 5 m., and the span of the arch formed by the two wings was 10 m. These olive wood cherubim were overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:23-28; 8:7; 2 Chron. 3:10-13; 5:7, 8; Heb. 9:5). There were cherubs, as well as palm trees and open flowers, carved around the walls of the Temple (1 Kings 6:29). On the banks of Chebar, Ezekiel had a vision of cherubim. Each of them had four faces and four wings (Ez. 10:1-22; cf. 9:3). These cherubim appear identical to the four living creatures that the prophet had previously seen; the four faces were: of a man, of a lion, of an ox and of an eagle (cf. Ez. 1:5-12 and 10:20-21). The cherubim were Jehovah’s throne bearers (Ez. 1:26-28; 9:3). The apostle John gives, in Revelation, the description of four living beings with faces similar to those of these four cherubim (Rev, 4:6, 9). The Assyrians and other Semitic peoples made representations of symbolic winged creatures, especially winged lions and bulls that guarded the entrances of their temples and palaces. The Egyptians also put winged beings in some of their sanctuaries. Fabulous animals have been discovered from the Hittites, such as sphinxes with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. A throne of King Hiram of Byblos was supported by two creatures with a human face, the body of a lion and large wings. These hybrid representations appear hundreds of times in the iconography of Western Asia since ancient times. Thus, archeology documents the transmission of a tradition that undoubtedly had its origin at the dawn of humanity, and whose true meaning has been recorded in the Scriptures. (See also í ANGEL, DEVIL, MERCY SEAT.)
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Kind of angel that is characterized in Christian piety by ardently expressing love for God and blessing God (Que’rub, blessing God). In Spanish it is diminutive of cherub and the figure is traditionally associated with the idea of adoration. At least as worshipers they appear the times they are named in the Old Testament: Gn. 3.24; Ex. 25. 18 and 20-22; No. 7. 89; 2 King. 9.15; Ex. 41.18.
In the New Testament the term appears in Hebr. 9.5, when describing the tabernacle in which the divinity resides.
It is interesting to note that in the Bible this figure is spoken of for the first time in the story of Paradise, guarded by a cherub when sinful men are expelled from it. (Gen. 3. 24). But then the cherubim are frequently cited, especially in prophetic and cultic contexts, as if they had a singular mission of adoring relationship and presence in the sacrifices.
It is also good to remember in this regard that Christian piety attributes to the cherubim a sense of closeness to the divinity, just as it does to the seraphim. To the first to adore and be models of respect, to the second as models of embracing in love. But between the two hardly any real distinctions can be made.
This is how the artists understood it, by reflecting figures from the Apocalypse and collecting youthful, subtle, flying silhouettes with wings covering their faces, as a sign of respect and ardent love.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
High-ranking angelic creature with special duties, distinguished from the order of seraphim. The first of the ninety-one times the word cherub is mentioned in the Bible is at Genesis 3:24, where it is explained that when God expelled Adam and Eve from Eden, he placed cherubim (Heb. keru·vim) at the entrance oriental with the flaming blade of a sword “to guard the way to the tree of life”. Whether God placed more than two cherubim there is not specified.
Among the furnishings of the tabernacle that was built in the desert, there were figures that represented cherubim. At either end of the Ark’s cover, towering above it, were two hammered gold cherubim, “with their faces toward each other” and bowing to the cover in an attitude of worship. Each had two wings that reached up and protectively covered the deck. (Ex 25:10-21; 37:7-9) The inner covering of the tabernacle tent cloths and the curtain dividing the Holy from the Most Holy also had cherubim figures embroidered on them. (Ex 26:1, 31; 36:8, 35)
These were not, as some claim, grotesque figures made in imitation of the monstrous winged images worshiped by the surrounding pagan nations. Rather, according to the unanimous testimony of ancient Jewish tradition (the Bible is silent on the matter), they were highly refined works of art depicting angelic creatures of human form and glorious beauty, made in every detail †˜after the model†™ that Moses received from Jehovah himself. (Ex 25:9) The apostle Paul says that they were “glorious cherubim overshadowing the propitiatory cover.” (Heb 9:5) These cherubim were actually associated with Jehovah’s presence: “And there I will certainly appear to you, and I will speak with you from above the deck, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony † . (Ex 25:22; Nu 7:89.) For…