Editing Cherub (section)

==Hebrew Bible==
{{further|Tetramorph|Living creatures (Bible)|Mercy seat|Ezekiel's cherub in Eden|Uriel}}
The cherubim are the most frequently occurring heavenly creature in the [[Hebrew Bible]], as the Hebrew word appears 91 times.<ref name=Wood-2008/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 2–4}} The first occurrence is in the [[Book of Genesis]] 3:24. Despite these many references, the role of the cherubim is never explicitly elucidated.<ref name=Wood-2008/>{{rp|style=ama|page= 1}} While Israelite tradition must have conceived of the cherubim as guardians of the [[Garden of Eden]]<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia2"/> in which they guard the way to the [[Tree of life]],<ref name="EDEN2">{{Cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 3:24 – King James Version |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A24&version=KJV |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Bible Gateway |language=en}}</ref> they are often depicted as performing other roles; for example in the [[Book of Ezekiel]], they transport Yahweh's throne. The cherub who appears in the "Song of David", a poem which occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible, in [[books of Samuel|2 Samuel]] 22 and [[Psalm 18]], participates in Yahweh's [[theophany]] and is imagined as a vehicle upon which the deity descends to earth from heaven to rescue the speaker (see 2 Samuel 22:11, Psalm 18:10).<ref name=Wood-2008/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 84–85}}
[[File:Cherub on a Neo-Assyrian seal.jpg|thumb|right|"Cherub" on a [[Neo-Assyrian]] seal, c. 1000–612 BC]]
In Exodus 25:18–22, God tells [[Moses]] to make multiple images of cherubim at specific points around the [[Ark of the Covenant]].<ref name=Wood-2008/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 2–4}} Many appearances of the words ''cherub'' and ''cherubim'' in the Bible refer to the gold cherubim images on the [[mercy seat]] of the Ark, as well as images on the curtains of the [[Tabernacle]] and in [[Solomon's Temple]], including two measuring ten [[cubit]]s high.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+kings%206:23-6:35&version=KJV|title=1 Kings 6:23–6:35 KJV – And within the oracle he made two|publisher=Bible Gateway|access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref>

In {{bibleverse|Isaiah|37:16|ESV}}, [[Hezekiah]] prays, addressing God as {{langx|he|יֹשֵׁ֥ב כְּ֝רוּבִ֗ים||enthroned above the cherubim}}, referring to the [[mercy seat]]. In regards to this same phrase, which appears also in [[2 Kings 19]], Eichler renders it "who dwells among the cherubim". Eichler's interpretation is in contrast to common translations for many years that rendered it as "who sits upon the cherubim". This has implications for the understanding of whether the ark of the covenant in [[Solomon's Temple]]  was Yahweh's throne or simply an indicator of Yahweh's immanence.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eichler |first1=Raanan |title=The Meaning of יֹשֵׁב הַכְּרֻבִים |journal=Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft |date=1 January 2014 |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=358–371 |doi=10.1515/zaw-2014-0022 |s2cid=170794397 }}</ref>

Cherubim feature at some length in Ezekiel. While they first appear in [[Ezekiel 1]], in which they are transporting the throne of God by the Kebar (or Chebar, which was near [[Tel Abib]] in [[Nippur]]), they are not called "cherubim" until [[Ezekiel 10]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Of Wings and Wheels: A Synthetic Study of the Biblical Cherubim|last=Wood|first=Alice|pages=94}}</ref> In Ezekiel 1:5–11 they are described as having the likeness of a man and having four faces: that of a man, a lion (on the right side), and ox (on the left side), and an eagle. The four faces represent the four domains of God's rule: the man represents humanity; the lion, wild animals; the ox, domestic animals; and the eagle, birds.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=Of Wings and Wheels: A Synthetic Study of the Biblical Cherubim|last=Wood|first=Alice|pages=137}}</ref> These faces peer out from the center of an array of four wings; these wings are joined to each other, two of these are stretched upward, and the other two cover their bodies. Under their wings are human hands; their legs are described as straight, and their feet like those of a calf, shining like polished brass. Between the creatures glowing coals that moved between them could be seen, their fire "went up and down", and lightning burst forth from it. The cherubs also moved like flashes of lightning.

In Ezekiel 10, another full description of the cherubim appears with slight differences in details. Three of the four faces are the same – man, lion and eagle – but where chapter one has the face of an ox, Ezekiel 10:14 says "face of a cherub". Ezekiel equates the cherubim of chapter ten with the living creatures of chapter one in Ezekiel 10:15 "The cherubs ascended; those were the creatures ({{langx|he|הַחַיָּ֔ה|ḥayā}}) that I had seen by the Chebar Canal" and in 20:10, "They were the same creatures that I had seen below the [[Yahweh|God of Israel]] at the Chebar Canal; so now I knew that they were cherubs." In Ezekiel 41:18–20, they are portrayed as having two faces, although this is probably because they are depicted in profile.<ref name=Wood-2008/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 2–4}}