What is a Cherub?

I set out on this study to understand what a cherub really was and what its purpose was/is in scripture. What I learned in this study was nothing short of amazing. These are my raw word study notes. I suggest you use this as a point of reference and not as “The Gospel” and comment your, ideas, understanding, thoughts, and discoveries.

Ezekiel 10: Cherubim Study

1. And I saw and look, to the sheet which above the head of the cherubs like a sapphire stone like seeing the likeness of the throne we see above them.
   • Ezekiel says he looked and saw the sheet or firmament that was upon or over the heads of the cherubs and they looked like sapphire and like the throne that was above them.
     • When Ezekiel says “to the sheet which was above the heads”, he is referring back to an image he described in Ezekiel 1.
       1. Ezekiel 1: 22- And likeness upon heads of the living ones bowed like seeing the ice the fiery (see Daniel 3:20) stretch he over their heads from to above.
       2. In Ezekiel 1:22, there was a dome, like the firmament or a rainbow, of fiery ice stretched over the heads of the living ones from above. Here in 10:1, he explains that the cherubs were the living ones and they looked like the throne that was above their heads, which looked like sapphire. Think of blue fire that looks like a sapphire stone which is crystal like in appearance. This is what Ezekiel is describing!
       3. The fiery ice is referenced in Revelations 15:2 – And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
          1. Those who won the victory, according to Ezekiel, looked like the throne.
2. And he [Yahuwah, see Eze 9:4] said to the man clothed the linen and he said come to understanding the spinning wheel to lower to cherub and fill your fist my embers of fire from understanding to cherubs and scatter upon the city and he came to my eye.
   • Yahuwah spoke to the man clothed in linen saying, “come to understand the spinning wheel to lower the cherub and fill your fist with my embers of fire that is from understanding the cherub and scatter the understanding upon the city and they [the city] will see.
     • The word used here for “city” is closely related to the word blindness. It literally points to a wickedness and dark place. The fact that Ezekiel or the man had sight after scattering the embers of fire over the city indicates that the “city” represents blindness and this man in linen is to get understanding of the spinning wheel so that he can lower it in order to also understand the cherubs and go out and scatter it [understanding of the spinning wheel and the cherubs] over the blind so that they could see.
3. And the cherubs stood (or were pillars) from right to house in his coming the man and the cloud filled targeting the yard the inner.
   • And the cherubs stood like pillars to the right of the house. As the man came, clouds filled the inner courtyard.
     • Ezekiel explains that the inner court is the inside of the house of Yahuwah.
       1. Ezekiel 8:16 – And he brought me into the inner court of Yahuwah’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of Yahuwah’s, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
4. And he lifted glory {or honor} honor of Yahuwah above {or from upon} the cherub upon the threshold of the house and he filled the house targeting the cloud and the yard filled targeting morning glory of Yahuwah.
   • And the glory of Yahuwah lifted above the cherub upon the opening of the house and it filled the house with the cloud and the yard was filled with the morning {or bright} glory of Yahuwah.
5. And voice my wing {or like my sieve} the cherubim we will hear witness the outer yard like voice of God almighty in his word.
   • The voice of the Cherubim’s wing we will be heard witnessing in the outer court like the voice of the Almighty God in his own words.
   • The writer intentionally distinguishes between cherubs (כרבים) and cherubim (כרובים). Before the glory is lifted in Ezekiel 10:4 the cherubim are cherubs spelled כרבים but after the glory is lifted the cherubs become cherubim spelled כרובים. The difference in these two words meaning multiple cherubs, is the security (ו) added between the head (ר) and the house (ב). These living beings are not become something different from what they were before Yah’s glory fills his house. When the house is filled, the “Cherubs” are securely in place or back where they belong.
     • Revelation makes a reference to this as well. In Revelation 3:12, the Son of God says to the church of Philadelphia, I will make he who overcomes pillars in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more and I will write upon him the name of my God, the city of my God and my new name.
       1. In Revelations the church of Philadelphia are the pillars or the cherubim in the house of God and are being firmly secured in place, never to go out again.
     • So, these living beings, who have received the glory of God, and are in the temple of God with the man in linen who brought forth the glory of God into the house, will witness in the inner court, but will be heard from in the outer court as the voice of God himself.
6. And existed in his command targeting the man clothed in linen to say, “Take fire from understanding (middle) the spinning wheel from understanding (middle) to the cherubim” and he came and he stood near the wheel.
   • Yahuwah commanded the man clothed in linen to say, “Take the fire from understanding of the spinning wheel from understanding of the cherubim and he [the man?] came and stood near the wheel.
   • Yah is telling the man in linen what to say. He tells the man to tell others to do what he himself had already done in Ezekiel 10:2, four verses ago – that is to take understanding of the power and the cherubs.
   • This passage uses two different Hebrew words for wheel and both are singular.
   • The first “wheel” mentioned may indicate energy, movement or motion. It literally means “roll roll” this is possibly what we call momentum or energy, which is the power behind the functional wheel. The thing that gives a wheel the power to function and not the wheel itself. In nearly every place where this word is translated as “wheel” it makes no sense.
   • The second wheel is likely an actual wheel, but in this vision it represents people who make up four quarters of one wheel and the energy that makes the wheel function is God who is in its mist.
7. And he sent the cherub targeting his hand from understanding to cherubim to the fire which middle of the cherubs. And he rose and he gave to my fist clothes the linen and he went out.
   • And he {Yahuwah or the man} sent the cherub’s hand from understanding to cherubim to the fire which understanding the cherubs and he rose and he gave to my fist cloth the linen and he took and he went out.
     • Yahuwah sent the cherub’s hand from understanding the cherubim to the fire which was understanding the cherubs and he rose and he placed a linen cloth in the hands of {Ezekiel ?}
       1. This verse makes a contrasts and points out that there is a difference between the cherubs (כרבים) and cherubim (כרובים). Although the instructor and the instructed are not clear, it says that the cherubs hand was sent from understanding the cherubim (כרובים) to understanding the fire which was the understanding of the cherubs (כרבים).
       2. To see if this interpretation holds water lets go back to see what the fire was.
          • Ezekiel 1:4 – And I saw and look, wind {spirit} storm [entered from the north] OR {her coming portion of the watchtower} cloud {their watch} magnificent and fire from her learning and morning to him [the cloud or watch] surrounded and from her middle like eye the {unknown reddish material from middle the fire.
          • My understanding of this verse is that Ezekiel saw a spirit storm approaching he watchtower of their magnificent watch and the fire from the learning of the spirit storm surrounded their watch and in the mist of the spirit storm was like the reddish material from the middle of the fire.
            1. This verse is describing the fire as a wind storm approaching the watchtower at a particular point in the watchmen’s watch and that period of the watch is great. The fire is kindled by the wind storm’s learning which brightens the watch or the cloud all around and the windstorm becomes the fire and the middle of the fire is like amber.
            2. Verse 5 and goes on to explain that the middle is four living beings who look likes humans, but they have four faces and four wings.
          • So, the cherub of Ezekiel 10:7 has its hand sent out from understanding the Cherubim to understanding the fire, which is the understanding of the cherubs.
            1. In other words, the cherub was sent to first understand the divine cherubim who would be secured to God, then to understand its own kind, the unsecured cherubs. After which, it received its own linen clothes, like the man clothed in linen and went out. The man clothed in line followed the instructions of Yahuwah to the letter and thus he received understanding first than gave it to the cherubs or others.
8. And he saw to cherubs’ pattern hand of a human under their wing.
   1. And he looked toward the cherubs’ plan of the hand of a human under their wing.
9. And I saw and look, four wheels near the cherubim were And the one near the cherub was one. And from sight the wheels like eye, a tarshish stone.
   1. The four wheels near the cherubim were one and the one near [the man clothed in linen Eze. 10:6] the cherub was one. The “wheels” looked like tarshish stone.
   2. Daniel describes wheels of God’s throne in Daniel 7:9.
   3. So the four wheels that become one is one wheel, and the man in linen is a second wheel and they are standing next to one another.
10. From their look, likeness of one to them four like which Yahuwah was the wheel in the middle of the wheel.
    1. To the four wheels that were now one, Yahuwah was the wheel in the middle of them.
    2. So there are 3 characters in this imagery. (1) the cherubim (2) the one near the cherubim, and (3) the four wheels, which are now one, near the cherubim and Yahuwah is a wheel that is in the four wheels.
11. In their walk to the four quarters he walks him, not turning him in their walk because the place which he turns the head has ended (or is behind him) so he walks him no he turns in their walk.
12. And all their flesh and their backs and their hands and their wings and the wheels filled eyes around to their four wheels.
13. Wheels to them called the spinning wheel in my hearing.
    10. The wheels called to themselves their power, momentum, energy, and strength who is Yahuwah – the wheel in the mist of the wheel from verse 10.
14. And four faces to one face. The first face, the cherub. The second face, human, and the third face a lion and the forth face, a bird of prey.
15. And he lifted him the cherubim she the life which I saw in the river of Chabar (or in the radiant multitude).
    1. Ezekiel confirms that the cherubim are the living ones he described in Ezekiel one.
16. And in walking the cherubim, he walked him the wheels near them. And lifted her the cherubim targeting their wings to rise from upon the earth. Not he turned the wheels the feet {gathering} of them.
    1. The cherubs and the wheels were one. When the cherubs walked the wheels went with them and when the cherubim raised their wings to depart from the earth, the wheels went with them also. The wheels did not deviate from the path of the cherubim.
17. In their pillars he stood him and in their lift he lifted him their mark. Because the spirit the life in them.
    1. Whatever the wheels did was done by the cherubim because the spirit of the cherubim was the spirit of the life of the wheels.
18. And he went out glory of Yahuwah from upon the opening of the house and he stood upon the cherubim.
    1. The glory of Yahuwah went out from the opening of the house and was over the cherubs.
19. And he lifted he the cherubim and he raised he from the earth to my eyes in their going out and the wheels to their people. And he stood open gate of house of Yahuwah the ancient and glory of the God of Israel. Their work ascended.
    1. The glory of Yahuwah lifted the cherubs and they rose from the earth before Ezekiel’s eyes and they exited the earth and the wheels which are the cherubs people or associates. And the gate of the house of Yahuwah the ancient was opened and the glory of the God of Israel. Their works ascended.
20. She the life which I saw under God of Israel a radiant multitude and I knew because cherubim the many.
    1. Ezekiel says he knew that the radiant multitude of living ones he saw under the God of Israel were many
    2. Cherubs is a masculine word, why would the writer who previously used הם for them would now use the feminine המה to mean them. I believe the root is מה rather than הם. Which makes this word mean either hundred or many. This also coincides with the word choice for river of Chebar as “radiant multitude”.
21. Four four faces to one and four wings to one and likeness hands human under their wing.
    1. The word four is repeated twice. I think the beginning of the verse and the end of the last verse are one thought. i.e. … I knew because cherubs the many 4 OR the cherubs were 104 OR the cherubs were 144…
22. And likeness their face the many the faces which I saw upon the radiant multitude. From their look and their mark man to beyond his face he walked him.
    1. This word המה and this time it is translated as “same” in the KJV. I believe many is the correct translation and it fits both verses.
    2. They looked like their face were the many faces which I saw on the radiant multitude. Because of their appearance and their mark, he walked beyond the face of man.
    3. The faces which I saw upon the radiant multitude or River of Chebar refers back to Ezekiel 1:6.

About what he saw before:

Eze 1:6 And four faces to one and four wings to one to them.

Eze 1:7 And their feet, feet she [the feet] straight. And palm of their feet like the palm of the feet of bullock and sparkled like eye bronze polished.

Eze 1:8 And his hand like the hand palm of a human from under their wings upon four quarters. And their wings to those four (9) joined woman to her sister their faces no he turns in she did walk man to beyond his face he walked him.

Eze 1:10 and likeness their face dace of human and face of lion to the right to theose four. And face of (ox, wall, enemy) from the left to those four. And face of bird of prey to those four.

Eze 1:11 and their faces and their wings seed from to above her to man. Two joined man and two from covering targeting their bodies.

Eze 1:12 and man to beyond his face he walk him to who he exist desolate the spirit to her walk he his walk no he his turn. In her did walk.

Eze 1:13 and likeness the living ones their appearance like my ember of fire burning like vision the shining. She from she the walk understanding the living and she shined to fire and from the fire he went out a sword (or lightening).

Eze 1:14 and the living ones ran and returned like vision the lightening.

Eze 1:15 And I saw the living ones and look wheel one in earth near the living ones to four his face.

Eze 1:16 vision the wheels and their work like eye tarshish and likeness one to those four and their appearance and their works like which he existed the wheel in the middle the wheel.

Eze 1:17 upon four their quarters, in their walk he walked him not he turns in her walk.

Eze 1:18 And ther lift and high to them and he saw their fear to them and lifted them full eyes around to these four.

Eze 1:19 And in the walk the living ones he walks him and the wheels near them and in the lift the living ones from upon the earth he lift him the wheels.

Eze 1:20 upon which he existed breath of the spirit to walk he walk him desolate (or her walk). The spirit to walk and the wheels he lifts he to their people because spirit the living ones in the wheels.

Eze 1:21 in their walk he walk him and in their pillar he stand him and in lifting them from upon the earth he lift him the wheels to their people because spirit the living ones in the wheels.

Eze 1: 22 And likeness upon heads of the living ones bowed like seeing the ice the fiery (see Daniel 3:20) stretch he over their heads from to above.

1. In Ezekiel 1:22, there was a dome, like the firmament or a rainbow, of fiery ice stretched over the heads of the living ones from above. Here in 10:1, he explains that the cherubs were the living ones and they looked like the throne that was above their heads, which looked like sapphire. Think of blue fire that looks like a sapphire stone which is crystal like in appearance. This is what Ezekiel is describing!
2. The fiery ice is referenced in Revelations 15:2 – And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
   1. Those who won the victory, according to Ezekiel, looked like the throne.

Eze 1:23 And under the sheet their wings tying women to her sister. To man two from covering to look and to man two from covering to look targeting their bodies.

The women’s wings covered each other’s bodies so that men could not look?

Eze 1:24 And I heard targeting voice their wings like voice of many waters, like voice of my breasts or my harem (almighty). In their walk voice the word like voice from camp. In their standing they will heal their wings.

Eze 1:25 And existed voice above to sheet which above their head in their standing they heal their wings.

Eze 1:26 And from above to sheet which upon their heads like a vision of stone sapphire likeness throne and upon likeness of the throne likeness like the vision of humans upon him to from above.

Eze 1:27 And I saw like an eye reddish like vision fire house to her around from vision from his sides and to above and from vision is sides and to (ולמטה?) I saw like vision of fire shining to him around. (This verse is referring to someone or something that had eyes like fire and was surrounded a light that shined like fire.)

Eze 1:28 Like vision you did gather which he existed in watch in day the rain so vision the brightness surrounds he. Vision likeness lorry of Yahuwah and I saw and fall upon face and I heard voice from word