Do the cherubim have four faces?

Question

the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

Answer 1

The cherubs - cherubim or keruwbim - what did they look like?
Also: Do angels have wings, and in what form do they appear?

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This essay takes a closer look the words "cherub" (Hebrew, keruwb, singular) and "cherubs" (cherubim, keruwbim, plural), and a few other similar words. It will be studied what the Scriptures actually say about the cherubs - cherubim or keruwbim - what did they look like, and what were they?

"Tradition" has it that the cherubs were angels, but it will be shown below that most probably, they were something else, creatures of some kind. In some passages which mention "cherubs", there are at the same time present "men" who were clothed in white. Obviously, those men in white were angels, so the question is, who or what were those "cherubs".

Many wonder, "Do angels have wings?", and, "What do angels look like?" What does the Bible say abut that - do angels have wings, and in what form do they appear? Those and other similar matters will be considered in this treatise.


A note: The essay ed07b.htm has more on angels in general, and on the origin and meaning of the words "angel" and "archangel". The essay ed02b.htm considers whether or not angels are immortal. The essay ed03b.htm has more on the "dragons", "satyrs", unicorns", "flying serpents" and other odd creatures which appear in many translations of the Bible, and on seraphs and the leviathan. The essay ed08c.htm has more on "demons" and on the words daimôn and daimonion.



What were the chereb and the keruwbim which guarded the garden of Eden?

Genesis 3:24 shows how the Lord placed something called cherubs (keruwbim, plural of keruwb) as guards, east of Eden. A chereb was also placed there.

That passage does not explain what those keruwbim really were. It is obvious that the cherubs were very effective as guards, and that they were powerful creatures of some kind. But, were they "angels"? The Hebrew text does not say that. There are many other passages in the Bible which indicate that the keruwbim were not angels but merely living creatures of some kind. This essay will look at some of those passages.

Then, there was that "sword" (chereb, Genesis 3:24). Many translate it, on whatever grounds, as "sword". This particular chereb was something special, and it was described as "turning every way". There is no mention of anyone "holding" that chereb; neither the keruwbim nor anyone else. The statement is that the chereb (whatever it really was), "turned every way", as if by itself. The noun chereb is thought to be related to the verb charab which meant "to lay waste", "to desolate". So, literally, chereb could have meant "waster" or "desolator". What that chereb exactly was or did in this case, is not clear.

A note: The ancient Hebrew text is very hard to decipher. Even the translation "turned every way" is most probably a mere guess.

Then, Genesis 3:24 also has the noun lahat which many translate as "flaming". That noun appears only twice in the Bible; the other occurrence is in Exodus 7:11 where it seems to have referred to sorceries or deception. (The related verb-form lahat apparently had the literal meaning of "licking"; "flaming" seems to have been an idiomatic use based on that.) But, we do not really know what that chereb was, or what the noun lahat in Genesis 3:24 really meant.

In short: The account in Genesis 3:24 does not make us much wiser regarding what those keruwbim really were. One must not read things into the Bible. That is, one must study what the Bible really says about keruwbim, instead of reading "traditions" into the Bible.


The cherubs, or cherubim or keruwbim, at the mercy-seat.

Powerful flying creatures have since ancient times been used as power-symbols. That may have been how it was also with the creatures which sat on the old covenant's chest where the stone tables were stored.

Exodus 25:17 Then you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. 18 You shall make two cherubim of gold; you shall make them of hammered work, at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other; of one piece with the mercy seat you shall make the cherubim at its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings. They shall face one to another; the faces of the cherubim shall be turned toward the mercy seat. (NRSV)

What does that tell us? Simply this: Those beings had wings. That's about all; the text does not tell us what they really were or what they looked like.

Some might say, "That shows they had human faces." But no, the Hebrew text does not state any such thing. The word in question, paniym, could mean many kinds of things, and, even flying creatures can face each other.

Moses obviously knew what the keruwbim were and what they looked like. We do not. Again, one must not read things into the Bible. Also, it is wise to read all relevant passages, in order to learn more details of a given matter.


The poetic words about the Lord riding on a cherub (keruwb).

2 Samuel 22:11 He rode on a cherub, and flew; he was seen upon the wings of the wind. (NRSV)

Now, what does that sound like? Would the Lord seat himself on the back of one of his angels, and ride on him? No, that does not sound likely, does it. It will be shown below that the keruwbim were very large, winged creatures, of a size which could make it possible for them to carry a load the size of man.

A note: This does not have to mean that the Lord ever literally rode on a keruwb's back; the words in David's song which is recorded in 2 Samuel 22 are poetic and do not have to be taken literally.


The temple in Jerusalem was decorated with images of cherubs (cherubim, keruwbim).

1 Kings 6:22 Next he overlaid the whole house with gold, in order that the whole house might be perfect; even the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold. 23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house; the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one was touching the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall; their other wings toward the center of the house were touching wing to wing. 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold. (NRSV)

What does this tell us? Literally, only that those keruwbim were huge, winged creatures; about five metres (yards) from wing-tip to wing-tip. In contrast to that, in the Bible angels are always pictures as having the appearance and size of a normal man. In other words: God's angels (messengers) do not look like some flying creatures, nor do they have wings. When it comes to how the Bible describes things, basically, angels look like men.

A question: Should one expect that the Lord would have told Moses and David (who relayed instructions to his son Solomon) to put pictures and statues of angels, in the sanctuary? Actually not, because that would easily have led to idolatry; if there had been images of angels in the temple, people would have worshipped them.

Below, it will be shown that the Bible shows that angels and keruwbim are separate, two different things. The "tradition" regarding Ezekiel 28 will also be looked at.


Ezekiel 10 and the cherubs (cherubim, keruwbim).

Ezekiel 10:1 And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2 Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, "Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in as I watched. 3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. 5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks. 6 Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," that he went in and stood beside the wheels. 7 And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings. 9 And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone. (NKJV)

Ezekiel 10:2 shows that a "He" spoke. By that capital "H" in the word "He", translators have noted that it was the Lord who was speaking. Not the keruwbim, but the Lord.

A note: Some translations confuse things in that passage.

Ezekiel 10:5 shows that the wings of the creatures is Ezekiel's vision, could make a loud noise.

Ezekiel 10:7 shows that in that vision, at least one of the keruwbim had a "hand" ("one cherub stretched forth his hand"), and that it could take hold of things with it. Here, it is interesting to note that the wording of Ezekiel 10:8 indicates that Ezekiel was intrigued by the fact that that creature had a "hand" by its wing. Would he have been surprised for seeing a hand, or would he have specially commented on that, if that keruwb had been an angel? Throughout the Bible, angels are described as men, clothed in white, with hands and feet but no wings. But - Ezekiel's special comment in verse 8 indicates that when he saw the keruwb, he was surprised because it had a "hand".

Anyway, verse 7 shows that Ezekiel saw, not only those keruwbim, but also men who were clothed in white linen. Two different groups. Obviously, the men clothed in white were angels, while the keruwbim were something different.

A note: Archaeologists have found skeletons (or fossils) of huge, winged creatures, as large as five metres from wing-tip to wing-tip or more, which have a "hand" at the middle of the front part of each wing. One species of them are called pteranodons. They are extinct today, but they could still have been in existence in Moses' day. (It is obvious that Moses knew what a keruwb looked like when he decorated the movable sanctuary and certain things in it, with pictures of keruwbim, among other things.)

Another note: It was a vision that Ezekiel saw. Things seen in visions do not necessarily have a literal counterpart in the real world. But, if the keruwbim he saw were literal beings, then it is worth noting that they were huge, winged creatures which did not speak and which had some hand-like thing by their wing. The translation "under their wings" is just a translation. The exact meaning of the ancient Hebrew is lost. And anyway, a pteranodon standing on the ground with its wings folded, might have had those "hands" placed "under" its wings (at their lower edge).

In short: Ezekiel 10 describes something Ezekiel saw in a vision; such things do not necessarily have literal counterparts in the real world. But, the description of the living creatures there, certainly leads one think about pteranodons.

(There is confusion regarding Ezekiel 10:21. The Masoretic version talks about four wings, the Syriac version six, and the LXX eight. Plus, four "faces" each, in many translations. What the original Hebrew wording actually was, or meant, is hard to say. But anyway, what the prophet Ezekiel saw was a vision. Things in visions are not always literal. And then, how many wings or "faces" the "living creatures" of Ezekiel 10:21 ever may have had, has nothing to do with angels or their looks.)


Why would the Lord's messengers (angels) have wings? For what purpose?

The idea of angels supposedly having wings for flapping around in air, is quite ridiculous.

In the Bible, angels are never portrayed with wings. They are always described as white-clad men. That is so, also in Ezekiel 10; please note that that passage mentions angels and a keruwb, as separate beings of different kinds.

Tradition has caused people to think that angels "of course have wings". But "tradition" should not be a guideline for those who want to find out what the Bible really says.

A note: The tradition regarding "arch-angels" is not biblical, either. Some claim that Satan supposedly was an "arch-angel". But where does that idea come from? The word "arch-angel" occurs only 2 times in the Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 9. Those passages do not refer to Satan. The old Greek word archangelos (archaggelos) simply meant "chief messenger" (combined from archos, and aggelos/angelos which meant "a messenger"). The Bible is very clear that it is Jesus who is God's Chief Messenger. The common teachings about angels and their names and their supposed "ranks", are not of biblical origin.

The essay ed07b.htm has more on the Greek words "angel" and "arch-angel".


The cherub mentioned in Ezekiel 28.

There is another tradition which claims that Ezekiel 28 supposedly talks about Satan. That is then connected to the keruwbim which also are mentioned in that passage. But, that is not based on facts.

This verse shows who is being addressed (or referred to):

Ezekiel 28:12 "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (RSV)

So, who is that passage addressing? Satan? No, but the ruler of the city-state Tyre, a physical, literal man.

That passage will not be analysed in detail here. The essay ed05c.htm has more on Ezekiel 28. However, there are some examples below on how different translators come to different conclusions of what really was said.

A note: That "lamentation" (see Ezekiel 28:12 as it was quoted above) was a mocking "lamentation" regarding that king. The Lord mocked that man and his ways, and showed how his end would be.

Here are three different translations of verses 14 to 16:

Ezekiel 28:14 With an anointed guardian cherub I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. 16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian cherub drove you out from the midst of the stones of fire. (RSV, emphasis added)

Ezekiel 28:14 I gave you your place with the winged one; I put you on the mountain of God; you went up and down among the stones of fire. 15 There has been no evil in your ways from the day when you were made, till sin was seen in you. 16 Through all your trading you have become full of violent ways, and have done evil: so I sent you out shamed from the mountain of God; the winged one put an end to you from among the stones of fire. (BBE, emphasis added)

Ezekiel 28:14 From the day that thou wast created thou wast with the cherub: I set thee on the holy mount of God; thou wast in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast faultless in thy days, from the day that thou wast created, until iniquity was found in thee. 16 Of the abundance of thy merchandise thou hast filled thy storehouses with iniquity, and hast sinned: therefore thou hast been cast down wounded from the mount of God, and the cherub has brought thee out of the midst of the stones of fire. (Brenton's LXXE, emphasis added)

One translation says that the guardian-keruwb drove that king out. Another one says that a winged one put an end to him. The third translation says that the keruwb "brought him out". And yes, there are many other translations also.

In short: There are many different interpretations of that passage. The most probable explanation is that the king of Tyre perhaps had used some Nimrodian or Babylonian symbols such as the "kingly wings", and that it partially was that fact the Lord mockingly referred to, by what he said through the prophet Ezekiel.

(Verse 14 mentions "stones of fire". The essay ed05c.htm has more on that verse and its context.)

It is known from old texts and artefacts that, for instance, Nebuchadnezzar's reign was symbolised by wings (Nebuchadnezzar was a king of Babylon and a successor of Nimrod). In mythology, Nimrod often is portrayed as a "winged one". Even today, many rulers and governments use wings or birds in their symbols, in the old Nimrodian way.

It is also important to understand that Ezekiel 28 was written in poetic language, in hyperbole, using mocking words. It is the same with the prophecy regarding the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14; that prophecy pointed to the future and referred to Belshazzar who was a later king of Babylon, and who also was a "successor" of Nimrod the "shining one". (According to legends, Nimrod came to be "deified" as a "fire-god" and as a "sun-god".)

What really is stated in Ezekiel 28 is only that that man, the king of Tyre who thought very highly of himself and had lifted himself up as if he was "god" (though he was a man). Apparently, when he was made king, he had been lavishly decorated with gems and expensive stones which flashed as fire. It may well be that there was no actual keruwb with that king. Those words may have been only a poetic (and mocking) way to say that that king who thought himself to be so great and who perhaps felt that he had his own "paradise", would now be driven out of it, because of his pride. (When Adam and Eve were driven out from the literal paradise, keruwbim were involved in that matter.)

The essay ed05c.htm has more on Ezekiel 28.


The exact literal meaning of the word keruwb is not known with certainty, but some translate it as 'winged one'.

Again, mythology shows that Nimrod was at times pictured as a "winged one". That was of course symbolic. "Wings" were often attributed to rulers and dictators. Possibly, that could have referred to that those rulers "covered" (forced) people under their power. An example of such usage is also found in the Bible, regarding the king of Assyria:

Isaiah 8:7 Behold, therefore the Lord also brings on them the channels of the River, mighty and many: the king of Assyria and all his glory. And he shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. 8 And he shall pass through Judah. He shall overflow and go over. He shall reach to the neck; and his wings will be stretching out, filling the breadth of your land, O Immanuel. (BBE, emphasis added)

It is also important to understand that in Ezekiel 28:14, the verb which some translate as "I placed you" or as "I have set you so", was a very generic one and that it really meant "to give" and from that idiomatically also "to suffer" (that is, "to tolerate"), which is how that word is translated (among other things) in around 18 passages in the KJ version.

So, it might just as well be that the Lord was saying (to, or regarding, the king of Tyre; Ezekiel 28:14), "And I suffered you." That is, "I tolerated you" (instead of "I placed you" as some have it). That passage of course shows that the Lord would no longer tolerate that man (the king of Tyre), but would put an end to him.

Ezekiel 28:12 Son of man, lift up a lament over the king of Tyre, and say to him, So says the Lord Jehovah [...] (LIT)

Through the obviously mocking words of the lamenting song which Ezekiel was to make heard, the Lord said to or regarding that king, "I will destroy you, o covering keruwb" (Ezekiel 28:16).

Now, if that word keruwb meant "winged one" as some think, then it could have referred to some Nimrodian symbols used by the king of Tyre. He perhaps felt or claimed, just as many rulers and dictators have done, that he was a successor of Nimrod. Thus, the words "O you covering winged one" in verse 16, should be understood to mean that the Lord was mocking that man for such thoughts and symbols. And indeed, the context shows that the Lord was mocking that man.

In short: That passage was about a man of flesh, the ruler of Tyre. But yes, in a way, that passage could be seen as a type of what the Lord will do soon, to that old Babylonish system which still controls this world, and to its instigator.

Again, the essay ed05c.htm has more on Ezekiel 28. The essay ew02b.htm considers whose servants this world's present rulers really are.


Isaiah 6 and the vision with flying creatures called saraphs, or saraphim.

A note: What Isaiah saw was a vision. Again: Visions often have strange symbols which do not necessarily have any literal counterpart in the real world. Also: Those saraphs (saraphim) were not said to be angels.

Please also note that, even though some English translations contain a statement which may make it seem that those saraphim "spoke", the Hebrew text does not say that.

Isaiah 6:7 And he laid it on my mouth, and said, See, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged. (AKJV)

This only states that someone, a "he", spoke, in Isaiah's vision. That "he" could have been the Lord, who was mentioned in the preceding verses. In short: This verse does not say that the saraphim would have been angels.

Saraphim, singular saraph, was a noun, and it occurs in nine passages of the Old Testament. Seven of those occurrences refer to snakes. (There was also the verb form of saraph which meant "to burn". It seems that the old Hebrew word saraphim meant "fiery ones". Sometimes that referred to snakes, either because of the snake's burning venom, or because of the snake's red colour.) Then there are the two occurrences of the word saraphim, in the passage which contains Isaiah's vision. There, that word pointed to some beings which Isaiah (in that vision) saw at God's throne and which in one way or another were connected to fire, and had "six wings". It is worth noting that the beings in that vision had a role which was similar to that of the keruwbim in Ezekiel's vision. Both were connected to hot coals. Both had wings and could fly. Both could pick up things. Both were living creatures of some kind. It could be that both those visions, described in the books of Ezekiel and Isaiah, talk about the same kind of beings. Thus, the saraphim and the keruwbim might be the same. But again, those were visions; visions often contain symbols and things that do not exist in the real word.

The essay ed03b.htm considers whether or not "flying serpents" and "dragons" really have existed, as some bible versions make it seem. That essay has also more on the saraphs (or "seraphs" - saraph, seraph, saraphim, seraphim).

Answer 2

Ezekiel's Vision of the Cherubim

The fact that the Bible nowhere explains how the cherubim looked like, but always presupposes them well-known, makes us believe that they were among the most common figures of contemporary art in Ancient Near East. In Egyptian art, figures with a human face and two outstretched wings attached to the arms are exceedingly common. Two winged sphinxes also appeared frequently in Phoenician art and Assyrian art.

Thus today's Biblical scholars have suggested that cherubim are "similar to the statues of winged, human-headed bulls or lions that stood guard at the entrances to palaces and temples in ancient Mesopotamia." (from the NIV Study Bible, the commentary on Genesis 3:24).

Before we move on to discuss the appearance of the cherubim as seen by Ezekiel, we need to understand that the book of Ezekiel is highly symbolic:

The images that Ezekiel saw were not real physical figures (Ezekiel 1:1-3);
*Most of his visions have figurative and symbolic meanings (e.g. the vision of the dry bones recorded in Ezekiel 37:1-14), and as such should not be interpreted literally.
*Ezekiel described the cherubim in his vision as:

Ezekiel 1:5-11 (NASB)
5 Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: They had human form.
6 Each of them had four faces and four wings.
7 Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze.
8 Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them,
9 Their wings touched one another; Their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward.
10 As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; All four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle.
11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; Each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies.

There are three reasons why we did not model the cherubim after Ezekiel's vision:

1.The description of the cherubim in Ezekiel's vision is different from the ones in the Temple. For example, Ezekiel's cherubim have four faces and four wings, and have eyes all over their bodies (Ezekiel 10:12); Whereas the ones in the temple have one face (II Chronicles 3:13) and two wings (II Chronicles 3:11) and nothing about their eyes.
2.Most Biblical scholars also agreed that the vision of the cherubim is symbolic rather than literal.
3.At the time when Ezekiel first saw the vision of the cherubim (Ezekiel 1:5-11), it was 593 BC. The Temple was still around at that time (it was burnt in 586 BC). Now Ezekiel was a priest himself (Ezekiel 1:3), therefore he had seen the images of the cherubim (which were carved on the walls, the doors and on the carts) in the Temple. Why did he go into such details in describing the cherubim in his vision? We believe it's because the cherubim he saw in his vision were very different from the ones he saw in the Temple. Ezekiel was telling us his vision rather than telling us how the cherubim in the Temple should look like.

Hope this helps. Goodluck!

Answer 3

It tells in other places it is symbolic: Man represented Love
Lion represented courage. The Eagle far sighted wisdom.
The Angel's face or the Cherub is not a baby but a very powerful spirit creature. Who is leading the people.
So the idea was a powerful angel leading God's people.
In Love, courage, and wisdom.