A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the
lamassu
''Lama'', ''Lamma'', or ''Lamassu'' (Cuneiform: , ; Sumerian: lammař; later in Akkadian: ''lamassu''; sometimes called a ''lamassus'') is an Assyrian protective deity.
Initially depicted as a goddess in Sumerian times, when it was called ''La ...
) is one of the unearthly beings who directly attend to
God, according to Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
.
Abrahamic religious traditions
In
Jewish angelic hierarchy
In Judaism, angels ( he, ''mal’āḵ'', plural: ''mal’āḵīm'', literally "messenger") are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish li ...
, cherubim have the ninth (second-lowest) rank in
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
' ''
Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...
'' (12th century), and the third rank in Kabbalistic works such as ''
Berit Menuchah
''Berit Menuchah'' (Hebrew: ''ספר ברית מנוחה'') (also ''Berit Menuḥah'', ''Berith Menuḥa'', or ''Brit Menucha'') is a practical Kabbalah work written in the 14th century, by Rabbi Abraham ben Isaac of Granada. It consists of a syst ...
'' (14th century).
''
De Coelesti Hierarchia
''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' ( grc-gre, Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας, "On the Celestial Hierarchy") is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on angelology, written in Greek and dated to ca. AD the 5th century; it exerted great influen ...
'' places them in the highest rank alongside
Seraphim and
Thrones A throne is a seat of state for a potentate or dignitary.
Throne or Thrones may also mean: People
* Throne (surname)
Arts and entertainment
*The Throne (group), collaboration pseudonym for rappers Jay Z and Kanye West (as on Drake's "Pop Style")
* ...
.
In the Book of Ezekiel and (at least some) Christian icons, the cherub is depicted as having two pairs of wings, and four faces: that of a
lion (representative of all
wild animals
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...
), an
ox (
domestic animals), a
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
(humanity), and an
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
(
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s).
[ Their legs were straight, the soles of their feet like the hooves of a bull, gleaming like polished brass.
Later tradition ascribes to them a variety of physical appearances.] Some early midrashic literature conceives of them as non-corporeal. In Western Christian tradition, cherubim have become associated with the putto
A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...
(derived from classical Cupid / Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...
figure), resulting in depictions of cherubim as small, plump, winged boys.[
In ]Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, ' refers to the archangels. The term ''muqarraboon'' is sometimes considered to be a class of angels, and an alternative name for the cherubim, including the archangels and the Bearers of the Throne
Bearers of the Throne or ḥamlat al-arsh (حملة العرش) are a group of angels in Islam. The Quran mentions them in and .
Description
In Islamic traditions, they are often portrayed in zoomorphic forms. They are described as resembling ...
. Below the angels of the throne, the angels subordinative to Michael are also identified as cherubim. In Ismailism
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
, there are Seven Archangels
The concept of Seven Archangels is found in some works of early Jewish literature and in Christianity. In those texts, they are referenced as the angels who serve God directly.
Bible
The term ''archangel'' itself is not found in the Hebrew Bib ...
referred to as cherubim.
Cherubim are also mentioned in the Second Treatise of the Great Seth
Second Treatise of the Great Seth is an apocryphal Gnostic writing discovered in the Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi codices and dates to around the third century. The author is unknown, and the Seth referenced in the title appears nowhere in the te ...
, a 3rd century Gnostic
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
writing.
Etymology
Aside from Ezekiel's vision, no detailed attestations of ''cherubim'' survive, and Ezekiel's description of the tetramorph
A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek ''tetra'', meaning four, and ''morph'', shape.
In Christian art, the tetramorph is t ...
being may not be the same as the ''cherubim'' of the historic Israelites. All that can be gleaned about the ''cherubim'' of the Israelites come from potential equivalences in the cultures which surrounded them.
Delitzch (''Assyrisches Handwörterbuch'') connects the name ''keruv'' with Assyrian ''kirubu'' (a name of the ''shedu'') and ''karabu'' ("great, mighty"). Karppe (1897) glosses Babylonian ''karâbu'' as "propitious" rather than "mighty".[De Vaux, Roland (tr. John McHugh), ''Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions'' (NY, McGraw-Hill, 1961)]
Dhorme (1926) connected the Hebrew name to Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
''kāribu'' (diminutive ''kurību''), a term used to refer to intercessory beings (and statues of such beings) that plead with the gods on behalf of humanity.[ The folk etymological connection to a Hebrew word for "youthful" is due to ]Abbahu
Rabbi Abbahu ( he, אבהו) was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279-320 and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin ( Caesarea).
Biogra ...
(3rd century).[
]
Functions
The Israelite cherubim are described as fulfilling a variety of functions – most often, they are described as bolstering the throne of Yahweh
Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...
. Ezekiel's vision of the cherubim also emulate this, as the conjoined wingspan of the four cherubim are described as forming the boundary of the divine chariot. Likewise, on the "mercy seat
According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space into which Yahweh was said to appear. This ...
" of the Ark of the Covenant, two cherubim are described as bounding the ark and forming a space through which Yahweh would appear – however, aside from the instruction that they be beaten out of the sides of the ark, there are no details about these cherubim specified the text. The status of the ''cherubim'' as constituting a sort-of vehicle for Yahweh is present in Ezekiel's visions, the Books of Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...
, the parallel passages in the later Books of Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sec ...
, and passages in the early Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
: for example, "and he rode upon a cherub and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind."
The traditional Hebrew conception of cherubim as guardians of the Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
is backed by the Semitic belief of beings of superhuman power and devoid of human feelings, whose duty it was to represent the gods, and as guardians of their sanctuaries to repel intruders; these conceptions in turn are similar to an account found on Tablet 9 of the inscriptions found at Nimrud
Nimrud (; syr, ܢܢܡܪܕ ar, النمرود) is an ancient Assyrian city located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah ( ar, السلامية), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. It was a m ...
.
Appearance
The appearance of the ''cherubim'' continue to be a subject of debate. Mythological hybrid
Hybrid beasts are creatures composed of parts from different animals, including humans, appearing in the folklore of a variety of cultures as legendary creatures.
In burial sites
Remains similar to those of mythological hybrids have been found ...
s are common in the art of the Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
. One example is the Babylonian ''lamassu
''Lama'', ''Lamma'', or ''Lamassu'' (Cuneiform: , ; Sumerian: lammař; later in Akkadian: ''lamassu''; sometimes called a ''lamassus'') is an Assyrian protective deity.
Initially depicted as a goddess in Sumerian times, when it was called ''La ...
'' or ''shedu'', a protective spirit with a sphinx
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
-like form, possessing the wings of an eagle, the body of a lion or bull, and the head of a king. This was adopted largely in Phoenicia. The wings, because of their artistic beauty and because of their symbolic use as a mark of creatures of the heavens, soon became the most prominent part, and animals of various kinds were adorned with wings; consequently, wings were bestowed also upon human forms, thus leading to the stereotypical image of an angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
.[
]W.F. Albright
William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891– September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics. He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars." ...
(1938) argued that "the winged lion with human head" found in Phoenicia and Canaan from the Late Bronze Age is "much more common than any other winged creature, so much so that its identification with the cherub is certain".[ A possibly related source is the human-bodied Hittite ]griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
, which, unlike other griffins, appear almost always not as a fierce bird of prey, but seated in calm dignity, like an irresistible guardian of holy things;[ some have proposed that the word ''griffin'' () may be cognate with ''cherubim'' (''kruv'' > ''grups'').][ which references ] While Ezekiel initially describes the tetramorph ''cherubim'' as having
: "the face of a man ... the face of a lion ... the face of an ox ... and ... the face of an eagle"; in the this formula is repeated as "the face of the cherub ... the face of a man ... the face of a lion ... the face of an eagle";
which (given that "ox" has apparently been substituted with "the cherub") some have taken to imply that ''cherubim'' were envisioned to have the head of a bovine.
In particular resonance with the idea of cherubim embodying the throne of God, numerous pieces of art from Phoenicia, Egypt, and even Tel Megiddo
Tel Megiddo ( he, תל מגידו; ar, مجیدو, Tell el- Mutesellim, ''lit.'' "Mound of the Governor"; gr, Μεγιδδώ, Megiddo) is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo, the remains of which form a tell (archaeological mound), situat ...
in northern Israel depict kings or deities being carried on their thrones by hybrid winged-creatures.
If this largely animal-esque appearance is how the ancient Israelites envisioned cherubim, it raises more questions than it answers. For one, it is difficult to visualize the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant as quadrupedal creatures with backward-facing wings, as these cherubim were meant to face each other and have their wings meet, while still remaining on the edges of the cover, where they were beaten from. At the same time, these creatures have little-to-no resemblance to the ''cherubim'' in Ezekiel's vision. On the other hand, even if ''cherubim'' had a more humanoid form, this still would not entirely match Ezekiel's vision, and likewise seemingly clashes with the apparently equivalent archetypes of the cultures surrounding the Israelites, which almost uniformly depicted beings which served analogous purposes to Israel's ''cherubim'' as largely animalistic in shape. All of this may indicate that the Israelite idea of what a ''cherub'' looked like was subject to change, and perhaps not wholly consistent.[
]
Hebrew Bible
The cherubim are the most frequently occurring heavenly creature in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
, as the Hebrew word appears 91 times.[ The first occurrence is in the ]Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
3:24. Despite these many references, the role of the cherubim is never explicitly elucidated.[ While Hebrew tradition must have conceived of the cherubim as guardians of the ]Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
(in which they guard the way to the Tree of life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
),[Genesis 3:24 (King James Version)](_blank)
at Bible Gateway.com they are often depicted as performing other roles; for example in the Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during t ...
, they transport Yahweh's throne. The cherub who appears in the "Song of David", a poem which occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible, in 2 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book ...
22 and Psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
18, participates in Yahweh's theophany
Theophany (from Ancient Greek , meaning "appearance of a deity") is a personal encounter with a deity, that is an event where the manifestation of a deity occurs in an observable way. Specifically, it "refers to the temporal and spatial manifest ...
and is imagined as a vehicle upon which the deity descends to earth from heaven in order to rescue the speaker (see 2 Samuel 22:11, Psalm 18:10).[
In Exodus 25:18–22, God tells Moses to make multiple images of cherubim at specific points around the Ark of the Covenant.][ Many appearances of the words ''cherub'' and ''cherubim'' in the Bible refer to the gold cherubim images on the ]mercy seat
According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space into which Yahweh was said to appear. This ...
of the Ark, as well as images on the curtains of the Tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
and in Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
, including two measuring ten cubits high.
In , Hezekiah
Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...
prays, addressing God as "enthroned above the cherubim" (referring to the mercy seat
According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space into which Yahweh was said to appear. This ...
). In regard's to Solomon's Temple as described in 1 Kings, Eichler renders the phrase ''yoshev ha-keruvim'' as “who dwells among the cherubim”. This phrase is the same in 1 Kings and Isaiah. Eichler's interpretation 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 the Temple was literally YHWH's throne or simply an indicator of YHWH's immanence.
Cherubim feature at some length in the Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during t ...
. While they first appear in chapter one, in which they are transporting the throne of God by the river Chebar, they are not called ''cherubim'' until chapter 10. 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. 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 chapter 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: "They were the same creatures (חיה) I had seen by the river Chebar" (Ezekiel 10:15) and "These were the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel
God of Israel may refer to:
* God in Judaism, God as understood in Jewish theological discussion
* Yahweh, the national god of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah
* Tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew letters YHWH as the name of God, and various ...
on the banks of the river Chebar" (Ezekiel 10:20). In Ezekiel 41:18–20, they are portrayed as having two faces, although this is probably because they are depicted in profile.[
]
In Judaism
In rabbinic literature, the two ''cherubim'' are described as being human-like figures with wings, one a boy and the other a girl, placed on the opposite ends of the Mercy seat
According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space into which Yahweh was said to appear. This ...
in the inner-sanctum of God's house. Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
was decorated with Cherubs according to , and Aḥa bar Ya’akov claimed this was true of the Second Temple
The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
as well.
Many forms of Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
include a belief in the existence of angels, including cherubim within the Jewish angelic hierarchy
In Judaism, angels ( he, ''mal’āḵ'', plural: ''mal’āḵīm'', literally "messenger") are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish li ...
. The existence of angels is generally accepted within traditional rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
. There is, however, a wide range of beliefs within Judaism about what angels actually are and how literally one should interpret biblical passages associated with them.
In Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
there has long been a strong belief in cherubim, the cherubim and other angels regarded as having mystical roles. The ''Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
'', a highly significant collection of books in Jewish mysticism, states that the cherubim were led by one of their number named Kerubiel.
On the other end of the philosophical spectrum is Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
, who had a neo-Aristotelian interpretation of the Bible. Maimonides writes that to the wise man, one sees that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as "angels" are actually allusions to the various laws of nature; they are the principles by which the physical universe operates.
: For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naive?! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters a woman's womb and there forms an embryo, he would think this a miracle and accept it as a mark of the majesty and power of the Deity, despite the fact that he believes an angel to be a body of fire one third the size of the entire world. All this, he thinks, is possible for God.
: But if you tell him that God placed in the sperm the power of forming and demarcating these organs, and that ''this'' is the angel, or that all forms are produced by the Active Intellect; that here is the angel, the "vice-regent of the world" constantly mentioned by the sages, then he will recoil. — ''The Guide for the Perplexed
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...
'' II:4
: For he he naive persondoes not understand that the true majesty and power are in the bringing into being of forces which are active in a thing although they cannot be perceived by the senses ... Thus the Sages reveal to the aware that the imaginative faculty is also called an angel; and the mind is called a cherub. How beautiful this will appear to the sophisticated mind, and how disturbing to the primitive." — ''The Guide for the Perplexed
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...
'' II:6.
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
says that the figures of the cherubim were placed in the sanctuary only to preserve among the people the belief in angels, there being two in order that the people might not be led to believe that they were the image of God.
Cherubim are discussed within the midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
literature. The two cherubim placed by God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
at the entrance of paradise were angels created on the third day, and therefore they had no definite shape; appearing either as men or women, or as spirits or angelic beings. The cherubim were the first objects created in the universe. The following sentence of the Midrash is characteristic:
: "When a man sleeps, the body tells to the soul (''neshamah'') what it has done during the day; the soul then reports it to the spirit (''nefesh''), the spirit to the angel, the angel to the cherub, and the cherub to the seraph, who then brings it before God".
In early Jewish tradition there existed the notion that cherubim had youthful, human features, due to the etymologization of the name by Abbahu
Rabbi Abbahu ( he, אבהו) was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279-320 and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin ( Caesarea).
Biogra ...
(3rd century). Before this, some early midrashic literature conceived of the cherubim as non-corporeal. In the first century AD, Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
claimed:
: "No one can tell, or even conjecture, what was the shape of these cherubim."[
A midrash states that when Pharaoh pursued Israel at the Red Sea, God took a cherub from the wheels of His throne and flew to the spot, for God inspects the heavenly worlds while sitting on a cherub. The cherub, however, is "something not material", and is carried by God, not vice versa.][
In the passages of the ]Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
that describe the heavens and their inhabitants, the seraphim, ofannim, and living creatures
In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fungi; ...
are mentioned, but not the cherubim; and the ancient liturgy also mentions only these three classes.
In the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, Jose the Galilean
Jose the Galilean ( he, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי, ''Rabbi Yose HaGelili''), d. 15 Av, was a Jewish sage who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. He was one of the Tannaim, the rabbis whose work was compiled in the Mishn ...
holds that when the Birkat Hamazon
Birkat Hamazon ( he, בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( yi, ; translit. ''bentschen'' or "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish ...
(grace after meals) is recited by at least ten thousand seated at one meal, a special blessing,
: "Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, the God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim",
is added to the regular liturgy.
In Christianity
In Medieval theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, following the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum' ...
, the cherubim are the second highest rank in the angelic hierarchy, following the seraph
A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Chr ...
im.
Cherubim are regarded in traditional Christian angelology as angels of the second highest order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy.
''De Coelesti Hierarchia
''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' ( grc-gre, Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας, "On the Celestial Hierarchy") is a Pseudo-Dionysian work on angelology, written in Greek and dated to ca. AD the 5th century; it exerted great influen ...
'' (c. 5th century) lists them alongside Seraphim and Throne
A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monar ...
s.
According to Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
, the cherubim are characterized by knowledge, in contrast to seraphim, who are characterized by their "burning love to God".
In Western art, cherubim became associated with the putto
A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...
and the Greco
Greco may refer to:
People
* Greco (surname), a list of people with this surname
* a masculine variant of Greca (given name), an Italian feminine given name
* Greco Mafia clan, one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria
Wine ...
-Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
god
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
Cupid/Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...
, with depictions as small, plump, winged boys.[
Artistic representations of cherubim in Early Christian and ]Byzantine art
Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...
sometimes diverged from scriptural descriptions. The earliest known depiction of the tetramorph
A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek ''tetra'', meaning four, and ''morph'', shape.
In Christian art, the tetramorph is t ...
cherubim is the 5th–6th century apse mosaic found in the Thessalonian
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
Church of Hosios David
The Church of Hosios David ( el, Όσιος Δαυίδ) is a late 5th-century church in Thessaloniki, Greece. During the Byzantine times, it functioned as the ''katholikon'' of the Latomos Monastery ( gr, Μονή Λατόμου/Λατόμων), ...
. This mosaic is an amalgamation of Ezekiel
Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...
's visions in , , Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
's seraphim in and the six-winged creatures of Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
from .
In Islam
Cherubim ('), alternatively identified with the ''Muqarraboon'' in the Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
(this identification has been disputed by Louise Gallorini) are a class of angels, near the presence of God. They are entrusted with praising God and interceding for humans. They are usually identified either with a class of angels dwelling in the sixth heaven, or the angels around the Throne of God. The latter include the canonical four Islamic archangels Jibra’il (Gabriel), Mika’il (Michael), Izra’il (Azrael) and Isra’fil (Raphael), and additionally four more called Bearers of the Throne
Bearers of the Throne or ḥamlat al-arsh (حملة العرش) are a group of angels in Islam. The Quran mentions them in and .
Description
In Islamic traditions, they are often portrayed in zoomorphic forms. They are described as resembling ...
, a total of eight cherubim. Ibn Kathir
Abū al-Fiḍā’ ‘Imād ad-Dīn Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī al-Damishqī (Arabic: إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي الدمشقي أبو الفداء عماد; – 1373), known as Ibn Kathīr (, was ...
distinguishes between the angels of the throne and the cherubim.[ In a 13th-14th Century work called "Book of the Wonders of Creation and the peculiarities of Existing Things" the cherubim belong to an order below the Bearers of the Throne, who in turn are identified with seraphim instead. ]Abu Ishaq al-Tha'labi
Al-Tha''ʿ''labi (''Abū Isḥāḳ Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Nīsābūrī al-Thaʿlabī'' ; died November 1035) was an eleventh-century Islamic scholar of Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically ...
also places the cherubim as the highest angels only next to the Bearers of the Throne.[
The ]Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
mentions the ''Muqarraboon'' in An-Nisa
An-Nisa' ( ar, ٱلنِّسَاء, ; The Women) is the fourth chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 176 verses ( āyāt). The title derives from the numerous references to women throughout the chapter, including verse 34 and verses 127-130.Hale ...
verse 172, angels who worship God and are not proud. Further, cherubim appear in Miraj literature and Qisas Al-Anbiya. The cherubim around the throne are continuously praising God with the ''tasbih
''Tasbih'' ( ar, تَسْبِيح, ) is a form of ''dhikr'' that involves the glorification of God in Islam, Allah in Islam by saying: ''"Subhan Allah"'' (; lit. "Glory be to God").
It is often repeated a certain number of times, using either ...
'': "Glory to Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
!" They are described as bright as no one of the lower angels can envision them. Cherubim as angels of mercy, created by the tears of Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
are not identified with the bearers of the throne. They too, request God to pardon humans. In contrast to the messenger angels, the cherubim (and seraphim) always remain in the presence of God.[ If they stop praising God, they fall.
]Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi
Mohammad Baqer Majlesi (b. 1037/1628-29 – d. 1110/1699) ( fa, علامه مجلسی ''Allameh Majlesi''; also Romanized as: Majlessi, Majlisi, Madjlessi), known as Allamah Majlesi or Majlesi Al-Thani (Majlesi the Second), was a renowned and v ...
narrates about a fallen cherub encountered by Muhammad in the form of a snake. The snake tells him that he did not performed ''dhikr
''Dhikr'' ( ar, ذِكْر}, , also spelled ''Zikr'', ''Thikr'', ''Zekr'', or ''Zikar'', literally meaning "remembrance, reminder" or "mention") is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to reme ...
'' (remembrance of God) for a moment, and so God was angry with him and cast him down to earth in the form of a snake. Then Muhammad went to Hasan and Husayn
Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...
. Together they interceded (Tawassul) for the angel and God restored him to his angelic form. A similar story appears in ''Tabari's Bishara''. An angel called ''Futrus'', described as an "angel-cherub" (''malak al-karubiyyin''), was sent by God, but since the angel failed to complete his task in time, God broke one of his wings. Muhammad interceded for the cherub, and God forgave the fallen angel, whereupon he became the guardian for Hussain
Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...
's grave.[Kohlberg, E. (2020). In Praise of the Few. Studies in Shiʿi Thought and History. Niederlande: Brill. p. 390]
See also
* Buraq
The Buraq ( ar, الْبُرَاق "the lightning") is a heavenly equine or chimeral beast in Islamic tradition that notably served as the mount of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his Isra and Mi'raj journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and up ...
* Cherubism
Cherubism is a rare genetic disorder that causes prominence in the lower portion in the face. The name is derived from the temporary chubby-cheeked resemblance to putti, the chubby-faced infants featured in Renaissance paintings, which were often m ...
(medical condition)
* Kamadeva
Kama ( sa, काम, ), also known as Kamadeva and Manmatha, is the Hindu god of love and desire, often portrayed alongside his consort, Rati.
The Atharvaveda, Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as the wielder of the creative power of the universe ...
* Merkabah mysticism
Merkabah ( he, מֶרְכָּבָה ''merkāvā'', "chariot") or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in the Book of Ezekiel chapter ...
References
*
*
::— The article looks at the yet unknown nature of the Temple's Cherubim, through linguistic investigation, fauna probabilities and artistic presentations in the ancient Biblical period.
External links
* ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
Cherub
Cherubim
The Cherubim - some pointers and problems by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple
*
"What Kind of Creatures Are the Cherubim?"
''TheTorah'' (2016)
{{Christian angelic hierarchy
Angels in Christianity
Angels in Islam
Angels in Judaism
Classes of angels
Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible
Heraldic charges
Tabernacle and Temples in Jerusalem