The ophanim (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ''ʿōp̄annīm'', "wheels"; singular: ''ʿōp̄ān'', “Ofan”), alternatively spelled ''auphanim'' or ''ofanim'', and also called ''galgalim'' (Hebrew: ''galgallīm'', "spheres", "wheels", "whirlwinds"; singular: ''galgal''), refer to the wheels seen in Ezekiel's vision of the chariot (Hebrew ) in . One of the

Dead Sea scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

(4Q405) construes them as angels; late sections of the Book of Enoch (61:10, 71:7) portray them as a class of

celestial Celestial may refer to: Science * Objects or events seen in the sky and the following astronomical terms: ** Astronomical object, a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe ** Celes ...

beings who (along with the

Cherubim 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) is one of the u ...

and Seraphim) never sleep, but guard the

throne of God The Throne of God is the reigning centre of God in the Abrahamic religions: primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The throne is said by various holy books to reside beyond the Seventh Heaven which is called ''Araboth'' ( ''‘ărāḇō� ...

. In Christian angelology, they are one of the choirs (classes) of angels, and are also called Thrones. These "wheels" have been associated with (mentioned as , traditionally "the wheels of ", in "fiery flame" and "burning fire") of the four, eye-covered wheels (each composed of two nested wheels), that move next to the winged Cherubim, beneath the throne of God. The four wheels move with the Cherubim because the spirit of the Cherubim is in them. The late

Second Book of Enoch The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...

(20:1, 21:1) also referred to them as the "many-eyed ones". The First Book of Enoch (71.7) seems to imply that the Ophanim are equated to the "

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 Christianity when it lists them all together, in order: "...round about were Seraphim, Cherubim, and Ophanim".

Function

It is said that they were the actual wheels of the Lord's Heavenly Chariot (

Merkabah 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 ...

). "The four wheels had rims and they had spokes, and their rims were full of eyes round about." They are also frequently referred to as "many-eyed ones."

Ophanim in specific spiritual traditions

Ophanim in Judaism

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 ...

lists Ophanim as the closest of angels to God in his exposition of 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 ...

In prayer

The kedusha section in the morning prayer (in the blessings preceding the recitation of the

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...

) includes the phrase, "The ''ophanim'' and the holy living creatures with great uproar raise themselves up; facing the ''seraphim'' they offer praise, saying, 'Blessed be God's glory from His place." The inspiration behind this particular passage is Ezekiel's

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

(ch. i.). The theme of angels praising God was inserted into the passage by paytanim (Jewish liturgical poets). Ophanim are mentioned in the ''el adon'' prayer, often sung by the congregation, as part of the traditional

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning s ...

service. In the Jewish angelic hierarchy thrones and wheels are different. This is also true in the

Kabbalistic 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, Jewish apocrypha, apocrypha and List of Old Testament p ...

Thrones in the Orthodox Church

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 ...

'' refers to the

from the Old Testament description as the third Order of the first sphere, the other two superior orders being the Cherubim and Seraphim. This view was also accepted by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and by

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 ...

Lord of the Flame in the Western Wisdom Teachings

The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception ''The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception or Mystic Christianity'' (also known as ''Western Wisdom Teachings'') is a Rosicrucian text by Max Heindel, first published in 1909. Contents overview The author talks about the true man and his journey thro ...

'' refers that the "Lord of the Flame", the Hierarchy of Elohim astrologically assigned to Leo, are the Thrones (from the Old Testament description, "because of the brilliant luminosity of their bodies and their great spiritual powers."); the other two superior hierarchies being also the Cherubim and Seraphim. According to this conception, the heavenly Seraphim and Cherubim as well as the Ophanim continue to aid humans in spiritual evolution; as do the heavenly Archangels and Angels.

References

{{Angels in Abrahamic religions Angels in Christianity Angels in Judaism Book of Enoch Classes of angels Ezekiel Eyes in culture