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‘Angels and archangels and all

the company of heaven’: the Old
Testament background to Cherubim
and Seraphim
Adam Jonathan Carlill
Published online: 26 Mar 2014.

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To cite this article: Adam Jonathan Carlill (2014) ‘Angels and archangels and all the company of
heaven’: the Old Testament background to Cherubim and Seraphim, International journal for the
Study of the Christian Church, 14:1, 41-53, DOI: 10.1080/1474225X.2014.900713

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1474225X.2014.900713

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 International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 2014
Vol. 14, No. 1, 41–53, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1474225X.2014.900713

‘Angels and archangels and all the company of heaven’: the Old
Testament background to Cherubim and Seraphim
Adam Jonathan Carlill
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In this article I examine the biblical references to Cherubim and Seraphim. The
dominant conceptual image behind all of the references to the Cherubim is the Jerusalem
Temple. The descriptions of the two central Cherubim of the Temple and the Tabernacle
are linked. They both invite the reader to imagine the Cherubim covering the Ark in the
same way that the protective covers were draped over the Tabernacle itself. By using the
formula ‘he who sits enthroned among the Cherubim’ we imagine Yhwh not simply
‘sitting’ among the Cherubim, but moving among them. Isaiah’s Seraphim are snakes,
but with extra features. Both Cherubim and Seraphim were members of the heavenly
host that surrounded Yhwh and protected him. The loss of the serpentine identification
of the Seraphim early in the tradition made it possible for later generations to equate
Cherubim and Seraphim and to see them as particular types of angels.
Keywords: angels; Cherubim; Seraphim; biblical studies; Old Testament; Christianity;
Judaism; spirituality

Christians around the globe are familiar with Cherubim and Seraphim, if only because they
have played a central part in the Christian imagination for centuries. The winged chorus that
adorns Christian churches and liturgies has evoked many a vision of the Church triumphant,
and its participants are considered as members of the Christian Church. As devotees in the
heavenly liturgy, Cherubim and Seraphim are often identified with angels or archangels.
According to Pseudo-Dionysius they are in the top tier of the spiritual hierarchy along with
Thrones.1 But what actually are they? Are they angels, as many believe? Or are they
something completely different and how are they related to each other? We need to
examine the Old Testament background to see the roots of these evocative divine beings.
In 1938 William Albright suggested that the biblical Cherubim were winged
sphinxes,2 lion-bodied figures with human heads which originated in Egypt and
Mesopotamia.3 Several depictions of winged sphinxes exist from Syria and Palestine4 and
of particular interest is a relief on the stone sarcophagus of Ahiram of Byblos depicting ‘a
god or king sitting on a cherubim throne’.5 Tryggve Mettinger is the clearest exponent of

1
Pseudo-Dionysius, The Celestial and Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, 7. References to their place within
the angelic hierarchy as outlined by Pseudo-Dionysius were commonplace in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, despite the radically different approach to them in the biblical presentation
and subsequent Christian liturgy. English translation by J. Parker. London: Skeffington, 1894.
2
Albright, ‘What Were the Cherubim?’, 2.
3
Dessenne, Le sphinx, 175.
4
Ibid., 194–6.
5
Mettinger, Dethronement of Sabaoth, 21.

q 2014 Taylor & Francis

 42 A.J. Carlill

the idea that the Cherubim of the Temple in Jerusalem formed a throne in much the same
way as the depiction in the Ahiram sarcophagus.6
Turning to Seraphim, the main modern treatment of them is by Karen Joines, who
argued that the Seraphim of Isaiah’s vision were serpentine.7 This sounds strange to the
modern Christian devotee but in other parts of the Old Testament the saraph is always a
snake of some sort. Furthermore belief in desert-dwelling flying serpents in the Ancient
Near East was not unheard of.8 Although Isaiah’s Seraphim possess faces, hands and feet
while offering human worship, there are examples of snakes with human attributes in both
Egyptian and Babylonian iconography.9
Most scholars treat Cherubim and Seraphim separately since they never occur together
in the Old Testament. Some have paired them together, viewing them as the
personification of cloud and lightning respectively,10 while others have equated them.11
However, the attempts to link or equate them have not received widespread support.
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In this article I shall present the main arguments of my DPhil thesis, Cherubim and
Seraphim in the Old Testament, in a format for the non-specialist reader of the Bible.
I shall examine the biblical references to Cherubim in the first instance before looking at
the Seraphim passages. My conclusions will act as background information to the
reception history of Cherubim and Seraphim in Christian liturgy and literature.

Ezekiel’s Cherubim
Any presentation of biblical Cherubim has to attempt some reasonable explanation of their
description in Ezekiel.12 These are the most vivid descriptions of them and, if combined
with the description of the living creatures in the initial vision,13 they offer more detail
than any other references. Unfortunately these verses present a huge number of problems
which have vexed students of the Old Testament for centuries. It is almost certain that both
the Masoretic (MT)14 and Septuagint (LXX)15 textual traditions have undergone
considerable development prior to their current form. Indeed, there may be several
versions which pre-date the book in its present form.16

Cherubim in the visions of Ezekiel 17

The internal narrative of the book of Ezekiel indicates that chapters 8 – 11 post-date the
first chapter. The dating seems to indicate that the one was separated from the other by

6
Ibid.; Mettinger, ‘YHWH SABAOTH’, 109–38.
7
Joines, Serpent Symbolism; Joines, ‘Winged Serpents’, 410–15.
8
Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, 292; Herodotus, II, 75; III, 109; Josephus, Antiquities II,
10.2; Pliny, The Natural History, X 28.
9
Keel, Jahwe-Visionen, 77 – 8; Piankoff and Rambova, Mythological Papyri, 16, 26; Charlesworth,
The Good and Evil Serpent, 87; Pritchard, Ancient Near East in Pictures, 761.
10
Most recently, Widyapranawa, The Lord is Savior, 31.
11
Lacheman, ‘The Seraphim of Isaiah 6’, 71 –2; Wyatt, ‘Grasping the Griffin’.
12
Ezek. 9.3; 10.1 – 9, 14 –16, 18 –20; 11.22; 28.14, 16; 41.18, 20, 25.
13
Ezek. 1.4 – 28. Rabbinic tradition prohibited discussion of these details, something which continues
into the modern era (Breuer, Das Buch Jecheskel, 5 – 7, 60 – 1).
14
Eichrodt: Der Prophet Hesekiel, 9*; Zimmerli, Ezechiel, 117*.
15
David Halperin’s assertion that LXX Ezek. 43.2 – 3 is a midrash of Ezek. 1.24– 5 is a good example
of the secondary nature of the Greek text, at least in part (Halperin, ‘Merkabah Midrash’, 353).
16
Zimmerli, Ezechiel, 116*.
17
Ezek. 1; 8– 11; 40 – 8.
 International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 43

about fourteen months.18 Ezek. 10.15– 22 also specifically points out that the four living
creatures in the opening chapter were Cherubim. Daniel Block considers the root vision at
the beginning of the book to be garbled because of the emotional state of the prophet,
while chapter 10 is a mature reflection on it.19 The prophet is presented in a state of great
anxiety,20 which is hardly surprising: Yhwh has been driven from the sanctuary in
Jerusalem by the cultic sins of the people,21 while the population has suffered judgement
in the form of massacre and exile.22
The living creatures of the vision form some sort of divine throne chariot, which gives
some credence to Mettinger’s argument already noted above. They reflect the Cherubim of
the Jerusalem Temple in that they stretch their wings in the same way.23 However, there
are new elements here: they have four faces24 and four wings rather than two. The LXX
version seems to increase the number of wings to six25 which may be the earliest equation
of the Cherubim and Seraphim.
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In the vision complex of chapters 8– 11 there are several presentations of the same
event.26 The prophet is taken to Jerusalem in a trance and is shown a series of cultic sins,27
followed by three accounts of the judgement process. The whole complex is nightmarish.
The Cherubim and the movement of the glory of Yhwh are the literary glue that holds it all
together. They also serve to emphasise the new situation. Yhwh’s mobility on his sentient
throne chariot enables him to regroup among the exiles, cleansing the people and bringing
them back in due course. They will build another Temple28 in which the new multi-headed
Cherubim will be depicted on the walls.29
Various writers have speculated that the writer has been influenced by
Mesopotamian cultic statuary.30 While there may be echoes of this, there is enough
unclarity in the written descriptions for any connection to be no stronger than
speculation. A greater case could be made for Egyptian or Phoenician artistic influence
through the Cherubim of the Solomonic Temple. However, the main driving force
behind the descriptions is a cautious, but faithful, attempt to describe an emotionally
charged and terrifying set of visions. The descriptions of the faces are particularly
interesting. In the first chapter the creatures have four faces: a man, a lion, an eagle and
an ox.31 Later on these become a man, a lion, an eagle and a Cherub.32 The change from
ox to Cherub has led countless commentators to speculate about the bovine form of
Cherubim. The Cherubim in Ezek. 8 – 11 are mobile and dynamic. This dynamism is
reminiscent of the Seraphim, but there is no reason to suppose that the writer had in mind

18
Ezek. 1.1– 2; 8.1– 2.
19
Block, ‘Text and Emotion’, 431– 3.
20
Ezek. 1.28; 3.14 – 15, 22 – 23.
21
Ezek. 5.11; 6.3 – 10.
22
Ezek. 5.12– 17.
23
Ezek. 1.6; 1 Kgs 7.25; 8.7; 2.
24
Ezek. 1.10.
25
Ezek. 1.6– 8 (LXX).
26
Ezek. 9.3– 11; 10.1 –7; 11.1 – 13. This is not dissimilar to the note about the doubling of Pharaoh’s
dream (Gen. 41.32).
27
Ezek. 8.5– 18.
28
Ezek. 40 –8.
29
Ezek. 41.18, 20, 25.
30
Harper, ‘Paradise and the First Sin’, 186– 7; Zimmerli, Ezechiel, 56.
31
Ezek. 1.10.
32
Ezek. 10.14.
 44 A.J. Carlill

Isaiah’s description, any more than he would have been subject to the artistic influence
of cultic imagery from Mesopotamia or elsewhere.
The main conscious reference in these chapters is to the Cherubim of Solomon’s
Temple, since the visions on Ezek. 8 –11 are set in the Temple complex. While we cannot
rule out the influence of Mesopotamian cultic imagery, the emotional impact of the
Temple in Jerusalem on the writer would be far greater. Looking at the LXX of Ezek.
1 there is a desire to harmonise the text with the description of the Seraphim, but there is no
evidence in the LXX version that the link with Seraphim was conscious in chapter 10.
Indeed, the one point where it might have exploited the link, the hand reaching to get the
coals of fire,33 is the one point where it departs substantially from the Masoretic Text
(MT), making the link less likely.

The Cherub and the Prince of Tyre

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Among Ezekiel’s oracles against the nations34 there is a collection of poems about Tyre,
including a lamentation for the Prince of Tyre35 which contains references to a Cherub.
The Prince is pictured, like Adam, living in the Garden of Eden before being expelled for
hubris. The poem either equates the Prince with a Cherub (MT) or places him with the
Cherub in the garden (LXX).36 Whatever reading we follow, the main question is whether
this Cherub has anything to do with the Cherubim already described earlier in the book.
There are obvious thematic connections with Gen. 2– 3: the primeval man in the Garden of
Eden is cast out, the man acquires knowledge which has sinful consequences,37 the man
presumes to overstep the boundary between mortal and divine, and there is a Cherub
present.38 The LXX reading makes a stronger connection in that the Cherubim in Gen. 2 –
3 are, if not the actual agents of the expulsion, at least not the ones being ejected. Some
link the passage to the mythical home of the gods, Mt Zaphon.39 There is also a strong case
for linking the passage with the High Priest in the Jerusalem Temple.40 While the Cherub
of this poem probably derives from both Eden and the Temple, there does not appear to be
any direct connection with the living Cherubim of the vision complex. The Cherubim of
Ezek. 8 –11 and the Cherub of Ezek. 28 are two separate lines of interpretation which have
the Temple as their source, but there is little or no interaction between them.
The dominant conceptual image behind the treatment of the Cherubim in Ezekiel is the
Jerusalem Temple. Yhwh’s absence from that Temple is what drives at least the first 11
chapters of the book. The Temple in Jerusalem is the mythical dwelling place of God and
primeval garden paradise which underlies both the visions of Ezek. 1 and 8 –11, and the
lament over Tyre in Ezek. 28.11 – 19. Ezekiel’s Cherubim are Jerusalem Cherubim: they
are winged, partly bovine and possibly form some sort of throne. There is a new twist to
them, though, in that they now have multiple faces, and cultic objects have turned into
living creatures in the myth of a fallen god.41

33
Ezek. 10.7.
34
Ezek. 25 –32.
35
Ezek. 28.11– 19.
36
The complexities of the textual traditions are too many to be described here.
37
Ezek. 28.3– 5.
38
For a recent discussion of the connections between these passages cf. Mettinger, The Eden
Narrative, 85 – 98.
39
A good example of this is Yaron, ‘The Dirge over the King of Tyre’, 41 – 5.
40
Cf. Yaron, ‘The Dirge over the King of Tyre’, 36 – 8; Wilson, ‘The Death of the King of Tyre’.
41
Gen. 6.1 – 4; Ps. 82; Isa. 14.12 – 15. Cf. Greenberg, Ezekiel 21 – 37, 591.
 International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 45

Living Cherubim in Genesis 3 and Psalm 18

Turning to two passing references to Cherubim in Genesis 3 and Psalm 18,42 these are
treated together because, outside Ezekiel, they are the only texts which treat Cherubim as
living beings.

Cherubim at the Garden of Eden

When Adam and Eve are ejected from the Garden of Eden, God bars their way to the tree
of life with mysterious guardians: Cherubim and some sort of flaming sword.43 In terms of
the biblical narrative this is the earliest reference to Cherubim, and traditionally was
understood as the root of the concept in the mind of the Mosaic author.44 The Cherubim in
this text are insignificant. Nothing can be derived from this verse about the form of the
Cherubim, and the writer assumes that the ancient reader knew what they were. Their role
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on the other hand is significant.

The Cherubim are linked to the tree of life, a fact that has excited archaeologists.
Winged sphinxes and other animals appearing with vegetation occur quite frequently in the
physical record.45 Although anachronistic, the depictions of sphinxes and sacred
vegetation in South Arabia are the most helpful images for the reader trying to visualise
both the Temple Cherubim and those of the Garden of Eden.46 The imagery of sacred
vegetation is ubiquitous in the ancient Near East and could easily have informed the
narrative. It makes more sense, though, for the reader of the Bible to link this passage to
other references to Cherubim that also mention vegetation of some sort: 1 Kgs 6.29, 32, 35;
7.36; Ezek. 41.18, 20, 25. These passages all refer to the Temple in Jerusalem, either
Solomon’s or the one from Ezekiel’s vision. The descriptions of the wall and door reliefs of
the Jerusalem Temple are the closest contextual references to Gen. 3.24 in that
the Cherubim are paired up with vegetation of one sort or another, usually palm trees.
The Cherubim are boundary markers of the Garden of Eden, just as the Cherubim on the
Temple doors mark the entrance to the sacred precinct. They stand to the east of the garden,
just as the entrance of the Temple opens on the east side. It is a reasonable proposition that
the ancient reader of this story would have known the Cherubim of the Temple and that a
conscious link to them is being made. When worshippers enter the Temple they are
entering Eden. The Cherubim, who were stationed at the entrance to the sacred garden,
symbolically move aside as the doors swing open to allow the faithful to return to Paradise.

Cherubim in Psalm 18
Psalm 18 is described as a Psalm of David and linked to deliverance from enemies. It is
largely reproduced in 2 Sam. 22 among the appendices to the David cycle and contains a
passing reference to either a Cherub or Cherubim (depending on which version is read),
which presents a different image from the ones elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible.

42
This psalm is also found in 2 Sam. 22.
43
Gen. 3.24.
44
This traditional reading has even led to speculations about how long the Cherubim stayed where
they were (Young, Genesis 3, 163).
45
Petit provides an extensive catalogue of their appearance in association with stylised trees (Petit,
Oedipe et le Chérubin, 22 – 9). He is also the latest scholar to see the imagery of the Garden of Eden
and the Temple as a literary equivalent of these (ibid., 36).
46
Cleveland, ‘Cherubs and the “Tree of Life”’, 55 – 60.
 46 A.J. Carlill

How many Cherubim are there in this poem? MT mentions only one. LXX uses a
plural form. It is easier to argue that the plural was introduced at a later stage of the
tradition in order to harmonise with other places where Cherubim are usually in pairs or
fours. If the plural reading were earlier, it would be very difficult to explain why a singular
form crept in, when there is only one other place in the Hebrew Bible where one Cherub
clearly appears on its own: Ezek. 28.14, 16. Consequently, it is more likely that the
singular form came first. This has important implications for the overall interpretation of
the image.
In terms of poetic parallelism the Cherub could be paralleled with ‘thick darkness
under his feet’,47 with ‘the wings of the wind’48 or both.49 There is a difference of
emphasis in these two possibilities. The darkness implies a protective role, while ‘the
wings of the wind’ suggests a dynamic one. It is possible that the poet intends both ideas to
be read into the Cherub, but it is worth considering them separately. The protective role
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would fit the apotropaic nature of the Cherubim elsewhere, at the entrance to the Garden of
Eden, on the doors and walls of the Temple and Tabernacle, over the Ark, and possibly in
Ezek. 28. The dynamic role is something that only occurs elsewhere in Ezekiel’s visions,
and even that is not consistent. There could also be a connection with a phrase in the next
verse, ‘he made darkness his covering’. Although ‘covering’ (Hebrew sether) has a range
of meanings, both secular and sacred, here it is related to the sanctuary. Indeed, Ps. 61.5
(English translation [ET] 4) quite specifically connects it with Yhwh’s wings and with the
sanctuary. While the former may not be the Cherubim in that verse (Yhwh is described
with wings elsewhere),50 the nexus of imagery suggests either the Ark underneath the
large Cherubim of the pre-exilic Temple or the Mercy Seat (Kapporeth) as described with
the Cherubim in the Mosaic Tabernacle. The imagery is rich and should certainly not be
reduced to seeing the Cherub as some sort of personification of cloud or storm.
So is Yhwh riding directly on the Cherub51 or is he driving some sort of chariot? The
plural reading requires some explanation in terms of a chariot pulled by Cherubim or the
throne chariot idea of Ezek. 1. The singular Cherub of MT, while not ruling out the chariot
idea entirely, tends to suggest some sort of mount, so it seems most likely to be the sense
here.52 That being the case, the Cherub in this verse is, uniquely, being ridden by Yhwh.
What is the significance of the Cherub in this verse? Wood points out, correctly, that it
is the only specifically supernatural element in the description.53 This suggests that the
Cherub has the role of tying what would otherwise be just another storm theophany down
to a particular context. If Terrien is also correct in seeing this verse as the turning point of
the first part of the psalm,54 the significance of the Cherub is enhanced, but what of the
context? The psalm clearly links the theophany to the Temple: ‘In my distress I called
upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my
cry to him reached his ears’ (New Revised Standard Version).55 The writer of this psalm is
describing Yhwh’s deliverance in a storm theophany, and, if the Temple is the earthly one,

47
Ps. 18.10b (ET 9b).
48
Ps. 18.11b (ET 10b).
49
Wood, Of Wings and Wheels, 88 –91.
50
Exod. 19.4; Deut. 32.11.
51
Alter, The Book of Psalms, 54.
52
Wood, Of Wings and Wheels, 87 –8.
53
Ibid., 91.
54
Terrien, The Psalms, 190, 194.
55
Ps. 18.7 (ET 6).
 International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 47

the Cherub could have the role of pinning the imagery down to the Temple. It is the only
word that specifically connects the two. The writer introduces an interesting element into
the description, though, namely the element of dynamism. The picture of Yhwh riding a
Cherub like an animal is unique. However, given the unique nature of this image, it is
possible that this also is the only reference which links a Cherub to Yhwh’s heavenly
Temple. Given the propensity, though, of other references to Cherubim being related to
physical sanctuaries, this seems the less plausible option, and that the role of the Cherub in
the psalm is to evoke the Jerusalem Temple in the mind of the reader.

The Relationship of Psalm 18, Genesis 3 and Ezekiel 28

Psalm 18.11 (ET 10) is a unique interpretation of the role of the Cherubim and is possibly
the earliest reference to a Cherub as a living creature. It takes as its starting point the
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Cherubim of the Jerusalem Temple but, unlike Gen. 3.24, treats them in a different way.
In Gen. 3.24 they continue their apotropaic role. In Psalm 18 the Cherub is additionally a
divine war horse. Although this is a unique image, it suggests that the Cherubim were
largely bestial in form, something which was impossible to discern from Gen. 3.24. Did
the writer of Gen. 3.24 know of this reference to a Cherub? There is nothing in the
presentation of the Cherubim in the Eden story to suggest so. Neither is there any sense of
the Cherub in Ezek. 28.14, 16 having a similar role. However, all these texts are linked, in
that the Cherubim are sentient supernatural beings which relate in some way to the cultic
images of the Jerusalem Temple. They are expected to obey Yhwh’s will, and, with the
exception of Ezek. 28.14, 16 (MT), they do.

Cherubim images in the Tabernacle and the Temple

In Ezekiel, Genesis and Psalm 18 the Jerusalem Temple is the key point of reference for all
the texts which describe or refer to Cherubim. The Solomonic Temple and the Mosaic
Tabernacle need to be treated together because there are clear connections between them.
Both the Tabernacle and the Temple have a main room and an inner room. Both are
surrounded by a court. Both have two sets of doors or veils. In both, the Cherubim appear
in close connection to the Ark of the Covenant (itself the central cultic item), as well as on
the insides56 and on the doors57 or veil,58 and Temple carts.59
In the inner sanctuary (the Holy of Holies or Debir) of the Temple are two wooden
Cherubim, covered in gold leaf.60 They are 10 cubits tall, with wings that are five cubits in
length, producing a total wing span each of 10 cubits. This means that they reach to half
the height of the 20 cubit cube that is the Debir. There are a number of problems with the
description which do not concern us here. The main issue, though, is the lack of clarity in
the description.61 The width, thickness and shape of the wings are not described, and it is
not certain how many wings there are. The singular noun, kenaph (‘wing’), could be a

56
Exod. 26.1; 36.8; 1 Kgs 6.29; 2 Chron. 3.7 (LXX 8).
57
1 Kgs 6.31 – 5.
58
Exod. 26.31; 36.35; 2 Chron. 3.14.
59
1 Kgs 7.29, 36.
60
1 Kgs 6.23 – 8; 8.6 –7. Cf. 1 Chron. 28.18; 2 Chron. 3.10 –13; 5.7– 8. The Chronicler has given a
conflated interpretation of the Tabernacle and Temple descriptions, with one eye on Ezekiel.
61
The lack of clarity in this description is one reason for the Jewish tradition that the Cherubim were
miraculous and no longer required in the Second Temple (Yoma 21b). Their restoration would be a
sign of the coming of the Messiah.
 48 A.J. Carlill

collective. The Cherubim face inwards but it is not clear how that works out. The Ark and
its poles are somehow covered by the wings of the Cherubim, and yet the poles are said to
be visible in some way. One solution is to imagine some sort of covering for the Ark which
is not described in Kings. Another way to deal with this problem is to suggest that the text
about the poles existed independently of the verses describing the Cherubim themselves.62
The reader has to rely either on one layer of text being incompatible with the other, or on
some significant artefact from the Temple being completely ignored, neither of which is
particularly satisfactory. It is not clear whether the Cherubim are two-dimensional or
three-dimensional. Most scholars assume that they are three-dimensional, but the text does
not demand it. The nature of the ‘canopy’ is unclear: the verb could mean ‘cover’ (Ps.
140.8, ET 7), ‘hedge about’ (Job 40.22), ‘screen’ (Exod. 40.3) or ‘wrap up’ (Lam. 3.44).63
All of these possibilities are made purely with reference to the texts. Looking at the
archaeological data, the prime candidate for a referent for these two Cherubim is the
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winged sphinx. Many commentators assume that the Cherubim form some sort of throne
with their wings, but this is quite unsatisfactory because it is not justified by the text. Even
if there had been a physical reality along the lines of a throne in the pre-exilic Temple, we
should be forced to ask why this form was ignored by the writer of Kings.
Eichler has recently proposed that the Cherubim could be upright, drawing particular
attention to the winged, humanoid deities on the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun.64 There are
a number of other artefacts, both animal and humanoid, which complement Eichler’s
suggestion. A gold-plated silver bowl, from Kurion in Cyprus, contains winged animals and
winged humanoid figures, one of which is very similar in stance to the Tutankhamun
figures. A similar plate from Rome but Cypro-Phoenician in style shows a winged
humanoid figure with outstretched wings above another figure in a chariot in a gesture of
protection of the second figure.65 The deities on the Tutankhamun sarcophagus would not fit
the description in Kings, were we to assume that the wall referred to in 1 Kgs 6.27 is the side
wall. The wings outstretched in either direction, however, would fit, if we imagine them to
be touching the back wall instead. With this in mind it is possible to envisage the two
Cherubim’s wings as forming the front and sides of a 10 cubit long and five cubit deep,
open-topped cuboid in the centre of the rear half of the Debir, within which the Ark resided,
the Cherubim themselves standing at the corners in a similar way to Tutankhamun’s
sarcophagus. The Cherubim could be either two-dimensional or three-dimensional,
humanoid or non-humanoid, and with two or more wings. This form potentially could solve
the problem of the poles as well. The problem with this reconstruction, though, is that it is
dependent on the outer wings of the Cherubim touching the same wall, the back one, and the
text specifies two walls in 1 Kgs 6.27. I suggest that hasheni (‘second’) is present due to
dittography, coming as it does so close to the phrase hakerub hasheni (‘second Cherub’)
and offer this reconstruction on the basis that it is no less plausible than the throne
reconstruction which has been so widely accepted. Unlike the throne idea, it allows a mental
image of the Cherubim to be reconstructed which does not require the reader to ignore
large elements of the text, or to add details which are not described. The need to ignore
the reference to the ‘second’ wall in 1 Kgs. 6.27 is a problem, but this reconstruction opens
up interesting possibilities for how we imagine the Cherubim of the Mosaic Tabernacle.

62
e.g. Jones, 1 and 2 Kings, 194–5.
63
Gray, J., I & II Kings, 194; Mulder, 1 Kings, 387; Cogan, I Kings, 279.
64
Eichler, ‘The Function of the Ark Cherubim’, 178– 80.
65
Petit, Oedipe et le Chérubin, Figures 34, 83 – 4.
 International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 49

In Exodus, two Cherubim of wrought gold and a cult place of atonement (Kapporeth)
were placed on the Ark of the Covenant.66 It is unclear whether the Cherubim are two- or
three-dimensional, or how many wings they possess. The wings are described using terms
which all occur in 1 Kings. The Kapporeth is placed ‘on the Ark above’ (my translation of al
haaron milemalah). What is the meaning of this phrase? Its specific usage in the Tabernacle
descriptions produces an interesting parallel. The leather covering for the Tabernacle is said
to be milemalah,67 using the same preposition, al. The combination of these two words in
the hands of the same writer is likely to mean the same thing. The covering for the tent is a
waterproof layer for protection from the weather. This means that it would cover the sides
as well as the top. If this idea is applied to the Kapporeth, it is reasonable to assume that it
too covers the sides of the Ark as well as the top. Since the description of the Kapporeth
only includes its length and breadth and not its thickness, some sort of overlap with the top
of the Ark would be essential if it were not to slide off. If my reconstruction is correct, the
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position of the expiatory is not so much spatially above the Ark as all over it. It is as if the
Ark, Kapporeth and Cherubim together form a mini sanctuary.
There are interesting artefacts which may assist the reader at this point. Some model
temples from Megiddo serve as possible examples of what the Ark might have looked like in
the writer’s mind. This was suggested by H.G. May in 1936. He proposed that the Ark might
have been decorated with Cherubim.68 However, he did not engage in detail with the
descriptions in Exodus or 1 Kings, and ignored the Kapporeth completely. The reconstruction
that I have suggested above makes the Ark and Kapporeth combination look very similar to
the models from Megiddo. This concept is physically similar to the sarcophagus imagery
with which I compared the Temple Cherubim. It is looking increasingly likely that we have a
common style or referent for both the 1 Kings and Exodus texts.
The descriptions of the two central Cherubim of the Temple and the Tabernacle are
linked. They both invite the reader to imagine the Cherubim covering the Ark in the same
way that the protective covers were draped over the Tabernacle itself. Only their faces and
wings can be pictured, but the temple models from Megiddo and the winged deities on the
Tutankhamun sarcophagus and Cypriot bowls help the reader to visualise a form that
makes sense. Space did not permit a treatment here of the other Cherubim in the Temple
and Tabernacle. Nevertheless, the multiplicity of the Cherubim is important.

The Cherubim formula

The Cherubim formula, yoshev hakeruvim (literally ‘he who sits the Cherubim’), occurs
seven times in the Old Testament69 and, additionally, one further time in the Apocrypha.70
Of these 2 Sam. 6.2 and 1 Chron. 13.6 are parallel, as are 2 Kgs 19.15 and Isa. 37.16. The
syntax of the phrase admits many different translations, primarily because of the lack of
preposition in the Hebrew text, when one is required in translation to make any sense of it.
There are, in fact, three variables: firstly, the translation of yoshev; secondly, which
preposition to use; and thirdly whether the relationship between the two words is objective
or genitive.71 The difficulty the translator faces is how to choose from the possibilities

66
Exod. 25.17 – 22; 37.7– 9; Num. 7.89.
67
Exod. 26.14; 36.19; 40.19.
68
May, ‘The Ark. A Miniature Temple’, 216– 17.
69
1 Sam. 4.4; 2 Sam. 6.2; 2 Kgs 19.15; 1 Chron. 13.6; Isa. 37.16; Ps. 80.1; 99.1.
70
Dan. 3.55.
71
Wood, Of Wings and Wheels, 9 –14.
 50 A.J. Carlill

available, without necessarily imposing any preconceptions about what form the
Cherubim may have taken, or what role they may have.
Since the second half of the nineteenth century the vast majority of scholars and
popular writers have rendered yoshev as ‘enthroned’. This is reflected in the consistent use
of ‘enthroned’ in mainstream translations.72 The use of ‘seated’ or ‘sits’ has been
considerably less popular. In any case, many writers use a combination of ‘sitting’ and
‘enthroned’, and it could easily be argued that the concept of a king sitting is tantamount to
enthronement anyway, something that is particularly overt in Psalm 99. However, it is not
clear whether Yhwh is being viewed as a king in the Shiloh narratives, or on the lips of the
King of Judah.
Wood has proposed a translation which understands the relationship between yoshev
and hakeruvim to be nominal rather than verbal, based on a construct relationship between
them.73 The construct could be subjective (‘the Cherubim dweller’) or objective
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(‘the dweller of the Cherubim’). Either way this idea increases the likelihood of the
formula referring to more than just the two main Cherubim near the Ark. It could refer to
all the cult images in the Temple, or even to their heavenly equivalents as well.
A survey of the translations used for the Cherubim formula reveals considerably less
consensus over which preposition to understand than there is over the translation of yoshev.
In English prepositions include ‘between’, ‘above’/‘over’, ‘on’/‘upon’. The use of ‘between’
is influenced by Num. 7.89. Should the preposition be ‘among’/‘amidst’ or ‘with’? The
preferable option is ‘among’, because it implies that Yhwh is somehow surrounded by
Cherubim rather than alongside them, and takes into account the large number of Cherubim
in the Temple and Tabernacle. It also gives a stronger sense of their apotropaic role, while
Yhwh remains central to their existence being above them in nature and rank.
By using the formula ‘he who sits enthroned among the Cherubim’, speculative
reconstructions of the Cherubim on the Ark and in the Temple have not been ruled out.
Indeed, the use of ‘enthroned’ in at least four of the seven occurrences would still allow
those wishing to reconstruct a Cherubim throne to do so. However, ‘among’ brings the
other Cherubim into the picture, allows Yhwh to get out of his throne74, and presents us
with a more dynamic deity. Yhwh does not simply ‘sit’ among the Cherubim, he moves
among them. Neither is he simply a God who floats ethereally above. His feet are on a
footstool, probably the Ark, and he lives and walks among mortals as and when he chooses.

The Seraphim
With regard to the Seraphim, prior to the modern period there were few scholars proposing
that they were serpentine in form.75 Most popular commentaries treated the Seraphim as
angelic.76 The etymological separation of saraph I77 and saraph II78 can be traced back to

72
New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New American
Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society Version, Jerusalem
Bible and New Jerusalem Bible.
73
Wood, Of Wings and Wheels, 12 –14.
74
1 Sam. 3.10.
75
The earliest I can find is by Thomas Tenison in 1678 (Tenison, Of Idolatry, 351).
76
This is something that has tailed off in recent years, despite an increase in popular interest in
angelology. However, the angelic interpretation still finds occasional supporters (Watts, Isaiah 1 –
33, 106).
77
Num. 21.6, 8; Deut. 8.15; Isa. 14.29; 30.6.
78
Isa. 6.2, 6.
 International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 51

the LXX, which treats seraphim in Isa. 6 as a transliterated proper noun, but does not do so
in the other references in which the saraph is clearly some type of snake. Their contexts
demand this. However, the picture in Isa. 6, while not precluding a serpentine
interpretation, does not require it. The question for the interpreter is whether or not to
apply the serpentine interpretation to Isa. 6 or not, without simply reading in a pre-
conceived idea.
Num. 21.6 – 9 suggests that there was a type of desert-dwelling snake, known as a
saraph presumably either because of its appearance like fire, or because of the nature of
its bite.79 This snake was the subject of a judgement narrative relating to the Exodus
story and linked to a cult object in the Temple, the bronze snake, Nehushtan.80 The
Hebrew reader, early in the textual tradition, would have understood what a saraph was,
while this knowledge was lost by the time of the LXX translators, who treated it as an
adjective. Likewise in Deut. 8.15 saraph is a type of snake, known to the author or
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glossator, but unknown to the LXX translators. In Isa. 14.29 and Isa. 30.6 the saraph is
winged, so the two oracles containing these references should be linked, possibly to the
same writer. The LXX translator, while noting overtly the connection between the two
passages, has treated saraph as an actual snake, unlike the translators of Num. 21.6 and
Deut. 8.15.
There are important connections between Isa. 14.28 – 32 and the vision of Isa. 6.
Firstly, Isa. 6.1 and 14.28 are the only places in the Hebrew Bible where this formula
occurs: ‘In the year that King X died’ followed by the verb. Secondly, both of these
oracles can be dated to the time of Isaiah. Thirdly, they both contain references to at
least one winged saraph. Fourthly, they are focused on Zion and the throne of Yhwh.
Fifthly, they both contain references to smoke as part of Yhwh’s manifestation. This
means the reader has to take seriously the idea that the winged snakes of Isa. 14.29
and 30.6 are the same thing as in Isa. 6, namely fantastic winged snakes.
What did Isaiah see? The Seraphim were standing in attendance either above
Yhwh (MT) or around him (LXX) in the Temple. They flew. They covered either
their own faces and feet or those of the deity, a detail that is not specified in the
Hebrew text and which leaves open the possibility that the Seraphim are covering
Yhwh with their wings in much the same way that the Cherubim cover the Ark with
theirs. The number of Seraphim is inconclusive, suggesting another possible
connection with the large number of Cherubim in the Temple, as members of the
heavenly host like that in the vision of Micaiah ben Imlah,81 and possibly reflecting
the multiplicity of snakes in Num. 21. The Seraphim are snakes, but with extra
features. They have six wings, feet, hands, faces, and human voices. Like the snake
in Genesis 3 they apparently speak Hebrew,82 and, like the snakes of Isaiah 21, they
are dangerous agents of Yhwh, but with a medicinal role.83 Isaiah’s prophetic
imagination might have been inspired by the form of Nehushtan combined with the
multiplicity of Cherubim decorating the Temple walls, doors and cultic
paraphernalia.

79
The Hebrew root is associated with fire, and has been variously linked to the movement of snakes
like lightning or to the effect of their venom.
80
2 Kgs 18.4.
81
1 Kgs 22.19 – 22.
82
Unless, like Harry Potter, we assume that Isaiah was a Parselmouth (Rowling, Chamber of
Secrets,146).
83
Isa. 6.2 – 3, 5.
 52 A.J. Carlill

Conclusions
Both Cherubim and Seraphim were members of the heavenly host that surrounded Yhwh.
By the time of the LXX translators, knowledge of the saraph as a snake was lost, along
with any memory of the form of the Cherubim. This opened up the possibility of a tradition
which equated Cherubim and Seraphim by Philo84 and others. This tradition in turn
strengthened the case for there being only two Seraphim, like the two main Cherubim of
the Temple. The loss of serpentine identification also made it possible for later generations
to see the Seraphim and Cherubim as particular types of angels. In Christian circles they
were conflated and given a special place in the heavenly liturgy.85 They appeared regularly
as members of the heavenly court in Enochic literature as well as in numerous Christian
and Jewish Pseudepigraphal texts such as the Testament of Adam.86 Cherubim and
Seraphim were fantastic mystical beings who stood, flew and guarded the divine presence.
They were heavenly hosts that, far from being angelic, were bestial and terrifying to
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encounter.

Notes on contributor
Adam Carlill is a priest in the Church of England, serving in Berkshire, UK, since 1998. He
completed his DPhil at Oxford University on the nature and form of Cherubim and Seraphim in the
Old Testament. He is committed to making the fruits of scholarly biblical research available to as
many Christian devotees as possible so as to enhance their maturity in the faith.

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