Exodus 36 (JND) - Bible Truth Library

Some, observing that the verb {kerav} in Syriac, sometimes means to resemble, make like, conceive the noun {keroov} signifies no more than an image, figure, or representation of anything.

Josephus says they were flying animals, like none of those which are seen by man, but such as Moses saw about the throne of God.

In another place he says, "As for the cherubim, nobody can tell or conceive what they were like."

These symbolical figures, according to the description of them by Ezekiel, (ch. 1:10; 10:14,) were creatures with four heads and one body; and the animals of which these forms consisted were the noblest of their kind; the lion among the wild beasts; the bull among the tame ones; the eagle among the birds, and man at the head of all.

Hence some have conceived them to be somewhat of the shape of flying oxen; and it is alleged in favour of this opinion, that the far more common meaning of the verb {kerav,} in Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, being to plough, the natural meaning of {keroov,} is a creature used in ploughing.

This seems to have been the ancient opinion which tradition had handed down, concerning the shape of the cherubim with the flaming sword, that guarded the tree of life.

(Ge 3:24.)

Ex. 25:18,22• ¹⁸And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.
²²And there will I meet with thee, and will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, everything that I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Ex. 25:18,22)

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1 Kings 6:23• ²³And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive-wood, ten cubits high; (1 Kings 6:23)

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2 Chron. 3:10• ¹⁰And in the house of the most holy place he made two cherubim of image work, and they overlaid them with gold. (2 Chron. 3:10)

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Ezek. 1:5‑28• ⁵Also out of the midst thereof, the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
⁶And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.
⁷And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; and they sparkled as the look of burnished brass.
⁸And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings:
⁹their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
¹⁰And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle.
¹¹And their faces and their wings were parted above; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
¹²And they went every one straight forward: whither the Spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went.
¹³And as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, as the appearance of torches: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright; and out of the fire went forth lightning.
¹⁴And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
¹⁵And I looked at the living creatures, and behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, toward their four faces.
¹⁶The appearance of the wheels and their work was as the look of a chrysolite; and they four had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
¹⁷When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not when they went.
¹⁸As for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and they four had their rims full of eyes round about.
¹⁹And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
²⁰Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went, thither would their spirit go; and the wheels were lifted up along with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
²¹When those went, they went; and when those stood, they stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up along with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
²²And there was the likeness of an expanse over the heads of the living creature, as the look of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
²³And under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side their bodies.
²⁴And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, a tumultuous noise, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings;
²⁵and there was a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood, they let down their wings.
²⁶And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
²⁷And I saw as the look of glowing brass, as the appearance of fire, within it round about; from the appearance of his loins and upward, and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
²⁸As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke. (Ezek. 1:5‑28)

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Ezek. 10:1‑19• ¹And I looked, and behold, in the expanse that was over the head of the cherubim there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
²And he spoke unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Come in between the wheels, under the cherub, and fill the hollow of thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
³And the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
⁴And the glory of Jehovah mounted up from the cherub, and came over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's glory.
⁵And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty *God when he speaketh.
⁶And it came to pass when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim, then he went in, and stood beside the wheel.
⁷And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen; who took it, and went out.
⁸And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man's hand under their wings.
⁹And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was as the look of a chrysolite stone.
¹⁰And as for their appearance, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel were in the midst of a wheel.
¹¹When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it: they turned not as they went.
¹²And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes round about, in them four and their wheels.
¹³As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, Galgal.
¹⁴And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
¹⁵And the cherubim mounted up. This was the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar.
¹⁶And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them.
¹⁷When they stood, these stood; and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in them.
¹⁸And the glory of Jehovah departed from over the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.
¹⁹And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight, when they went out; and the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of Jehovah's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. (Ezek. 10:1‑19)

• He was speaking from the point of view of the law, the righteous demands of His throne, which was fittingly the first thing described. But the people have sinned, have violated and dishonored that throne, and unless mercy had intervened, there would have been no possible way by which God could have gone on with them. Most fittingly, therefore, the narrative of the structure begins with the curtains which formed the Tabernacle proper. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• {v.8-19} the curtains, which typify Christ, are the theme. They are not primarily typical of heaven, or the means of access to God, or of His people individually or collectively, but in them we have a blessed and precious type of “the Man Christ Jesus,” who was God’s dwelling-place while He was upon earth....(John 1:14). The word for “dwelt” is correctly given in the margin of the Revised Version as “tabernacled” —dwelt in a tabernacle. The Eternal Word, the divine Son, by whom all things were made and are upheld, became flesh, and tabernacled here as a Man. He veiled His glory (though faith exultantly cries out, “We beheld His glory”) (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• The cherubim...a few words will suffice as to them now. They were composite creatures with four faces—of a lion, of an ox, of a man, and of an eagle (Ezek. 1:10; Rev. 4:6, 7). They represented thus four classes of life: the majestic lion, type of kingly power; the patient ox, strong for labor and service; man with his sympathy and intelligence; and the eagle soaring heavenward. The four Gospels present our Lord Jesus in this fourfold way. In the Gospel of Matthew we see Him as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” Israel’s King. In Mark we see Him in service, bearing, as the patient ox does, His burden, the load of human need. In Luke we see the face of the Man throughout—human intelligence, sympathy, love and example. John shows us the eagle from heaven, soaring back there to the place where He was with the Father before the world was. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• Briefly reviewing these thoughts, we have: The fine linen, which speaks of His holy, spotless humanity, illustrated in the Gospel of Luke; the blue of His divine and heavenly character, as in John; the purple shows His royal character, as in Matthew; and the scarlet reminds us of His humiliation and subsequent glory, as seen in Mark. (“Light” by B. Anstey)

• {fine twined linen} In the New Testament we have in the transfiguration a very striking illustration of the meaning of these white garments. Our blessed Lord’s glory, His intrinsic character, was to shine forth on that holy mount—not as He went through the land in the lowly garb of badger skins, in which there was no form or comeliness to the eye of unbelief—but the outer coverings of God’s Dwelling-place were removed, as it were, and the personal, moral glory of that Holy One shone out. “His face did shine as the sun”; “ His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them(Mark 9:3), showing forth the essential and perfect purity of His nature. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• {fine twined linen} Where, for instance, should we find emphasized and brought out in a distinctive way the humanity of our Lord, its spotless purity, apart from the thought of official position? Let us look at the Gospel of Luke. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• In Ex. 24:9, To we get the thought of blue. God had been revealing Himself at Sinai, so far as He could do so, for “No man hath seen God at any time (John 1:18). But He manifests something of His character, and does so in the symbolic way appropriate to the time of types and shadows. The elders of Israel ascend the mount and see beneath the feet of the God of Israel the “paved work of a sapphire stone, as it were the body of heaven in its clearness.” The intense blue of the sapphire thus speaks of heaven....The Gospel of John is characteristically this. From the very first verse of that Gospel to its close we have Him before us as the heavenly One: “The Word was with God” — “The Word was made flesh” (John 1:1, 14). (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• Purple, “Argaman,” is, like the word for blue, the name of a dye obtained from a shell-fish. As we shall see, the scarlet was similarly obtained from a worm. Lydia (Acts 16:14) was a seller of purple. It was a gorgeous color, badge of royalty and luxury....In Judg. 8:26 we are told that the kings of Midian wore purple robes. This gives the thought, familiar to all, that purple is the royal color, and speaks of kingly dignity....We need scarcely say that our blessed Lord was indeed a King, and the Gospel which distinctively sets Him forth in that character is Matthew. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• This brings us to the last color, scarlet. As has already been said, there is much that corresponds to the purple, but we will see if there are any distinctive characteristics to be gathered from Scripture. In his lament over Saul, David calls on the daughters of Israel to weep for one who clothed them with scarlet (2 Sam. 1:24); and the “virtuous woman,” in Prov. 31:21, clothes her household similarly. In the 19th chapter of Numbers, in the familiar type of the red heifer, we have a similar use of the word scarlet. After the heifer was slain and its blood shed, it was burned without the camp, and as it was burning,” cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet” were cast into the fire (Num. 19:6). The cedar and hyssop are opposite extremes in the vegetable world: Solomon “spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall” (1 Kings 4:33). They thus stand for all that is highest and lowest in the world, while the scarlet would stand for the splendor of the world, its glory....The full word for scarlet is Tolaath shani, “scarlet worm.” It is possible that shani, scarlet, means “double,” referring to the double dye which makes the scarlet. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• So we find that the Lord’s path, and that of His servants is suffering and rejection first, and the glory afterward. The world’s thought of scarlet is glory without suffering, just the reverse of our Lord’s. His prophetic discourse brings out the same truth. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

• {Scarlet} Mark is the only remaining Gospel, but does it answer to this color? It is known as the Gospel of the perfect Servant, as Matthew is of the King. We see Him there taking the servant’s place, ministering to the need which everywhere appealed to His pity and love. He comes down into the lowliest place and then is raised to the highest. At the close of the 8th chapter and the beginning of the 9th we have the two thoughts of His sufferings and His glory blended together. “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests and scribes, and be killed” (chap. 8:31). He is rejected, despised, downtrodden — “I am a worm and no man.” Look now at verse 38, “Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation” (the proud religious world clothing itself with scarlet) “of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels”—here is the scarlet worn by Him whose right it is. (“The Linen Curtains and Colors” by S. Ridout)

J. N. Darby Translation

And every wise-hearted man among those that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of artistic work did he make them.

W. Kelly Translation

And every wise-hearted man among those that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of artistic work did he make them.

WK Verse Note

(Note: Words in italics have been inserted from the J. N. Darby translation where the W. Kelly translation doesn’t exist.)