Exodus 25:20
in Exodus 25And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
KJV
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
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This verse in Exodus 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis propitiatory covering, as it might well be translated, was a type of Christ, the great propitiation, whose satisfaction fully answers the demands of the law, covers our transgressions, and comes between us and the curse we deserve. Thus he is the end of the law for righteousness.
This site's exposition
cherubims shall stretch forth their wings
on Exodus 25:20-22
The cherubims face one another with their wings spread and their eyes on the seat between them. Genesis 3:24 set cherubims at the east of Eden to keep the way of the tree of life, and here they stand over the one place God names as where he will meet with Moses and commune with him. The meeting place is the lid of the chest that holds the law, and the chapter sets those two facts side by side and explains neither.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureItinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
For the Cherubim also designate this, who looked upon one another. Nor is it without mystery that they looked upon one another with their faces turned toward the mercy seat, so that what the Lord says in John may be verified: "This is eternal life, …
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
As a sign of Him, there are the two Cherubim turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward the propitiatory. The two Cherubim are the two Testaments whose gaze is directed upon Christ. He opened their minds when they understood the Scriptures, meaning …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And these holy places made with hands were the figures of the true, Heb. ix, 24. The gospel-church is the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man, Heb. viii, 2. The body of Christ, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater and more perfect tabernacle, Heb. ix, 11.
quarantine:near-duplicate (2026-07-29) — near-dup(64%, 2 voices)
And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high,....
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָי֣וּ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַכְּרֻבִים֩ | hakeruvim | the cherubim | H3742 → | 91 times |
| פֹּרְשֵׂ֨י | poresei | spreading out | H6566 → | 67 times |
| כְנָפַ֜יִם | khenafayim | <of> wings | H3671 → | 109 times |
| לְמַ֗עְלָה | lema'lah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| סֹכְכִ֤ים | sokhekhim | covering | H5526 → | 24 times |
| בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם֙ | bekhanfeihem | with wings their | H3671 → | 109 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת | hakaporet | the atonement cover | H3727 → | 27 times |
| וּפְנֵיהֶ֖ם | ufeneihem | and faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | [will be] to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אָחִ֑יו | ʾachiv | brother its | H251 → | 630 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת | hakaporet | the atonement cover | H3727 → | 27 times |
| יִהְי֖וּ | yihyu | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] faces of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַכְּרֻבִֽים׃ | hakeruvim | the cherubim | H3742 → | 91 times |
וְהָי֣וּand they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
הַכְּרֻבִים֩the cherubim
hakeruvimH3742 →91 times
פֹּרְשֵׂ֨יspreading out
poreseiH6566 →67 times
כְנָפַ֜יִם<of> wings
khenafayimH3671 →109 times
לְמַ֗עְלָה<to> upwards <towards>
lema'lahH4605 →140 times
סֹכְכִ֤יםcovering
sokhekhimH5526 →24 times
בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם֙with wings their
bekhanfeihemH3671 →109 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶתthe atonement cover
hakaporetH3727 →27 times
וּפְנֵיהֶ֖םand faces their
ufeneihemH6440 →2123 times
אִ֣ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־[will be] to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אָחִ֑יוbrother its
ʾachivH251 →630 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶתthe atonement cover
hakaporetH3727 →27 times
יִהְי֖וּthey will be
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] faces of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַכְּרֻבִֽים׃the cherubim
hakeruvimH3742 →91 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 9:5Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:6–7
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 7:89
When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony.…
- Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he…
- Exodus 25:17–22
And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
- Leviticus 16:13
He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.
- 1 Kings 8:6–7
Through
1 Chronicles 28:18the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense; and the plans for the chariot of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the…
it leads to
- Exodus 25:18–22
Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat,
- Exodus 30:1–10
“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.
- Exodus 25:18–22
Through
Exodus 25:18Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat,
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:5
Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
- Hebrews 9:5
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.