Ezekiel 1:26
in Ezekiel 1Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And above the firmament 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 upon it above.
KJV
And above the firmament 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 the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
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This verse in Ezekiel 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA sapphire - The pure oriental sapphire, a large well cut specimen of which is now before me, is one of the most beautiful and resplendent blues that can be conceived. I have sometimes seen the heavens assume this illustrious hue. The human form above this canopy is supposed to represent Him who, in the fullness of time, was manifested in the flesh.
This site's exposition
the appearance of sapphire
on Ezekiel 1:26-28
Above the expanse was “the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire,” and on it “a figure like that of a man.” He names it with stacked words, “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD,” and at the sight he “fell facedown.”
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 22 onwards) And the likeness above the heads of the living creatures was like the appearance of a crystal dreadful ice; extended above their heads was what appeared to be a firmament. Under the firmament their wings were straight, one toward another. Each of them had two wings that covered their bodies, and each one had two wings that covered one side. And I heard the sound of the wings, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty God.
When he came to the doorway of the church, he looked in and saw an apparition. Where his feet were, there appeared to him something like a sparkling sapphire, and he was unable to look at his face because of the great light that unceasingly …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistHomilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 8 · Written before 604.
proposed
"And above the firmament that was over their head, as it were the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne; and upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness as it were of the appearance of a man above." What is designated by the throne except those angelic virtues which surpass even the angels themselves in the dignity of a higher place?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And above the firmament that was over their heads,....
And the more we are acquainted, and the more intimately we converse, with the glory of God in these three branches of it, the more commanding influence will divine revelation have upon us and the more ready shall we be to submit to it, which is the thing aimed at in prefacing the prophecies of this book with these visions.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The azure sapphire answers to the color of the sky. As others are called "sons of God," but He "the Son of God," so others are called "sons of man" (Eze 2:1, 3), but He "the Son of man" (Mt 16:13), being the embodied representative of humanity and the whole human race; as, on the other hand, He is the representative of "the fulness of the Godhead" (Col 2:9).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Sapphire - Clear heavenly blue. The appearance of a man - Deeply significant is the form of this manifestation. Here is no angel conveying God’s message to man, but the glory of the Lord Himself. We recognize in this vision the prophetic annunciation of the Holy Incarnation. We are told little of the extent to which the human form was made evident to the prophet. For the vision was rather to the mind than to the bodily eye, and even inspired language was inadequate to convey to the hearer the glory which eye hath not seen or ear heard, and which only by special revelation it hath entered into the heart of man to conceive.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִמַּ֗עַל | umimaal | and [was] from above | H4605 → | 140 times |
| לָרָקִ֙יעַ֙ | larakia' | <to> the expanse | H7549 → | 17 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשָׁ֔ם | rosham | head their | H7218 → | 599 times |
| כְּמַרְאֵ֥ה | kemareh | like [the] appearance of | H4758 → | 103 times |
| אֶֽבֶן־ | ʾeven- | a stone of | H68 → | 273 times |
| סַפִּ֖יר | sapir | sapphire | H5601 → | 11 times |
| דְּמ֣וּת | demut | [the] likeness of | H1823 → | 25 times |
| כִּסֵּ֑א | kise' | a throne | H3678 → | 135 times |
| וְעַל֙ | veal | and [was] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דְּמ֣וּת | demut | [the] likeness of | H1823 → | 25 times |
| הַכִּסֵּ֔א | hakise' | the throne | H3678 → | 135 times |
| דְּמ֞וּת | demut | a likeness | H1823 → | 25 times |
| כְּמַרְאֵ֥ה | kemareh | like [the] appearance of | H4758 → | 103 times |
| אָדָ֛ם | ʾadam | a human | H120 → | 551 times |
| עָלָ֖יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִלְמָֽעְלָה׃ | milmaelah | from to above <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
וּמִמַּ֗עַלand [was] from above
umimaalH4605 →140 times
לָרָקִ֙יעַ֙<to> the expanse
larakia'H7549 →17 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[was] above
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹאשָׁ֔םhead their
roshamH7218 →599 times
כְּמַרְאֵ֥הlike [the] appearance of
kemarehH4758 →103 times
אֶֽבֶן־a stone of
ʾeven-H68 →273 times
סַפִּ֖ירsapphire
sapirH5601 →11 times
דְּמ֣וּת[the] likeness of
demutH1823 →25 times
כִּסֵּ֑אa throne
kise'H3678 →135 times
וְעַל֙and [was] on
vealH5921 →5755 times
דְּמ֣וּת[the] likeness of
demutH1823 →25 times
הַכִּסֵּ֔אthe throne
hakise'H3678 →135 times
דְּמ֞וּתa likeness
demutH1823 →25 times
כְּמַרְאֵ֥הlike [the] appearance of
kemarehH4758 →103 times
אָדָ֛םa human
ʾadamH120 →551 times
עָלָ֖יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
מִלְמָֽעְלָה׃from to above <towards>
milmaelahH4605 →140 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
Exodus 24:10and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
it leads to
- John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 10:1
And I looked and saw above the expanse, above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 32:30
So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- John 1:18
Through
Revelation 1:13and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:16
And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 7:13
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led…
- Daniel 10:5–6
I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.
- Revelation 15:6
And out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean and bright linen and girded with golden sashes around their chests.
- Exodus 28:6–8
They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn.
- Daniel 10:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Gregory the Dialogist, Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 8; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Calvin, Commentaries on the First Twenty Chapters of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Pachomius the Great, LIFE OF PACHOMIUS (BOHAIRIC) 184.