Ezekiel 1:6
in Ezekiel 1but each had four faces and four wings.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.
KJV
And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
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This verse in Ezekiel 1
Commentary
10 notes on this verseEvery one had four faces - There were four several figures of these living creatures, and each of these figures had four distinct faces: but as the face of the man was that which was presented to the prophet’s view, so that he saw it more plainly than any of the others; hence it is said, Eze 1:5, that each of these figures had the likeness of a man; and the whole of this compound image bore a general resemblance to the human figure.
This site's exposition
four faces and four wings
on Ezekiel 1:6-9
Each creature had “four faces and four wings.” Under the wings were “human hands,” and “their wings were touching one another,” so the four moved as one rank. The text states the rule of their motion plainly: “They did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.”
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Verse 6) And in the midst of it is the likeness of four living creatures, and this is their appearance: the likeness of a man is among them. In the midst of it, it is understood, is indeed electricity: but it is better to understand it as fire, which is light for believers and punishment for unbelievers.
The four animals that bore the chariot were a type of the leading characteristics of the soul. For as the eagle rules over all the other birds and the lion is king of the wild beasts and the bull over the tamed animals and humanity …
After I wrote the letter, I remembered what is written in Ezekiel, which he showed as an example of perfection. He saw an animal above the river Chebar that had four faces and four feet and four wings. The face of the cherub is when …
After this description of the prophet, we still cannot comprehend as we read. But if we cannot comprehend the throne that he has described, how will we be able to comprehend him who sits on it, the invisible and ineffable God? It is impossible to examine closely the nature of God, but for his works, which we see, we can offer him praise and glory.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistHomilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
The four holy living creatures, which are foreseen through the spirit of prophecy, are described with subtle narration when it is said: "Four faces to each one, and four wings to each one." What is expressed by the face except knowledge, and what by the wings except flight? For indeed each one is recognized by the face, while by wings the bodies of birds are lifted up on high. The face therefore pertains to faith, the wing to contemplation. For through faith we are known by almighty God, just as He Himself says of His sheep: "I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and mine know me." Who says again: "I know whom I have chosen." But through contemplation, because we are raised above ourselves, we are as it were lifted into the air. Therefore four faces belong to each one, because if you should ask what Matthew thinks concerning the incarnation of the Lord, he undoubtedly thinks what Mark, Luke, and John think. If you should ask what John thinks, it is without doubt what Luke, Mark, and Matthew think. If you should ask what Mark thinks, it is what Matthew, John, and Luke think. If you should ask what Luke thinks, it is what John, Matthew, and Mark think. Therefore four faces belong to each one, because the knowledge of faith, by which they are known by God, is the same in one as it is simultaneously in all four. For whatever you find in one, you rightly recognize this same thing in all four together. And four wings to each one, because they all together harmoniously preach the Son of God Almighty, our Lord Jesus Christ, and lifting the eyes of the mind to His divinity, they fly with the wing of contemplation. Therefore the faces of the Evangelists pertain to the humanity of the Lord, the wing to His divinity, because in Him whom they behold as corporeal, they gaze as it were with their faces. […]
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And or but everyone had four faces,.... Which are described; see Gill on Eze 1:
The angels are fitted with wings to fly swiftly on God's errands; whatever business God sends them upon they lose no time. Faith and hope are the soul's wings, upon which it soars upward; pious and devout affections are its wings on which it is carried forward with vigour and alacrity.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In the Revelation of John each “beast” has its own distinctive character, here each unites in itself the four characters; there each has six wings, like the Seraphim Isa 6:2, here only four.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה | vearbaah | and four | H702 → | 318 times |
| פָנִ֖ים | fanim | faces | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לְאֶחָ֑ת | leechat | [belonged] to one | H259 → | 971 times |
| וְאַרְבַּ֥ע | vearba' | and four | H702 → | 318 times |
| כְּנָפַ֖יִם | kenafayim | wings | H3671 → | 109 times |
| לְאַחַ֥ת | leachat | [belonged] to one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לָהֶֽם׃ | lahem | of them |
וְאַרְבָּעָ֥הand four
vearbaahH702 →318 times
פָנִ֖יםfaces
fanimH6440 →2123 times
לְאֶחָ֑ת[belonged] to one
leechatH259 →971 times
וְאַרְבַּ֥עand four
vearba'H702 →318 times
כְּנָפַ֖יִםwings
kenafayimH3671 →109 times
לְאַחַ֥ת[belonged] to one
leachatH259 →971 times
לָהֶֽם׃of them
lahem
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
Isaiah 6:2Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
it leads to
- Revelation 4:8
And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty,…
- Ezekiel 1:11
Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its body.
- Psalms 103:20
Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.
- Psalms 104:4
He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.
- Psalms 18:10
He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
- Revelation 4:8
Through
Ezekiel 10:14Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
it leads to
- Revelation 4:7
The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
- 1 Kings 7:36
He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around.
- Ezekiel 10:21
Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
- Revelation 4:7
Where this verse is studied
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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); Ammonas of Egypt, LETTER 13:8; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 9:3; Gregory the Dialogist, Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 3; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Pseudo-Macarius, FIFTY SPIRITUAL HOMILIES 1:3.