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Ezekiel 1:7

in Ezekiel 1

Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming like polished bronze.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished brass.

KJV

And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

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This verse in Ezekiel 1

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

(Verse 7) The four faces to one, and the four wings to one, and their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the appearance of burnished brass. And the hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides. LXX: And the four faces to one, and the four wings to one, and their legs were straight, and they had winged feet.

This site's exposition

every one had four faces, and every one had four wings

on Ezekiel 1:6-9

Each creature carries four faces and four wings, feet straight like a pillar yet soled like a calf's, so the figure stands designed rather than natural, purpose-built for the vision's use. Human hands under the wings mark tools available for God's service, and the wings joined one to another let the four move as a single rank without turning, which Keil takes as a picture of instant, undivided obedience. Clarke observes that the creatures' straight, unturning advance answers the crookedness of the nation they are sent to judge.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The sole of their feet was like that of a calf's foot, which divides the hoof and is therefore clean: as it were the sole of a round foot (as the Chaldee words it); they were ready for motion any way. Their feet were winged (so the LXX.); they went so swiftly that it was as if they flew.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The “foot” seems here to mean the lower part of the leg, including the knee, and this was “straight,” i. e. upright like a man’s. The “sole” is the “foot” as distinguished from the “leg,” the leg terminated in a solid calf’s hoof. This was suitable for a being which was to present a front on each of its four sides.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Or, like solid pillars; not bending, as man's, at the knee. They glided along, rather than walked. Their movements were all sure, right, and without effort [KITTO, Cyclopedia]. sole . . . calf's foot--HENDERSON hence supposes that "straight feet" implies that they did not project horizontally like men's feet, but vertically as calves' feet.

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖םand feet their

    veragleihemH7272 →247 times

  • רֶ֣גֶל[was] a foot

    regelH7272 →247 times

  • יְשָׁרָ֑הstraight

    yesharahH3477 →

  • וְכַ֣ףand [the] sole of

    vekhafH3709 →192 times

  • רַגְלֵיהֶ֗םfeet their

    ragleihemH7272 →247 times

  • כְּכַף֙[was] like [the] sole of

    kekhafH3709 →192 times

  • רֶ֣גֶל[the] foot of

    regelH7272 →247 times

  • עֵ֔גֶלa calf

    ʾegelH5695 →

  • וְנֹ֣צְצִ֔יםand [they were] gleaming

    venotzetzimH5340 →

  • כְּעֵ֖יןlike [the] appearance of

    keeinH5869 →887 times

  • נְחֹ֥שֶׁתbronze

    nechoshetH5178 →140 times

  • קָלָֽל׃burnished

    kalalH7044 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Revelation 1:15His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.6 worksDaniel 10:6His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.5 worksEzekiel 40:3So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.5 worksEzekiel 1:13In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.3 worksPsalms 104:4He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.3 worksLeviticus 11:47You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.’”2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
Leviticus 11:3You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Revelation 1:15

    His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 43:2

      and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.

    • Daniel 10:6

      His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and his voice like the sound of…

    • Revelation 14:2

      And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.

    • Revelation 19:6

      And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the…

  • Through

    Psalms 104:4

    He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 1:7

      Now about the angels He says: “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.”

    • 2 Kings 2:11

      As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.

    • 2 Kings 6:17

      Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and…

    • Hebrews 1:14

      Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Where this verse is studied

About Ezekiel

The Prophet Ezekiel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophet Ezekiel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 1 →

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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ezekiel 1 →