Ezekiel 10:1
in Ezekiel 10And I looked and saw above the expanse, above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament 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.
KJV
Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
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This verse in Ezekiel 10
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
sapphire stone
on Ezekiel 10:1-2
The prophet looks up into the firmament above the cherubim and sees the same sapphire throne he saw at the river Chebar, the vision resuming exactly where chapter one set it down. The Lord orders the man clothed in linen to take burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city, judgment carried out of the sanctuary itself rather than falling on it from outside. Keil reads the coals as the doomed city's own altar fire turned against her, since what once consumed sacrifice now consumes Jerusalem. Henry notes that the fire comes from between the cherubim, so the ruin is executed under the throne's own eye.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 10, Verses 1, 2) And I saw, and behold, in the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim was as a sapphire stone: and the likeness of a throne appeared upon it. And he spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said: Enter between the wheels that are under the cherubim, and fill your hands with burning coals, which are between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.
The Reformation2 voices
Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Now it is by no means doubtful that God obliquely wishes to reprove that base ignorance, because it was not his fault that they did not perceive in the law and the temple whatever was useful to be known for their salvation.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then I looked, and, behold,....
He manifests his glory in the upper world, where purity and brightness are both in perfection; and the vast expanse of the firmament aims to speak the God that dwells there infinite. It is the firmament of his power and of his prospect too; for thence he beholds all the children of men.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The throne of Jehovah appearing in the midst of the judgments implies that whatever intermediate agencies be employed, He controls them, and that the whole flows as a necessary consequence from His essential holiness (Eze 1:22, 26). cherubim--in Eze 1:5, called "living creatures." The repetition of the vision implies that the judgments are approaching nearer and nearer.
As it were a sapphire stone - See the note on Eze 1:22-26 (note). The chariot, here mentioned by the prophet, was precisely the same as that which he saw at the river Chebar, as himself tells us, Eze 1:15, of which see the description in Ezekiel 1.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
As in Ezek. 1, the vision of the glory of the Lord, the particulars given identifying the two visions.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
over the heads of the cherubim Over the heads of the four living beings of the Chariot. In this chapter, he switches over to calling them [all] cherubim because the face of the ox was transformed into the face of a cherub, as it is written in this chapter.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶרְאֶ֗ה | vaereh | and I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֤ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | [was] to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָרָקִ֙יעַ֙ | harakia' | the expanse | H7549 → | 17 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] above | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹ֣אשׁ | rosh | [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הַכְּרֻבִ֔ים | hakeruvim | the cherubim | H3742 → | 91 times |
| כְּאֶ֣בֶן | keeven | like a stone of | H68 → | 273 times |
| סַפִּ֔יר | sapir | sapphire | H5601 → | 11 times |
| כְּמַרְאֵ֖ה | kemareh | like [the] appearance of | H4758 → | 103 times |
| דְּמ֣וּת | demut | [the] likeness of | H1823 → | 25 times |
| כִּסֵּ֑א | kise' | a throne | H3678 → | 135 times |
| נִרְאָ֖ה | nirah | it appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | above them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וָאֶרְאֶ֗הand I saw
vaerehH7200 →1300 times
וְהִנֵּ֤הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
אֶל־[was] to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָרָקִ֙יעַ֙the expanse
harakia'H7549 →17 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[was] above
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹ֣אשׁ[the] head of
roshH7218 →599 times
הַכְּרֻבִ֔יםthe cherubim
hakeruvimH3742 →91 times
כְּאֶ֣בֶןlike a stone of
keevenH68 →273 times
סַפִּ֔ירsapphire
sapirH5601 →11 times
כְּמַרְאֵ֖הlike [the] appearance of
kemarehH4758 →103 times
דְּמ֣וּת[the] likeness of
demutH1823 →25 times
כִּסֵּ֑אa throne
kise'H3678 →135 times
נִרְאָ֖הit appeared
nirahH7200 →1300 times
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃above them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 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
John 1:18No 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.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:15
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- John 6:46
not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
- Matthew 11:27
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses…
- Luke 10:22
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to…
- 1 John 4:12
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
- Colossians 1:15
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 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.
- Daniel 7:13
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.
- John 1:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Ezekiel
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; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.