Ezekiel 10:14
in Ezekiel 10Each 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
KJV
And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe first - was the face of a cherub - In Eze 1:10, this is called the “face of an ox;” here, the “face of a cherub:” hence, a cherub was in the likeness of an ox, at least, as to its head. כרוב kerub never occurs as a verb; and its meaning cannot be precisely ascertained. Parkhurst thinks the כ caph to be here the note of similitude; and then translates כ ke, “like,” רב rab or רוב rob, “the mighty one;” and, in consequence, makes the cherubim an emblem of the Holy Trinity.
This site's exposition
four faces
on Ezekiel 10:14-17
Each cherub has four faces, “that of a cherub,” the set of Ezekiel 1:10 except that the ox is here named the cherub. The wheels rise and stand with the cherubim, “for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” Wheel and creature obey one spirit.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Versed 8 and following) And I saw, and behold, there were four wheels beside the Cherubim. One wheel beside one Cherub, and another wheel beside another Cherub. The appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a chrysolite stone, and they all had the same likeness, like a wheel within a wheel. When they moved, they went in the four directions without turning as they went. And the wheels went toward the place where the first wheel went, and they followed in its tracks and did not turn back.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), whence some have concluded that the peculiar face of a cherub was that of an ox, which the Israelites had an eye to when they made the golden calf. I rather think that in this latter vision the first face was the proper appearance or figure of a cherub, which Ezekiel knew very well, being a priest, by what he had seen in the temple of the Lord ( 1 Kings vi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
4 Then the glory of the L ORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the L ORD 's glory. 5 And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v4-5
And everyone had four faces,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The first face ... - The face of the first was the face of the cherub, and the face of the second was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion and the fourth the face of an eagle. Of the four faces of each cherub, the seer names only one - the face looking in the direction in which that cherub leads the motion of the chariot. The face of the cherub which presented itself to the seer was that of “an ox.” When he looking northward first saw the chariot the “ox-face” was on the left side Eze 1:10. This would make the ox-face look eastward, and it is not unlikely that the man might approach the chariot from the southeastern part of the inner court.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
to them was called hagalgal to my ears I heard that the angel would call the wheel “galgal.”
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
17 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 |
| לְאֶחָ֑ד | leechad | [belonged] to one | H259 → | 971 times |
| פְּנֵ֨י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֶחָ֜ד | haechad | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [was] [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַכְּר֗וּב | hakeruv | the cherub | H3742 → | 91 times |
| וּפְנֵ֤י | ufenei | and [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִי֙ | hasheni | the second | H8145 → | 156 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [was the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | a human | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ | vehashelishi | and the third [face] | H7992 → | 107 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [was the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אַרְיֵ֔ה | ʾaryeh | a lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| וְהָרְבִיעִ֖י | veharevii | and the fourth [face] | H7243 → | 56 times |
| פְּנֵי־ | penei- | [was the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| נָֽשֶׁר׃ | nasher | an eagle | H5404 → | 26 times |
וְאַרְבָּעָ֥הand four
vearbaahH702 →318 times
פָנִ֖יםfaces
fanimH6440 →2123 times
לְאֶחָ֑ד[belonged] to one
leechadH259 →971 times
פְּנֵ֨י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֶחָ֜דthe one
haechadH259 →971 times
פְּנֵ֣י[was] [the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַכְּר֗וּבthe cherub
hakeruvH3742 →91 times
וּפְנֵ֤יand [the] face of
ufeneiH6440 →2123 times
הַשֵּׁנִי֙the second
hasheniH8145 →156 times
פְּנֵ֣י[was the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
אָדָ֔םa human
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙and the third [face]
vehashelishiH7992 →107 times
פְּנֵ֣י[was the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
אַרְיֵ֔הa lion
ʾaryehH738 →80 times
וְהָרְבִיעִ֖יand the fourth [face]
vehareviiH7243 →56 times
פְּנֵי־[was the] face of
penei-H6440 →2123 times
נָֽשֶׁר׃an eagle
nasherH5404 →26 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
Revelation 4:7The 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.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 1:10
The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side,…
- Ezekiel 10:21
Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
- Ezekiel 1:8
Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings,
- Daniel 7:4
The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to…
- Revelation 4:6
And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.
- Ezekiel 1:10
Through
Ezekiel 10:21Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 1:6
but each had four faces and four wings.
- Ezekiel 41:18–19
were alternating carved cherubim and palm trees. Each cherub had two faces:
- Ezekiel 1:6
Through
1 Kings 7:36He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 7:29
and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.
- 1 Kings 7:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
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; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.