Ezekiel 10:22
in Ezekiel 10Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward.
KJV
And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.
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This verse in Ezekiel 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I knew that they were cherubim
on Ezekiel 10:20-22
“These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.” Chapter 1 described them only by likeness and appearance, and chapter 10 names them as the cherubim who guarded Eden and stood over the ark.
This site's exposition
Each creature went straight ahead
Their faces look like the faces Ezekiel had seen by the River Kebar. John Gill takes this as proof that the living creatures of chapter 1 and the cherubim of chapter 10 are the same beings. Each creature goes straight ahead, as in 1:12.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(v. 18 seqq.) And the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the Temple and stood over the Cherubim. And the Cherubim lifted up their wings and were exalted from the ground before me. And as they went, the wheels also followed them. And it stood at the entrance of the gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. It is the creature that I saw beneath the God of Israel, by the river Chebar, and I understood that they were Cherubim.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
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 yet in one thing there seems to be a material difference, that that which was there was the face of an ox, and was on the left side ( ch. i. 10 ), is here the face of a cherub, and is the first face (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And the likeness of their faces was the same faces,.... Or their faces were like the same, which I saw by the river of Chebar; which prove that the living creatures and the cherubim must be the same: their appearance and themselves; were exactly the same there was no difference in their faces or in their bodies: they went everyone straight forward; their motion as well as their form were alike; they kept one even course, looking right on, and their eyes right before them.
So perfectly known to God are all his works that he never put upon to new counsels. That God make more use of the ministration of angels in the government of this lower world than we are aware of: The four wheels were by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by another cherub,
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּדְמ֣וּת | udemut | and [the] likeness of | H1823 → | 25 times |
| פְּנֵיהֶ֔ם | peneihem | faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הֵ֣מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| הַפָּנִ֗ים | hapanim | [were] the faces | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| רָאִ֙יתִי֙ | raiti | I had seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| נְהַר־ | nehar- | [the] river of | H5104 → | 119 times |
| כְּבָ֔ר | kevar | Kebar | H3529 → | 8 times |
| מַרְאֵיהֶ֖ם | mareihem | appearance their | H4758 → | 103 times |
| וְאוֹתָ֑ם | veotam | and <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֵ֥בֶר | ʾever | [the] side of | H5676 → | 90 times |
| פָּנָ֖יו | panav | face its | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יֵלֵֽכוּ׃ | yelekhu | they moved | H1980 → | 1546 times |
וּדְמ֣וּתand [the] likeness of
udemutH1823 →25 times
פְּנֵיהֶ֔םfaces their
peneihemH6440 →2123 times
הֵ֣מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
הַפָּנִ֗ים[were] the faces
hapanimH6440 →2123 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
רָאִ֙יתִי֙I had seen
raitiH7200 →1300 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
נְהַר־[the] river of
nehar-H5104 →119 times
כְּבָ֔רKebar
kevarH3529 →8 times
מַרְאֵיהֶ֖םappearance their
mareihemH4758 →103 times
וְאוֹתָ֑םand <obj.> them
veotamH853 →10935 times
אִ֛ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֵ֥בֶר[the] side of
ʾeverH5676 →90 times
פָּנָ֖יוface its
panavH6440 →2123 times
יֵלֵֽכוּ׃they moved
yelekhuH1980 →1546 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
Hosea 14:9Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in…
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:29
The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright, but destruction awaits those who do evil.
- Psalms 107:43
Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.
- John 8:47
Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
- Daniel 12:10
Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
- Psalms 19:7–8
The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Proverbs 10:29
Through
Ezekiel 1:10The 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,…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 10:14
Each 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.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 10:14
Through
Ezekiel 10:11When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 1:17
As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 1:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
On this chapter
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.