Ezekiel 10:8
in Ezekiel 10(The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.)
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
KJV
And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
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This verse in Ezekiel 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe form of a man’s hand under their wings - I am still of opinion that the hands and wings were not distinct. The arms were feathered like wings, and the hand terminated the arm; but as the long front feathers of the wings would extend much beyond the fingers, hence the hands would appear to be under the wings. See on Eze 1:8 (note). The human hand might be intended to show that God helps and punishes man by man; and that, in the general operations of his providence, he makes use of human agency.
This site's exposition
Take fire from within the wheelwork
on Ezekiel 10:6-8
A cherub “reached out his hand” and put the fire into his hands. The cherubim have “the form of human hands under their wings,” the hands of Ezekiel 1:8. The man marked out in chapter 9 with his writing kit now carries the fire that will burn the city.
This site's exposition
the form of human hands under their wings
The Berean text sets this verse in parentheses. Albert Barnes notes that the chapter often pauses its story to explain the vision, and here it explains the hand of verse 7. The cherubim had what looked like human hands under their wings.
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 Awakening2 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 there appeared in the cherubim,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
An explanation following upon the mention of the “hand.” It is characteristic of this chapter that the narrative is interrupted by explanatory comments. The “narrative” is contained in Eze 10:1-3, Eze 10:6-7, Eze 10:13, Eze 10:15 (first clause), 18, 19; the other verses contain the “interposed explanations.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּרָ֖א | vaiyera' | and it was seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| לַכְּרֻבִ֑ים | lakeruvim | to the cherubim | H3742 → | 91 times |
| תַּבְנִית֙ | tavnit | [the] form of | H8403 → | 20 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | a human | H120 → | 551 times |
| תַּ֖חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| כַּנְפֵיהֶֽם׃ | kanfeihem | wings their | H3671 → | 109 times |
וַיֵּרָ֖אand it was seen
vaiyera'H7200 →1300 times
לַכְּרֻבִ֑יםto the cherubim
lakeruvimH3742 →91 times
תַּבְנִית֙[the] form of
tavnitH8403 →20 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
אָדָ֔םa human
ʾadamH120 →551 times
תַּ֖חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
כַּנְפֵיהֶֽם׃wings their
kanfeihemH3671 →109 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
Isaiah 6:6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 10:2
And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 8:3–5
Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before…
- Hebrews 9:22–26
According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- Hebrews 1:7
Now about the angels He says: “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.”
- Hebrews 13:10
We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
- Ezekiel 10:2
Through
Ezekiel 1:8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 10:21
Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
- Ezekiel 10:21
Through
Ezekiel 10:21Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 41:18–19
were alternating carved cherubim and palm trees. Each cherub had two faces:
- Ezekiel 1:6
but each had four faces and four wings.
- Ezekiel 41:18–19
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); 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.