4,020
edits
Difference between revisions of "Cherubim"
no edit summary
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
||
| (2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
Delitzch (''Assyrisches Handwörterbuch'') connects the name ''keruv'' with Assyrian ''kirubu'' (a name of the shedu) and ''karabu'' ("great, mighty"). Karppe (1897) glosses Babylonian karâbu as "propitious" rather than "mighty". Dhorme (1926) connected the Hebrew name to Assyrian ''kāribu'' (diminutive ''kurību''), a term used to refer to intercessory beings (and statues of such beings) that plead with the gods on behalf of humanity. The folk etymological connection to a Hebrew word for "youthful" is due to Abbahu (3rd century). | Delitzch (''Assyrisches Handwörterbuch'') connects the name ''keruv'' with Assyrian ''kirubu'' (a name of the shedu) and ''karabu'' ("great, mighty"). Karppe (1897) glosses Babylonian karâbu as "propitious" rather than "mighty". Dhorme (1926) connected the Hebrew name to Assyrian ''kāribu'' (diminutive ''kurību''), a term used to refer to intercessory beings (and statues of such beings) that plead with the gods on behalf of humanity. The folk etymological connection to a Hebrew word for "youthful" is due to Abbahu (3rd century). | ||
The Israelite cherubim are described as fulfilling a variety of functions - most often, they are described as bolstering the throne of [[Yahweh]]. Ezekiel's vision of the cherubim also emulate this, as the conjoined wingspan of the four cherubim are described as forming the boundary of the divine chariot. Likewise, on the so-called "mercy seat" of the | The Israelite cherubim are described as fulfilling a variety of functions - most often, they are described as bolstering the throne of [[Yahweh]]. Ezekiel's vision of the cherubim also emulate this, as the conjoined wingspan of the four cherubim are described as forming the boundary of the divine chariot. Likewise, on the so-called "mercy seat" of the Ark of the Covenant, two cherubim are described as bounding the ark and forming a space through which Yahweh would appear – however, details about these cherubim aside from the instruction that they be beaten out of the sides of the ark are missing from the text. Furthermore, one might wonder how the creators of the ark knew what a cherub was supposed to look like. | ||
The status of the cherubim as constituting a sort-of vehicle for Yahweh is present in Ezekiel's visions, the Books of Samuel, the parallel passages in the later Books of Chronicles, and passages in the early Psalms: for example, "and he rode upon a cherub and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind." The traditional Hebrew conception of cherubim as guardians of the Garden of Eden is backed by the Semitic belief of beings of superhuman power and devoid of human feelings, whose duty it was to represent the gods, and as guardians of their sanctuaries to repel intruders; these conceptions in turn are similar to an account found on Tablet 9 of the inscriptions found at Nimrud. | The status of the cherubim as constituting a sort-of vehicle for Yahweh is present in Ezekiel's visions, the Books of Samuel, the parallel passages in the later Books of Chronicles, and passages in the early Psalms: for example, "and he rode upon a cherub and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind." The traditional Hebrew conception of cherubim as guardians of the Garden of Eden is backed by the Semitic belief of beings of superhuman power and devoid of human feelings, whose duty it was to represent the gods, and as guardians of their sanctuaries to repel intruders; these conceptions in turn are similar to an account found on Tablet 9 of the inscriptions found at Nimrud. | ||
| Line 23: | Line 23: | ||
William F. Albright (1938) argued that "the winged lion with human head" found in Phoenicia and Canaan from the Late Bronze Age is "much more common than any other winged creature, so much so that its identification with the cherub is certain." A possibly related source is the human-bodied Hittite griffin, which, unlike other griffins, appear almost always not as a fierce bird of prey, but seated in calm dignity, like an irresistible guardian of holy things; some have proposed that the word griffin (γρύψ) may be cognate with cherubim. Interestingly, while Ezekiel initially describes the tetramorph cherubim as having "the face of a man... the face of a lion... the face of an ox... and... the face of an eagle;" in the tenth chapter this formula is repeated as "the face of the cherub... the face of a man... the face of a lion... the face of an eagle;" which (given that "ox" has apparently been substituted with "the cherub") some have taken to imply that cherubim were envisioned to have the head of a bovine. | William F. Albright (1938) argued that "the winged lion with human head" found in Phoenicia and Canaan from the Late Bronze Age is "much more common than any other winged creature, so much so that its identification with the cherub is certain." A possibly related source is the human-bodied Hittite griffin, which, unlike other griffins, appear almost always not as a fierce bird of prey, but seated in calm dignity, like an irresistible guardian of holy things; some have proposed that the word griffin (γρύψ) may be cognate with cherubim. Interestingly, while Ezekiel initially describes the tetramorph cherubim as having "the face of a man... the face of a lion... the face of an ox... and... the face of an eagle;" in the tenth chapter this formula is repeated as "the face of the cherub... the face of a man... the face of a lion... the face of an eagle;" which (given that "ox" has apparently been substituted with "the cherub") some have taken to imply that cherubim were envisioned to have the head of a bovine. | ||
In particular resonance with the idea of cherubim embodying the throne of God, numerous pieces of art from Phoenicia, Egypt, and even Tel Megiddo in northern Israel depict kings or deities being carried on their thrones by hybrid winged-creatures. If this largely animal-esque appearance is how the ancient Israelites envisioned cherubim, it raises more questions than it answers. For one, it is difficult to visualize the cherubim of the | In particular resonance with the idea of cherubim embodying the throne of God, numerous pieces of art from Phoenicia, Egypt, and even Tel Megiddo in northern Israel depict kings or deities being carried on their thrones by hybrid winged-creatures. If this largely animal-esque appearance is how the ancient Israelites envisioned cherubim, it raises more questions than it answers. For one, it is difficult to visualize the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant as quadrupedal creatures with backward-facing wings, as these cherubim were meant to face each other and have their wings meet, while still remaining on the edges of the cover, where they were beaten from. At the same time, these creatures have little-to-no resemblance to the cherubim in Ezekiel's vision. On the other hand, even if cherubim had a more humanoid form, this still would not entirely match Ezekiel's vision, and likewise seemingly clashes with the apparently equivalent archetypes of the cultures surrounding the Israelites, which almost uniformly depicted beings which served analogous purposes to Israel's cherubim as largely animalistic in shape. All of this may indicate that the Israelite idea of what a cherub looked like was subject to change, and perhaps not wholly consistent. | ||
[[Category:Angels]] | [[Category:Angels]] | ||
[[Category:Choirs of Angels]] | |||