Ezekiel 10:1

Then I looked. The vision described in ch. 1:15–28 reappears. In the expanse of firmament there is seen, as before, the likeness of a sapphire throne. Ezekiel does not mention a being upon the throne. That one was there is implied by the “he spake” of the following verse.

Cherubims. Better, “cherubim.” “Cherubim” is the transliteration of the Hebrew plural kerubim, and does not require the “s” as a sign of the plural. The “cherubims” of ch. 10 correspond to the “living creatures” of ch. 1. In Hebrew theology a cherub was a being of a sublime and celestial nature, of human form, though with wings. Cherubim guarded the gate of Paradise (Gen. 3:24). The statues over-shadowing the mercy seat, both in the tabernacle and in Solomon’s Temple, were called cherubim (Ex. 25:18; 1 Kings 6:23; cf. 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 22:11). Contrasted with the upright form of the cherubim described by Ezekiel, the Babylonian cherubim, called karūbu, or kāribu, literally, “intercessors,” were in the form of human-headed animals such as bulls and lions although some had the form of human beings.