{"id":61839,"date":"2019-08-26T13:44:28","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T10:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=61839"},"modified":"2023-03-20T13:50:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T11:50:19","slug":"the-cherubim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-cherubim\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cherubim"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 1 Kings 6:23 we read about the Cherubim which were made for Solomon’s Temple.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cherub has found a prized place in English literature and art. One beautiful example can be found in Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 7) in his soliloquy about killing King Duncan:<\/span><\/p>\n

And pity, like a naked new-born babe,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Striding the blast, or heaven’s <\/span>cherubim<\/b>, horsed<\/span>
\n<\/span>Upon the sightless couriers of the air,<\/span><\/p>\n

Some argue that this image of a horsed winged cherub can also be found in Ezekiel 2:14 in his oracle against Tyre.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Decalogue (Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:8), God enjoins the people from creating images of divine beings.<\/span><\/p>\n

How, then, could the selfsame God instruct the people to build the cherubim, which would be placed in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple?<\/span><\/p>\n

Judah Halevi explains in the Kuzari (1:97) that the critical difference between forbidden images (like the Golden Calf) and the cherubim is that the latter were expressly commanded by God: \u201c[The sin of the Golden Calf] consisted in the manufacture of an image of a forbidden thing, and in attributing divine power to a creation of their own, something chosen by themselves without the guidance of God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jewish Study Bible tells us that \u201ccherub images are attested on various ancient Near Eastern artifacts…In Jewish tradition they came to symbolize the presence of God.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, this is but one example of the Bible using something which is commonplace and elevating it for the service of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, some have argued, such as R. Dr. Joshua Berman, that the design of the Tabernacle as a whole, and by extension the Temple, was adopted and adapted from the surrounding Near Eastern culture. He<\/span> points out<\/span><\/a> that: \u201c …some 80 years ago, an unexpected affinity was noticed between the biblical descriptions of the Tabernacle and the illustrations of Rameses\u2019 camp at Kadesh in several bas reliefs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the former we find: \u201cA throne tent…[in which] the emblem bearing the pharaoh\u2019s name and symbolizing his power is flanked by falcons symbolizing the god Horus, with their wings spread in protection over him.\u201d He points out how \u201cthe ark of the Tabernacle is similarly flanked by two winged cherubim, whose wings hover protectively over it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He interprets this architectural parallel (along with significant literary parallels) as reflecting \u201ca deliberate act of cultural appropriation\u201d, concluding that the parallels are the Bible\u2019s way of telling us that \u201c…the God of Israel overmastered Ramesses the Great by several orders of magnitude, effectively trouncing him at his own game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Cherub on a Neo-Assyrian seal. ca. 1000 BCE\u2013612 BCE \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":61840,"id":61840,"title":"1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal","filename":"1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-cherubim\/1kings6-cherub_on_a_neo-assyrian_seal\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"1kings6-cherub_on_a_neo-assyrian_seal","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":61839,"date":"2019-08-26 10:44:12","modified":"2019-08-26 10:44:26","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":320,"height":540,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal-178x300.jpg","medium-width":178,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal.jpg","medium_large-width":320,"medium_large-height":540,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal.jpg","large-width":320,"large-height":540,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal.jpg","1536x1536-width":320,"1536x1536-height":540,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal.jpg","2048x2048-width":320,"2048x2048-height":540,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal.jpg","post_full_size-width":320,"post_full_size-height":540,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings6-Cherub_on_a_Neo-Assyrian_seal-249x420.jpg","home_baner-width":249,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"The Cherubim","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Divinely commanded idolatrous images - 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