{"id":73470,"date":"2020-04-19T23:45:30","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T20:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=73470"},"modified":"2020-04-19T23:45:30","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T20:45:30","slug":"a-blessing-in-disguise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-blessing-in-disguise\/","title":{"rendered":"A Blessing In Disguise?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"73470","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64450,"related_cahpter":"462","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And the name of a favorite muppet\r\n\r\n","content":"

In chapter 10, Ezekiel has visions of the heavenly cherubs:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI looked, and on the expanse over the heads of the cherubs, there was something like a sapphire stone; an appearance resembling a throne could be seen over them. He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, \u201cStep inside the wheelwork, under the cherubs, and fill your hands with glowing coals from among the cherubs, and scatter them over the city.\u201d And he went in as I looked on. Now the cherubs were standing on the south side of the House when the man entered, and the cloud filled the inner court. But when the Presence of the LORD moved from the cherubs to the platform of the House, the House was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the radiance of the Presence of the LORD\u2026The cherubs appeared to have the form of a man\u2019s hand under their wings. I could see that there were four wheels beside the cherubs, one wheel beside each of the cherubs; as for the appearance of the wheels, they gleamed like the beryl stone\u2026 Each one had four faces: One was a cherub\u2019s face, the second a human face, the third a lion\u2019s face, and the fourth an eagle\u2019s face.\u201d (Ezekiel 10:1-14)<\/span><\/p>\n

These cherubs \u2013 <\/span>keruvim<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in Hebrew \u2013 appear in a few other locations in the Bible. Most notably, after Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden, God stations cherubs to prevent humans from returning (Genesis 3:24), and they were placed over the Ark in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:18-22).<\/span><\/p>\n

Their exact nature is unclear. In the Tabernacle the cherubs had one face and two wings, but in our chapter, they have four faces and four wings. While we can\u2019t determine precisely what Ezekiel saw, we can look into the etymology of the word.<\/span><\/p>\n

Linguistic scholars note that <\/span>keruv<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is related to the Akkadian <\/span>karabu<\/span><\/em>\u00ad <\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u201cto bless,\u201d and theorize that it may be related to the Hebrew <\/span>barech<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u201cto bless\u201d (with the letters transposed.) This would indicate the cherubs were a \u201cprotective spirit\u201d \u2013 which could explain both their position in the Garden and in the Tabernacle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keruv\u00a0<\/span><\/em>has another meaning in Hebrew: cabbage. They are not related etymologically, however. Cabbage does not appear in the Bible. It is first recorded in the Mishnah, having arrived in the Land of Israel around 275 BCE during the Greek conquest. The Greeks called cabbage <\/span>krambe<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(from a related Greek word meaning \u201cdry shriveling\u201d) and this eventually became <\/span>keruv<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in Hebrew.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, the father of modern Hebrew, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda coined the word <\/span>keruvit<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 for the botanically related \u201ccauliflower.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While there is no linguistic connection between cherubs and cabbage, there is one open question that involves both. In the Hebrew version of Sesame Street, <\/span>Rechov Sumsum<\/span><\/em>, the Grover character is called \u201cKruvi.\u201d The etymology isn\u2019t clear. Some say it comes from \u201csmall cabbage\u201d, while others posit it means \u201clittle angel\u201d\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Screenshot of Grover (\u201cKruvi\u201d) – 2007 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":73479,"id":73479,"title":"ez10-grover","filename":"ez10-grover.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-blessing-in-disguise\/ez10-grover\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ez10-grover","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":73470,"date":"2020-04-19 20:44:05","modified":"2020-04-19 20:44:14","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":360,"height":240,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover.jpg","medium_large-width":360,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover.jpg","large-width":360,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover.jpg","1536x1536-width":360,"1536x1536-height":240,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover.jpg","2048x2048-width":360,"2048x2048-height":240,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover.jpg","post_full_size-width":360,"post_full_size-height":240,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez10-grover.jpg","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":240}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Cherubim - 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