|
|
What (or who) was the Cherub of Ezekiel 28:14?
By Mahlon Wickey, October 2007
I will display the King James Version of Ezekiel 28:12-19 first, and then compare various other translations with the KJV, and maybe we can get a better understanding of this "mysterious" Cherub of Ezekiel 28:14. As we shall see, verse 14 (KJV) implies that the "anointed cherub" WAS the king of Tyre (Thou ART the anointed cherub….). This is why most Christians who trust in the KJV believe that the king of Tyre represented Satan the devil; which (it is believed) was this anointed cherub that rebelled against God and became a fallen angel. Notice Ezekiel 28:2….
KJV Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
This King of Tyre set his heart as the heart of God and said "I am a God" sitting in the seat (power) of God; which is also the reason most Christians believe this King was used to represent "Lucifer" (who became Satan) who "supposedly" was the anointed cherub that wanted to set his heart as the heart of God; which in other words this King wanted to be LIKE God.
The point is, as these various following translations explain, (except the KJV) Ezekiel 28 was speaking ONLY about the highly exalted King of Tyre, and NOT about a pre-historic angel that rebelled against God and "supposedly" became Satan the devil. It is true, as we will see from scripture this King of Tyre was indeed in "Eden" the garden of God; which as we know, is where the "serpent" deceived Eve. This is yet another reason why it is assumed that this King of Tyre was non-other than the anointed cherub who "supposedly" was also called the "serpent" in the Garden of Eden. Later I will address the meaning of "Eden" and also how the term "cherub" was biblically used in many scriptures.
From the various following translations of Ezekiel 28:12-19 we will see that the cherub (winged creature) was protecting and guarding the king of Tyre; which simply means that the king of Tyre was NOT the anointed cherub. Read carefully the following translations and take note of the bold print.
King James Version….
Ezekiel 28:12-19 (12) Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. (13) Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. (14) Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire (15) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. (16) By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (17) Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. (18) Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. (19) All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Contemporary English Version….
Ezekiel 28:12-19 (12) The LORD God said: Ezekiel, son of man, sing a funeral song for the king of Tyre and tell him I am saying: At one time, you were perfect, intelligent, and good-looking. (13) You lived in the garden of Eden and wore jewelry made of brightly colored gems and precious stones. They were all set in gold and were ready for you on the day you were born. (14) I appointed a winged creature to guard your home on my holy mountain, where you walked among gems that dazzled like fire. (15) You were truly good from the time of your birth, but later you started doing wicked things. (16) You traded with other nations and became more and more cruel and evil. So I forced you to leave my mountain, and the creature that had been your protector now chased you away from the gems. (17) It was your good looks that made you arrogant, and you were so famous that you started acting like a fool. That's why I threw you to the ground and let other kings sneer at you. (18) You have cheated so many other merchants that your places of worship are corrupt. So I set your city on fire and burned it down. Now everyone sees only ashes where your city once stood, (19) and the people of other nations are shocked. Your punishment was horrible, and you are gone forever.
1965 Bible in Basic English….
Ezekiel 28:12-19 (12) Son of man, make a song of grief for the king of Tyre, and say to him, This is what the Lord has said: You are all-wise and completely beautiful; (13) You were in Eden, the garden of God; every stone of great price was your clothing, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the emerald and the carbuncle: your store-houses were full of gold, and things of great price were in you; in the day when you were made they were got ready. (14) I gave you your place with the winged one; I put you on the mountain of God; you went up and down among the stones of fire. (15) There has been no evil in your ways from the day when you were made, till sin was seen in you. (16) Through all your trading you have become full of violent ways, and have done evil: so I sent you out shamed from the mountain of God; the winged one put an end to you from among the stones of fire. (17) Your heart was lifted up because you were beautiful, you made your wisdom evil through your sin: I have sent you down, even to the earth; I have made you low before kings, so that they may see you. (18) By all your sin, even by your evil trading, you have made your holy places unclean; so I will make a fire come out from you, it will make a meal of you, and I will make you as dust on the earth before the eyes of all who see you. (19) All who have knowledge of you among the peoples will be overcome with wonder at you: you have become a thing of fear, and you will never be seen again.
God’s Word Translation….
Ezekiel 28:12-19 (12) "Son of man, sing a funeral song for the ruler of Tyre. Tell him, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: You were the perfect example, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (13) You were in Eden, God's garden. You were covered with every kind of precious stone: red quartz, topaz, crystal, beryl, onyx, gray quartz, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your settings and your sockets were made of gold when you were created. (14) I appointed an angel to guard you. You were on God's holy mountain. You walked among fiery stones. (15) Your behavior was perfect from the time you were created, until evil was found in you. (16) You traded far and wide. You learned to be violent, and you sinned. So I threw you down from God's mountain in disgrace. The guardian angel forced you out from the fiery stones. (17) You became too proud because of your beauty. You wasted your wisdom because of your greatness. So I threw you to the ground and left you in front of the kings so that they could see you. (18) You dishonored your own holy places because of your many sins and dishonest trade. So I set fire to you to burn you up. I turned you into ashes on the ground in the presence of all who saw you. (19) All the nations who knew you are horrified because of you. You have come to a terrible end, and you will never exist again.'"
Good News Bible….
Ezekiel 28:12-19 (12) "Mortal man," he said, "grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were once an example of perfection. How wise and handsome you were! (13) You lived in Eden, the garden of God, and wore gems of every kind: rubies and diamonds; topaz, beryl, carnelian, and jasper; sapphires, emeralds, and garnets. You had ornaments of gold. They were made for you on the day you were created. (14) I put a terrifying angel there to guard you. You lived on my holy mountain and walked among sparkling gems. (15) Your conduct was perfect from the day you were created until you began to do evil. (16) You were busy buying and selling, and this led you to violence and sin. So I forced you to leave my holy mountain, and the angel who guarded you drove you away from the sparkling gems. (17) You were proud of being handsome, and your fame made you act like a fool. Because of this I hurled you to the ground and left you as a warning to other kings. (18) You did such evil in buying and selling that your places of worship were corrupted. So I set fire to the city and burned it to the ground. All who look at you now see you reduced to ashes. (19) You are gone, gone forever, and all the nations that had come to know you are terrified, afraid that they will share your fate."
The meanings given for "Eden" the garden of God according to Strong’s Concordance….
H5731 ay'-den The same as H5730 (masculine); Eden, the region of Adam’s home: - Eden.
H5730 ay'-den, ed-naw' From H5727; pleasure: - delicate, delight, pleasure. See also H1040.
H5727 aw-dan' A primitive root; to be soft or pleasant; figuratively and reflexively to live voluptuously: - delight self.
H1040 bayth ay'-den From H1004 and H5730; house of pleasure; Beth-Eden, a place in Syria: - Beth-eden.
DRB Translation of Ezekiel 28:13….
"Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God: every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, the topaz, and the jasper, the chrysolite, and the onyx, and the beryl, the sapphire, and the carbuncle, and the emerald: gold the work of thy beauty: and thy pipes were prepared in the day that thou wast created".
The phrase, "pleasures of the paradise of God" is correctly translated because it was taken from the meanings given for "Eden". Eden was highly symbolic of the paradise of God; such as Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden; a place of pleasure and delight (H5730).
But Adam and Eve had to live, know, and experience both good and evil so as to appreciate and have the heart to truly experience the pleasure and delight of the paradise of God. But as we know, they were banished from Eden to not experience this delight and pleasure until the perfect sacrifice for their sin (Christ) was provided by God.
God placed cherubim that turned every way (all directions) to guard and protect or to "keep" the way of the tree of life (Christ) in the "paradise of God" (Genesis 3:24). Keep in mind this is very highly symbolic language.
This event and account spoken in Ezekiel 28 is also highly symbolic in which a cherub was also placed (similar as in Genesis 3:24) to guard and protect the symbolic paradise of God in the time of the exalted rule of the King of Tyre. But as the meanings of "Eden" imply it does not necessarily mean a location, but can simply mean a condition of delight or pleasure; such as a symbolic "house of pleasure" (H1040). Therefore it could simply be a symbolic "house of pleasure" that the King of Tyre symbolically dwelled in with all manner of delicate (H5730) and every precious stone; as explained by the various translations, as we read.
I believe Cherubim were simply winged images symbolically used many times to represent certain powers of God (angels or messengers) used to protect, guard, and cover precious things of God; such as the Ark of the Covenant. God set a cherub to protect and guard the king of Tyre in precious Eden; the pleasures of the paradise of God. It was God that put the King of Tyre in symbolic Eden, and he was created to be an example of perfection, and was guarded by a winged angel (cherub) in the symbolic paradise of God to "keep" this King in this perfection as an example to other kings and nations.
But this King of Tyre was obviously living voluptuously to delight himself (see meaning H5727). Since God put him in symbolic Eden this king believed he was a god seated as God in a most highly exalted position, and therefore MISUSED the paradise of God. This is why the winged cherub banished him from Eden (as Adam and Eve were also banished) and brought him to ashes in the sight of all nations of that known world as an example of what happens when the pleasures and delights of Eden are misused.
This event is simply a fact of biblical history that happened to a King in a highly exalted position of power and perfection which was created and given to him by God. Keep in mind, Ezekiel 28 was written in highly symbolic fashion that explained REAL historical events, and the symbols themselves therefore can NOT be taken literally; such as many other symbols the Bible uses, as we all know.
By Mahlon Wickey, October 2007
Questions or comments?... Email: mrwickey7@gmail.com