Cherubs (Part 2)
In a previous post, I explained how Cherubs relate to this week's parashah. Since I try to keep all posts to under 1,000 words, I decided to make a second part to expand upon and provide additional details.
The Name
We don't really know where the name comes from, although there are several guesses, some of which are better than others.
Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai wrote that is is a Babylonian word meaning "to plow", and justified that with Ezekiel 1:10 speaks of the the four creatures, one of which had the face of an ox, and verse 10:14, where the ox is missing, but the cherub is mentioned instead. And oxen plow and will transport, and the cherubs transport YHVH.
And so we have the Assyro-Babylonian shedu that is presented as the source for the cherubs.
But some are not convinced of that one, either.
Others hold that keruv (or kerub) is an Akkadian word, derived from karabu, which means "to bless". It is interesting that "bless" (BRCh) and keruv (ChRB) have the same Hebrew letters, but one is a mirror image of the other. The idea behind that selection is that the cherub was an intermediary to whom one accept the prayers of the people and deliver them to its Master.
And still, not everyone is convinced. Just because a cherub has wings does not give it an automatic connection to other winged supernatural beings.
For example, many of the Gods in Egypt are depicted with wings, and there was a pair of winged guardians engraved upon the container that held King Tut.
But according to Israel Drazin, the Jews copied the cherubs from the Egyptians and makes a strong case for that. Winged protectors have also been found on pottery excavated from Megiddo, shown to be on either side of King Hiram of Byblos, and looks very Egyptian.
But others remain skeptical.
Josephus wrote that nobody had a clue, by the 1st century, what these creatures looked like, and cherubs are listed as one of the things that were in the first Temple, but were excluded from the second (Yoma 21a). Either because there was no first temple, or everyone who had an idea had long since died.
Form
There is little description of the form of the cherub in the Torah, other than it having wings. Ezekiel add other details, the faces, the feet, the hands, and the ability to not be harmed by fire.
Rashi commentary to the Talmud (Sukkah 5b) says that they had the faces of children and were a type of angel. Saadiah Gaon agreed (See Genesis 3:24), even though other sources (Midrash Rabbah Leviticus 26:8) indicates that they were not in the category of angels. The child's face is derived from the first letter meaning "like", and the remaining being close to the Aramaic word "rabia", which means "a child".
According to Ezekiel, they either had one foot (written in the singular), two, or four feet, and either one, two, or four faces, and either two or four wings.
The Ark
King Solomon was apparently so enamored by the cherubs on the ark, that he had two very large ones made and placed in the Holy of Holies along with them. Unlike the ones on the ark, his were not solid gold, but made of wood, and then gilded.
Exodus 25:20 tells us that the cherubs faced on an other, and yet, 1 Chronicles 3:13 tells us that they faced away, toward the inside of the Temple. To resolve this problem, the sages claimed (Bava Batra 98a) that the cherubs would move one way when Israel was good, but would turn away when Israel was bad. Although, given that nobody could see these cherubs, and nobody seems to know what they looked like, it's an apologetic and nothing more.
The Ark itself seems to be designed to be a form of a seat (Ex. 25:19), where you have a flat area with two cherubs on either side, and God would continually be referred to as He "who sits/dwells between the cherubs", and "between the cherubs, above the cover."
See below for a list of verses of YHVH sitting on the ark between the cherubs.
As the ark was carried, God was with them, going into battle, riding between the cherubs.
Finally, as an aside for those who like to look at such things, chapter 25 of Exodus and 26 are repeats. For example, both chapters tell the builder to make poles to carry the ark.
Permissability
Now THAT is a conundrum. At the core of Jewish monotheism is the idea that you do NOT pray to intermediaries, and that you create a relationship ONLY with God and no other.
So having these graven images on the ark cover, and one the 10 curtains that would be around it as a logo for God is, well, problematic. And while there are a lot of apologetics to try to get around this, they are all very weak.
The other issue is the visual of YHVH sitting on His throne, with cherubs on either side, and travelling among the Jewish people also is a problem that most simply ignore or "tweak" to make it more acceptable.
In fact, other than Ezekiel's vision and that incident in the garden of Eden, all cherubs are but the images on the cover and the curtains.
Passages
Exodus 25:22 - "... I [YHVH] will talk with you from above the cover, from between the two cherubs which are upon the ark..."
Numbers 7:89 - "... [Moses] heard the voice of One speaking to him from the covering that was upon the ark of Testimony, from between the two cherubs; and He spoke to him."
1 Samuel 4:4 - "...the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts (YHVH Zta'vaot), Who dwells between the cherubs...".
2 Samuel 6:2 - "...the ark of Elohim, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who dwells between the cherubs."
2 Kings 19:15 - "And Hezekiah prayed before YHVH, and said, O YHVH, Elohim of Israel, who dwells between the cherubs..."
Isaiah 37:16 - "O Lord of hosts, Elohim of Israel, You who sit between the cherubs..."
Psalm 99:1 - "YHVH reigns; let the peoples tremble; He sits between the cherubs...".
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