Exodus 25:18

25:18 You are to make two cherubim ¹  of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid.

Exodus 26:25

26:25 So there are to be eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame.

Exodus 37:1

The Making of the Ark

37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches.

Exodus 37:3

37:3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put ²  on its four feet, with ³  two rings on one side and two rings on the other side.

Exodus 37:27

37:27 He also made ⁴  two gold rings for it under its border, on its two sides, on opposite sides, ⁵  as places ⁶  for poles to carry it with.

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¹ tn The evidence suggests that the cherubim were composite angelic creatures that always indicated the nearness of God. So here images of them were to be crafted and put on each end of the ark of the covenant to signify that they were there. Ezekiel 1 describes four cherubim as each having human faces, four wings, and parts of different animals for their bodies. Traditions of them appear in the other cultures as well. They serve to guard the holy places and to bear the throne of God. Here they were to be beaten out as part of the lid.

² tn “that he put” has been supplied.

³ tn This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.

⁴ tn Heb “and he made.”

⁵ sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second mention of their location clarifies that they should be on the sides, the right and the left, as one approached the altar.

⁶ tn Heb “for houses.”