10:20 These were the living creatures 2 which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim.
11:22 Then the cherubim spread 4 their wings with their wheels alongside them while the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
28:14 I placed you there with an anointed 7 guardian 8 cherub; 9
you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked about amidst fiery stones.
1 tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.
2 tn Heb “That was the living creature.”
3 sn The expression They will be my people, and I will be their God occurs as a promise to Abraham (Gen 17:8), Moses (Exod 6:7), and the nation (Exod 29:45).
4 tn Heb “lifted.”
5 tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”
6 tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”
7 tn Or “winged”; see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
8 tn The meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is uncertain. The word translated here “guards” occurs in Exod 25:20 in reference to the cherubim “covering” the ark.
9 tn Heb “you (were) an anointed cherub that covers and I placed you.” In the Hebrew text the ruler of Tyre is equated with a cherub, and the verb “I placed you” is taken with what follows (“on the holy mountain of God”). However, this reading is problematic. The pronoun “you” at the beginning of verse 14 is feminine singular in the Hebrew text; elsewhere in this passage the ruler of Tyre is addressed with masculine singular forms. It is possible that the pronoun is a rare (see Deut 5:24; Num 11:15) or defectively written (see 1 Sam 24:19; Neh 9:6; Job 1:10; Ps 6:3; Eccl 7:22) masculine form, but it is more likely that the form should be repointed as the preposition “with” (see the LXX). In this case the ruler of Tyre is compared to the first man, not to a cherub. If this emendation is accepted, then the verb “I placed you” belongs with what precedes and concludes the first sentence in the verse. It is noteworthy that the verbs in the second and third lines of the verse also appear at the end of the sentence in the Hebrew text. The presence of a conjunction at the beginning of “I placed you” is problematic for the proposal, but it may reflect a later misunderstanding of the syntax of the verse. For a defense of the proposed emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.
10 sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).
11 sn A promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:7) and his descendants (Gen 15:8; Exod 6:7).
12 sn The blessings described in vv. 25-30 are those promised for obedience in Lev 26:4-13.
13 tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.
14 sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).
15 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
16 sn This same title appears in 8:4; 9:3; 10:19; and 11:22.
17 sn Earlier Ezekiel had observed God leaving the temple to the east (11:23).
18 sn See Ezek 1:24; Rev 1:15; 14:2; 19:6.
19 tn Heb “shone from.”