17 August 2008
Ezekiel’s Vision, Part 2
Posted by MSH under: Ancient Astronauts; Wacky Bible Interpretation .
In the previous post, I asserted my position that Ezekiel’s vision was not a spacecraft. In doing so, I mentioned that I thought it had something to do with astrology/astronomy. I’ll try and unpack that a bit here. We’ll have to start with the visions:
Ezekiel 1:4-19 (JPS Tanakh)
4I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north-a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber. 5In the center of it were also the figures of four creatures. And this was their appearance: They had the figures of human beings. 6However, each had four faces, and each of them had four wings; 7the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf’s hoof; and their sparkle was like the luster of burnished bronze. 8They had human hands below their wings. The four of them had their faces and their wings on their four sides. 9Each one’s wings touched those of the other. They did not turn when they moved; each could move in the direction of any of its faces. 10Each of them had a human face the front]; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right; each of the four had the face of an ox on the left; and each of the four had the face of an eagle the back]. 11Such were their faces. As for their wings, they were separated: above, each had two touching those of the others, while the other two covered its body. 12And each could move in the direction of any of its faces; they went wherever the spirit impelled them to go, without turning when they moved. 13Such then was the appearance of the creatures. With them was something that looked like burning coals of fire. This fire, suggestive of torches, kept moving about among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and lightning issued from the fire. 14Dashing to and fro [among] the creatures was something that looked like flares. 15As I gazed on the creatures, I saw one wheel on the ground next to each of the four-faced creatures. 16As for the appearance and structure of the wheels, they gleamed like beryl. All four had the same form; the appearance and structure of each was as of two wheels cutting through each other. 17And when they moved, each could move in the direction of any of its four quarters; they did not veer when they moved. 18Their rims were tall and frightening, for the rims of all four were covered all over with eyes. 19And when the creatures moved forward, the wheels moved at their sides; and when the creatures were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne too.
A couple of observations are important:
1. The creatures are unnamed.
2. The description reads as thought the creatures and wheels are separate items.
3. The creatures have four faces; the wheels do not.
4. The four faces are: human, lion, ox, eagle.
5. The wheels are covered with eyes; the creatures are not.
6. The wheels are “within” each other - sort of like an astrolabe (at least that is the impression).
7. The creatures and wheels move together.
In Ezekiel 10 the throne vision re-appears to Ezekiel:
I 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. 2He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Step inside the wheelwork, under the cherubs, and fill your hands with glowing coals from among the cherubs, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I looked on. 3Now the cherubs were standing on the south side of the House when the man entered, and the cloud filled the inner court. 4But 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. 5The sound of the cherubs’ wings could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of El Shaddai when He speaks. 6When He commanded the man dressed in linen: “Take fire from among the cherubs within the wheelwork,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7And a cherub stretched out his hand among the cherubs to the fire that was among the cherubs; he took some and put it into the hands of him who was clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8The cherubs appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings. 9I 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. 10In appearance, the four had the same form, as if there were two wheels cutting through each other. 11And when they moved, each could move in the direction of any of its four quarters; they did not veer as they moved. The [cherubs] moved in the direction in which one of the heads faced, without turning as they moved. 12Their entire bodies-backs, hands, and wings-and the wheels, the wheels of the four of them, were covered all over with eyes. 13It was these wheels that I had heard called “the wheelwork.” 14Each one had four faces: One was a cherub’s face, the second a human face, the third a lion’s face, and the fourth an eagle’s face. 15The cherubs ascended; those were the creatures that I had seen by the Chebar Canal. 
There are several additions to chapter 1, which may or may not be different in description:
1. The creatures are here identified as cherubs (cherubim); no such identification was made in chapter 1.
2. 10:10 seems to suggest that the four cherubs each have the same sequence of faces; this could be inferred in chapter 1, but it is clearer here.
3. The four faces are (apparently) different: cherub, human, lion, eagle
4. Both the cherubs and the wheels are covered with eyes, not just the wheels (as it seemed from ch. 1).
5. The wheels are basically the same (like an astrolabe).
I’m not going to take the space here to discuss everything in both these visions. If you want that, I can recommend some fine scholarly commentaries and journal articles. For our purposes here, I need to comment on why I think this vision (these visions) are connected to astrology (which was indistinct from astronomy in ancient times - we’re not talking Miss Cleo here).
My view is that Ezekiel saw exactly the same thing in both visions. I just think certain details are added the second time around (ch. 10 is shorter, and presumes the reader has read the earlier material in certain regards). The fact that the suffix pronouns on the nouns (sorry for the Hebrew / grammar spasm) here are not distinct in Hebrew, even in terms of number and gender, can explain the ambiguities between the two descriptions. The four faces are not different either - though the orientation of the viewer (Ezekiel) appears to be different. What do I mean? First, in ch 10 “cherub” replaces “ox.” This is of no consequence since throne cherubs are often oxen in the iconography. The difference in terms doesn’t mean the creatures were different. In fact, Ezekiel tells us in ch. 10 that the creatures were the ones he’d seen in ch. 1 - back by the River Chebar (10:15). Let’s zero in, then, on the faces and the wheels.
Speaking of the vision of ch. 1, Dan Block, in his massive two volume commentary on the text of Ezekiel makes the following observation: “Since the inaugural vision came to the prophet from the north, the frontal view (south) would have had a human face, with the other three being arranged as follows”:
Block adds, “If the faces in 10:14 are also listed in clockwise order, the sequence is identical, and the cherub is identified with the bull.” Other scholars (like Leslie Allen in the Word Biblical Commentary, vol 1, of Ezekiel) note that the four faces suggest the four directions, or the cardinal points. He’s right — and what’s more, the faces of the creatures (cherubim) correspond to the four cardinal points of the zodiac. Scholars of ancient astronomy will tell you that the zodiac has a Babylonian derivation — which is precisely where Ezekiel is living and writing from. The following artistic rendering of the cardinal points illustrates (note that the human face corresponds to the human figure of Aquarius):
The one thing I think most noteworthy about all this is the eyes. In Ezekiel 1 we read that the wheels were full of eyes. What does that have to do with the zodiac or astrology? Simple. The Hebrew word for “eyes” is Ê¿ayin. This is the normal word for that body part through which we see. The same word is also used (by Ezekiel, no less — in the SAME CHAPTER) to describe “sparkling” or “gleaming” (cf. Ezek. 1:4; Ezek. 1:16). Here’s a suggestion: “eyes” should be understood in Ezekiel 1 AND Ezekiel 10 as “stars” (”sparkling things”). This fits amazingly well with chapter 10, since there both the creatures and the wheels have the eyes. Get it . . . creatures . . . cardinal points of the zodiac . . . the creatures having eyes (”stars”) in them? What creatures have stars in them? The ones you see in the sky - the signs of the zodiac.
And for kickers, this is also what the apostle John says he saw in Revelation 4-5 when he looked up into the heavens — animals with stars in them.
No, it wasn’t a flying saucer. Ezekiel’s visions are about an enthroned God who controls the the cycles of time (the zodiac and its movements), and is up to something . . . .
One passing thought (and it isn’t for PaleoBabble to lay this out): What if, when Jesus said that there would be signs in the heavens pointing to the second coming, he meant exactly what he said? Not that we could know the day or hour (which Jesus flatly said we could not) - but which would give us SOME information.
Remember the star of Bethlehem? Who saw it and knew what it meant? Magi . . . from . . . BABYLON. Hmmmm.
12 Comments so far...
Catherine_B1 Says:
17 August 2008 at 8:02 pm.
The Magi knew what it meant…what does this mean? I mean, I understand the sentence, but what would the significance be….I have read somewhere that the magi were kind of like ancient magicians, hence the word “magic” from “magi”, but why would THEY know the significance?
I think you’re right that there will literally be a sign in the heavens.
So Ezekial is seeing the four cardinal points and the zodiac? What is the sound they are making in verse 5? The stars are making noise? The presence of the LORD moving about the zodiac? None of this makes any sense….
MSH Says:
18 August 2008 at 12:45 pm.
@Catherine_B1: We need not understand each element of the vision to get its thrust (kind of like the parables - the point can still be discerned without exhaustive understanding of each sub-point of the analogy). For the Magi, I’d recommend either Ernest Martin’s book, The Star that Astonished the World, or the video at this link:
rrrgroup Says:
19 August 2008 at 11:57 am.
So what came first, Michael….the astrology or the things that engendered astrology?
That is, from whence did astrology derive, and what are the mechanisms that made it what it was (before it became the thing it is today).
Was the symbology derived from astronomical insights given to man by extraterrestrials, as Shklovskii (and Sagan) intimated in “Intelligent life in the Universe” [Delta, 1966, Page 449 ff.] or is the symbology a remnant of the collective unconscious as Jung postulated (in all his works)?
Did Ezekiel tap into his collective unconscious? Or got his polemical ideas from the artifacts and drawings, sculpted works all around him, as you indciate?
Or did Ezekiel have an experience that he found difficult to relate but tried to present as best he could?
After all, the rest of Ezekiel’s diatribes are devoid of the imagery that you present here.
And saying he had “visions” sort of makes it seem he was delusional, even though you take an expanded view of the word.
Can’t we just say that Ezekiel saw what he saw and gave it the best interpretation he was capable of?
Rich (RRR)
MSH Says:
20 August 2008 at 10:15 am.
@rrrgroup: Not sure what your stumblingblock is. I haven’t said that Ezekiel didn’t see anything - ?
And to answer your question, the stars were around long before there was astrology. Pretty obvious.
Alesiah Says:
11 September 2008 at 6:26 am.
WHY DO YOU SAY THAT THE “EAGLE” IS OPHIUCHUS?
THE SCORPIO IS A FIXED SIGN AS ARE THE OTHER FACES…AND ALSO THE SCORPIO CONSTELLATION WAS ALSO KNOWN AS THE EAGLE OR PHOENIX…..
http://www.elore.com/Astrology/Study/scorpio.htm
THANK YOU
ALESIAH
MSH Says:
16 September 2008 at 11:13 pm.
@Alesiah: I’m not saying it can only be this or that, only that the iconography was used this way in Babylon.
blop2008 Says:
6 February 2009 at 7:08 pm.
Hummm, Super interesting. The stars instead of the literal eye balls are definitely more consistent. I have read about the Mazzaroth (Mentioned in the Hebrew of Job I think) and how (supposedly) the Zodiac is derived from it. The 12 tribes of Israel also supposedly cohere with this Mazzaroth in the Heavens.
I also want to get a pack of The Star Of Bethlehem DVD Movie but they are out of stock on the originating website.
Doesn’t the Mazzaroth illustrate, at least to a certain level, the Messiah, since it starts with the Virgin and ends with Leo (Rev 5, where Christ is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah). Doesn’t it all match?
MSH Says:
10 February 2009 at 6:12 pm.
@blop2008: Revelation 12 (the first part = the birth of Christ) can be mapped astronomically with great precision. The DVD you mention is good, though it makes a couple mistakes, and he never credits the real source of this material (Dr. Ernest Martin).
herqlez253 Says:
6 March 2009 at 5:09 pm.
Sounds very interesting and I can see where this is going. Makes more sense that a lot of other interpretations. However, there are a few things that don’t seem to sum up.
1. What about the noises of thunder that the wings make
2. What about the fire that the clothed man took in between the cherubins to scatter among the city?
3. If cherubs actually mean ox, so are you saying that throughout the entire Bible (Kings, Chronicles, Psalms) it was actually referring to oxes with wings up to 30 feet that could fly??????
4. According to the zodiac, I have never seen a version where lions, humans, and bulls having wings. I think that really stretching out the truth to fit in your argument.
5. How would you explain the following?
Ezekiel 10:7
Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out.
Ezekiel 10:8
Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked likethe hands of a man.
I don’t think oxes/bulls have hands. But where can I find find icongraphy of cherubs being bulls?
6. I can see how the sphinx may resemble a cherub based on your zodiac model but
as far as the sphinx goes the Egyptians never hand wings on their sphinx, at least there is no proof of it. They may became fused with rams and there are statues today but none with wings. The sphinx itself originated in Egypt. Greek version of the sphinx with wings came much later, about 600 BC around the Bronze Age. In the Bible, Cherubs are never described anything else except having wings up to 30 feet and can fly, with hands like a man, and 4 faces.
You would really really really have to stretch the truth once again to fit it in your ideology.
I could be wrong on some of these, but so far I haven’t found any evidence to support your zodiac theory. If you could provide me some evidence from credible sources or scriptures, that would help! Thanks
MSH Says:
8 March 2009 at 2:01 pm.
@herqlez253: Here are replies to specifics (see **):
1. What about the noises of thunder that the wings make
** thunder is noisy. It is never silent.
2. What about the fire that the clothed man took in between the cherubins to scatter among the city?
** this is stock imagery of theophany elsewhere in the OT (cf. the burning bush). Why? Because divine beings are often described as luminous - fire gives off light. There is also the ancient association with the sun, conceived as made of fire not because of primitive science, but because it gave off heat. The sun and other things like stars and planets moved in the sky, and so were considered to be alive / animate. In short, this is the normal way to describe a deity. It doesn’t compel the notion of space travel.
3. If cherubs actually mean ox, so are you saying that throughout the entire Bible (Kings, Chronicles, Psalms) it was actually referring to oxes with wings up to 30 feet that could fly??????
** no - meaning is always determined by CONTEXT. This imagery in Ezekiel is contextualized by the iconography associated with (divine or human) kingship. The cardinal points of the zodiac add to the divine / celestial context.
4. According to the zodiac, I have never seen a version where lions, humans, and bulls having wings. I think that really stretching out the truth to fit in your argument.
** then you need to do some reading on the ancient zodiac - and the point of the wings is that the animals are in the SKY (wings=flight), and so the zodiac association is quite appropriate (the constellations are in the SKY).
5. How would you explain the following?
** ONE of the cherubim (v. 7 that you quote) was fashioned as a man - and men have hands.
** I’ve posted examples of cherubim as bulls. A cherubim was simply a throne guardian (the Akkadian word karub, which is cognate to Hebrew cherub/charub = throne guardian). THere were other names for throne guardians (Egyptian, seraf = a serpent; Assyrian lamassu - Google lamassu and look at the pictures - the creatures have hooves). There are a number of good books on ancient near eastern and biblical iconography; some in English. Look up works by Othmar / O. Keel on Amazon for a sampling.
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