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Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 1

1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles at the Kebar River, the heavens opened and I saw a divine vision.⁠ 2 (On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile— 3 the Lord’s message came to the priest Ezekiel the son of Buzi, at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. The hand of the Lord came on him there.) 4 As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north—an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, such that bright light rimmed it and came from it like glowing amber from the middle of a fire.⁠ 5 In the fire were what looked like four living beings.⁠ In their appearance they had human form, 6 but each had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like calves’ feet. They gleamed like polished bronze.⁠ 8 They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead. 10 Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and also the face of an eagle.⁠ 11 Their wings were spread out above them; each had two wings touching the wings of one of the other beings on either side and two wings covering their bodies. 12 Each moved straight ahead—wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 In the middle of the living beings was something like burning coals of fire or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire.⁠ 14 The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning.⁠ 15 Then I looked, and I saw one wheel on the ground beside each of the four beings.⁠ 16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction was like gleaming jasper, and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they moved they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around.⁠ 19 When the living beings moved, the wheels beside them moved; when the living beings rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up too. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel. 21 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped. When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel. 22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a dome41,⁠ glittering awesomely like ice,⁠ stretched out over their heads.⁠ 23 Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering its body. 24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings—it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Sovereign One,⁠ or the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. 26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne.⁠ High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man.⁠ 27 I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire.⁠ There was a brilliant light around it,⁠ 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord.⁠ When I saw it, I threw myself face down,⁠ and I heard a voice speaking.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 1:5 and 3 Enoch 21:1

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In Ezekiel, four living creatures are described with four faces and four wings. In 3 Enoch, these same creatures have wings as wide as the universe, expanding the figures in Ezekiel's vision to the scale of heaven.

Passages

Ezekiel 1:5

Hebrew Bible
5 In the fire were what looked like four living beings. In their appearance they had human form, 6 but each had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like calves’ feet. They gleamed like polished bronze. 8 They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead. 10 Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and also the face of an eagle.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

3 Enoch 21:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch
1 R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me: Four (are) the Chayyoth corresponding to the four winds. Each Chayya is as the space of the whole world. And each one has four faces; and each face is as the face of the East. 2 Each one has four wings and each wing is like the cover (roof) of the universe. 3 And each one has faces in the middle of faces and wings in the middle of wings. The size of the faces is (as the size of) 248 faces, and the size of the wings is (as the size of) 365 wings.
400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... 1. Theophanies: The visions of the Merkabah in Ezekiel 1; 3:12-15, 22-24; 8:1-4; 10:1-22; and 43:1-7 were their basic texts. These provided them with such fundamental elements as the Merkabah (3En 1:1, 5-7); the wheels (ophanim; 3En 25); the four creatures (hayyot; 3En 20f.); the throne of glory (3En 1:10,12); the hasmal (3En 36:2,7); the cherubim (3En 22). Daniel 7:9-10 and Isaiah 6 were incorporated into Ezekiel's picture. Daniel 7 records a vision of God seated on a fiery throne which has wheels of flame. It furnishes the additional motifs of the heavenly law court (3En 28:7), the River of Fire (3En 18:19-21; 19:4; 33:4; 36:1-2; 37:1), and the hosts of attendant angels (cf. 3En 19:6). Isaiah 6 contains a vision of God seated on a high and exalted throne (cf. 3En 26:12). Isaiah 6 contributes to the total picture the seraphim (3En 26) and the QeduSSah (3En 1:12; 20:2). Note also the vision of heaven in 1 Kings 22:19-22, in which the Lord is seen seated on his throne with all the array of heaven standing before him. Ezekiel employs the language of the nature theophanies ("fire, lightning, storm") to express the appearance of God's glory. The Merkabah texts expand this imagery by drawing on other Old Testament accounts of nature theophanies, particularly God's appearance to Israel at Sinai (Ex 19:16-18; cf. IKgs 19:11- 13; Pss 18:7-15 and 97:2-5). For combinations of these elements see 3 Enoch 34 and 37. 2. Angels: Such Old Testament phrases as "the host of heaven" (IKgs 22:19) and "the host of the height" (Isa 24:31) suggest that the number of the angels is virtually infinite (cf. 3En 19:6). The Old Testament appplies various names to the angels: seraphim (Isa 6:2, 6); cherubim (Ezek 10); creatures (hayyot) (Ezek 1); Watchers and holy ones (Hrin and qaddisin) (Dan 4:14). 3 Enoch takes these names as designations of different orders of angels (3En 19-22; 25-28:6). The angels are represented in Genesis 19: If. and Daniel 8:15f. as having human form, and in Joshua 5:13; Numbers 22:23; and 1 Chronicles 21:16, 30 as being armed with weapons; cf. 3 Enoch 22:3-9. The powerful "angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament (who is sometimes hard to distinguish from God himself) may be the prototype of 3 Enoch's Metatron (cf. Ex 23:20-23 with Judg 2:1-5, and see 3En 12:5 and b.Sanh 38b). ...”
Philip S. Alexander, “3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch,” in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1983), 1:246.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Ezekiel 1:5 and 3 Enoch 21:1

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