Ezekiel 1:7

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. Source

Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)

LXX Ezekiel 1:7

Septuagint

5 And in the midst as it were the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; the likeness of a man was upon them. 6 And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 And their legs were straight; and their feet were winged, and there were sparks, like gleaming brass, and their wings were light. 8 And the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides. 9 And the faces of them four turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. Source

Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Notes and References User Comments

"... given the profoundly sinister connotations of the 'calf' for ancient Jewish expositors, we may wonder if the deletion of the word egel, and the reading of kap as if it were kanap, was not deliberate. For the 'calf' was the archetype of the idolatry into which Israel had fallen (Exodus 32); and the suggestion of Ezek 1:7 (and, to a lesser exstent, v 10), that a token of it was perpetually in the divine presence, verged on the intolerable."

Halperin, David J. Merkabah Midrash in the Septuagint (pp. 351-363) Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 101, No. 3, 1982

* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.

Notes and References User Comments

"... given the profoundly sinister connotations of the 'calf' for ancient Jewish expositors, we may wonder if the deletion of the word egel, and the reading of kap as if it were kanap, was not deliberate. For the 'calf' was the archetype of the idolatry into which Israel had fallen (Exodus 32); and the suggestion of Ezek 1:7 (and, to a lesser exstent, v 10), that a token of it was perpetually in the divine presence, verged on the intolerable."

Halperin, David J. Merkabah Midrash in the Septuagint (pp. 351-363) Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 101, No. 3, 1982

* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.