Ezekiel 1:5-7

Within the cloud the prophet saw four figures that resembled living beings (cf. Revelation 4). They had human form, but each of them had four faces and four wings. [Note: See Allen, pp. 27-30, for some illustrations reproduced from a German work by O. Keel, which is "a lavishly illustrated study of ancient Near Eastern and Anatolian royal and religious iconography that sheds light on the particular throne imagery reflected here." (Ibid., p. 27.)] Each face represents the highest form of animal life in a general category, probably showing that God is lord of all creation. [Note: Cooper, p. 65; Dyer, "Ezekiel," p. 1228; Taylor, p. 55.] Their legs did not have knee joints, which made them very stable. Their feet looked like the hoofs of calves, but they shone like they were polished bronze. Calves’ feet suggest nimbleness (cf. Psalms 29:6; Malachi 4:2), and their sheen may represent their strength.

These living creatures were cherubim (cf. Ezekiel 10:15; Ezekiel 10:20; Genesis 3:22-24). Appearances of cherubim sometime accompany references to God’s glory and holiness in the Old Testament, but their specific function remains a mystery. Ezekiel would have been familiar with cherubim because they were represented on the ark and in the curtains of the temple (Exodus 25:17-22; Exodus 26:31; Numbers 7:89; 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 1 Chronicles 28:18; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1; Isaiah 37:16). The Mesopotamians also pictured spirit beings guarding their temples in their artwork. [Note: Greenberg, p. 55.]