Why were there two cherubs on the Ark cover? What are cherubs? What do they look like and what do they do?
In Exodus 25 God teaches Moses how to construct the Ark of the Covenant and its cover.
18. And you shall make two cherubs of gold, of hammered workmanship shall you make them out of the two ends of the cover.
19. And make one cherub out of one end, and one cherub out of the other end; from the cover shall you make the cherubs on its two ends.
20. And the cherubs shall have wings spread upward, shielding with their wings over the cover, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the cover shall the faces of the cherubs be.
The Ark cover is a rectangle of pure gold with two cherubs rising from its ends.
Cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant
The main object in the Tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant. This was a gold plated box measuring (in cubits) 2.5 long x 1.5 wide x 1.0 high. (The opinions on the length of a cubit range from about 18 to 24 inches. Based on the smaller number, the Ark was 45 x 27 x 18 inches.)
God commanded Moses to make a cover for the Ark out of pure gold. But the cover was not just a flat plate. Rising out of its ends were 2 cherubs.
These cherubs were not made separately and then attached to the cover. Rather, the cover and the cherubs were one piece formed by hammering a single block of gold into the proper shapes.
What Are Cherubs?
The Hebrew Word
The Hebrew word keruv (spelled kaf-reish-vav-bet) came into English via Latin and Greek as cherub.
Of course, the normal plural form would be cherubs, which I have decided to use in this article. However, you will often see “cherubim” used as the plural. This is a strange mixture of adding the Hebrew plural ending “im” onto the English word cherub!
Are Cherubs Angels?
Yes. For example, Rambam in Mishneh Torah (Yesodei HaTorah 2:7) lists 10 categories of angels. He includes cherubs as one of those categories.
Are Cherubs Evil?
No. There are no passages in the Jewish Bible where cherubs are mentioned acting as evil beings.
Cherubs in the Bible
Cherubs are first mentioned in the Bible after God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
24. So He drove out the man; and He placed the cherubs at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the Tree of Life.
(I’ll come back to this verse to discuss what cherubs do and symbolize.)
Cherubs are mentioned several times in the building of the Tabernacle. In addition to those on the Ark cover, a design of cherubs was woven into the partition between the Holy and Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:31).
Solomon included cherubs in the Temple. There were two cherubs made of gold plated olive wood (1 Kings 6:23-28). He also added designs of cherubs to the doors of the Temple (1 Kings 6:31-35).
Isaiah and Ezekiel Saw Cherubs
Isaiah (chapter 6) and Ezekiel (chapters 1 and 9-10) both saw cherubs in their prophetic visions of God’s glory.
Their choice of language becomes a bit confusing.
Ezekiel calls them cherubs in Ezekiel 10, but “chayot” or “living creatures” in Ezekiel 1. In Ezekiel 10:20 he says that the cherubs were the same as the chayot.
In Isaiah’s revelation cherubs are called seraphim.
We know from the Gemara that Isaiah and Ezekiel saw the same thing.
Rava said: All that Ezekiel saw Isaiah saw.
What does Ezekiel resemble? A villager who saw the king. And what does Isaiah resemble? A townsman who saw the king.
It is in keeping with the nature of prophecy that each man used different words to describe their visions.
Rashi explains that Ezekiel was less familiar with God’s glory, therefore he gave a more detailed description of the vision he was granted.
How Many Cherubs Are There?
We don’t know. Isaiah saw at least two, but does not mention any definitive number of them.
Ezekiel mentions seeing 4 cherubs in each of his visions. But, there certainly could be many more that he was not privileged to see.
What Do Cherubs Look Like?
We know a bit about the appearance of cherubs from their descriptions in Exodus, Isaiah, and Ezekiel.
However, we should not make the mistake of thinking that we really know what cherubs look like. Cherubs are angelic beings. That means they are spiritual without a physical body.
The visions granted to these prophets are meant to convey deep truths that are symbolized by physical characteristics that we can understand.
Cherubs Described in the Bible
As mentioned above, “cherub” is from the Hebrew word keruv (spelled kaf-reish-vav-bet).
Often in Hebrew, the letter kaf is used as a prefix to indicate a comparison.
Based on this, Rabbi Abbahu (Gemara Sukkah 5b) says cherub means that they look “like a child” because in Babylon they call a child “rabia.”
Another Gemara (Yoma 54a) understands from our verse that the two cherubs on the Ark cover were different in that one looked male and the other looked female.
The Vilna Gaon (Aderet Eliyahu Genesis 3:24) writes that cherubs have the form of a human with the face of a child. Unlike humans they have wings but under their wings they have human hands.
The Four Faces of the Cherubs
Ezekiel in his first vision saw cherubs with 4 faces. The four faces were those of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle [Ezekiel 1:10].
In his second vision they also had 4 faces, but they were different: the face of a cherub, a man, a lion, and an eagle [Ezekiel 10:14].
Do Cherubs Have Wings?
Yes. In our verse, the cherubs were to be formed with 2 wings spread upward. Rabbi Steinsaltz in his commentary states that it’s possible they had more wings that aren’t mentioned in the text.
Isaiah (6:2) saw cherubs with 6 wings. But Ezekiel (1:6) saw only 4 wings. The Gemara Chagigah 13b explores reasons for this difference.
Why Could Moses Make Cherubs?
The 10 Commandments states a clear prohibition against making certain images.
4. You shall not make for you any engraved image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
The cherubs would certainly seem to be included in “any thing that is in heaven above.”
God commanded Moses to make the cherubs on the Ark cover and the curtain. God’s explicit, positive command to Moses overrides the general prohibition.
What Do Cherubs Do?
The cherubs are mentioned in the Bible performing two functions.
Guardians and Protectors
The first mention of cherubs in the Bible shows them as guardians.
We read in Genesis 3:24 (quoted above) that the cherubs were placed “at the east of the Garden of Eden … to guard the way of the Tree of Life.”
In Ezekiel 28:14, the king of Tyre is described a “sheltering cherub.”
Of course, the king was not a cherub, but he was supposed to act like a cherub. Rabbi Hirsch (writing on Exodus 25:18) explains that this means “the resources and the culture of the nations had been entrusted to his protection.”
Bearers of God’s Glory
In Ezekiel’s vision the cherubs were the angelic beings bearing God’s glory.
9:3. And the glory of the God of Israel ascended from the cherub, on which it was, to the threshold of the house…
10:18. Then the glory of the Lord departed from above the threshold of the house, and stood upon the cherubs.
There are several verses that describe God as “enthroned upon cherubs.”
2. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who leads Joseph like a flock; You Who are enthroned upon the cherubs, shine forth.
What Do Cherubs Symbolize?
We are now ready to try to understand the symbolic importance of cherubs.
Rabbi Hirsch takes a deep dive into this topic in his commentary on Exodus 25:18 and in Collected Writings Volume 3 page 188. Here are a few of the points he makes.
The cherubs on the Ark cover symbolize their two functions.
Their wings are spread over the Ark cover as a shield over it.
Their wings are “spread upward” representing their bearing God’s glory. In Exodus 28:22 God tells Moses, “I will speak with you from above the cover, from between the two cherubs…”
The two tablets that God gave to Moses were set next to each other inside the Ark. The faces of the cherubs were toward the Ark cover. This symbolizes that we should concentrate our intellectual powers on learning God’s Torah.
Why are there two cherubs on the Ark cover? It seems that one would be enough.
There were two tablets inside the Ark, each engraved with 5 of the 10 Commandments. The first 5 commandments represent our relationship with God. The second 5 commandments represent the relationship between people.
The cherubs are on each end of the Ark cover, so one is over each Tablet. This shows us that the two categories of commandments are equally important.
I recommend reading his entire comment. I’ve shared just a taste of what R. Hirsch writes on this topic.