02_eichler_nuovoImpaginato+eliminata_nota24)_DEF_copiaaaaa_26_38 28/04/15 11:32 Pagina 26 Cherub: A History of Interpretation I. Introduction: The Cherub in the Hebrew Bible The word bWrK., traditionally transliterated in English as “cherub”, is attested some 90 times in the Hebrew Bible, mostly in the plural form ~ybiWrK. / ~ybirK u ,. which is transliterated as “cherubim”. The overall impression created by these attestations is that the cherub is a marvelous winged being that was associated with YHWH and whose depictions served as the main motif in Israelite temple iconography. What, specifically, is a cherub? In other words, what form or forms of creatures does the word bwrk designate? In the present study, the rich history of interpretation regarding this question will be surveyed, using both textual and iconographic sources. The biblical contexts in which cherubim appear can be briefly out- lined as follows. First, actual, living cherubim are associated with the Garden of Eden (Gen 3,24; Ezek 28,14.16) or directly with YHWH (2 Sam 22,11 = Ps 18,11; Ezek 9,3; 10,1-17; 11,22). Second, sculpted cherubim are positioned over the sacred ark in the tabernacle (Exod 25,18 – 20.22 = 37,7-9 + Num 7,89) and the temple (1 Kgs 6,23-28 ≈ 2 Chr 3,10-13; 1 Kgs 8,6-7 = 2 Chr 5,7-8; 1 Chr 28,18). Third, two- dimensional representations of cherubim decorate surfaces of the tab- ernacle (Exod 26,1 = 36,8; 26,31 = 36,35), the temple (1 Kgs 6,29.32.35; Ezek 41,18.20.25; 2 Chr 3,7.14) and laver stands in the temple’s courtyard (1 Kgs 7,29.36). Finally, cherubim constitute a com- ponent in an epithet of YHWH, ~yb(w)rkh bv(w)y / ~ybwrk bvy (1 Sam 4,4; 2 Sam 6,2 = 1 Chr 13,6; 2 Kgs 19,15 = Isa 37,16; Pss 80,2; 99,1). While Ezekiel’s vision of the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8–11) includes a detailed description of creatures dubbed “cherubim”, most interpreters have not regarded this description as applicable to cherubim generally. There are three likely reasons for this. First, the very need to describe these creatures in particular suggests that they are atypical in form. Second, the description contradicts details concerning cherubim revealed in passing in other passages. Ezekiel’s creatures each have four faces (10,14.21; as 1,6.10), four wings (10,21; as 1,6.11.23), arms under their wings (10,7.8.21; as 1,8) and accompanying wheels (10,9-14.16-17.19; as 1,15-22; BIBLICA 96.1 (2015) 26-38