Ezekiel 28:14

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth,.... In allusion to the cherubim over the mercy seat, which covered it with their wings; and which, as the ark of the testimony and all the vessels of the

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou art the anointed cherub.

Thou art the anointed cherub: I would rather keep the order of the words in the Hebrew, which the French also keep, Thou art a cherub, anointed, a protector, or one who covereth for defence. For thy wisdom, power, and excellency, like a cherub or angel; for the sacredness of thy person and office, as the anointed of God; for the exercise of thy power and office, as a shield or a protector of the weak; thus thou art, or thinkest thyself to be, and pridest thyself herein. I have set thee so; I, whom thou forgettest, I have made thee so, set thee above others; this should have been matter of thanks and humility, not of pride and atheism. Thus the sarcasm is continued, and he is upbraided for his insolence. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; or thus, in the holy mountain a god thou hast been; so it is an irony, and suits the rest; or else, in pursuance of our version, thou wast advanced to kingly dignity, a sacred office, and of Divine institution and consecration, and thou hast in pride exalted thyself above me, as well as above men. Walked up and down, in proud and stately manner, surrounded every way in thy chambers and beds and clothes with stones that sparkle like fire, thy crown, thy throne, thy chariots, thy umbrellas or canopies, glistering and dazzling beholders; as if thus also thou wouldst contend with God, who is clothed with light.

Ezekiel 28:14 Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.Ver. 14. Thou art the anointed cherub.] Or, Thou art a cherub ever since I anointed thee for protector. As the cherubims cover the ark with their wing, so dost thou thy people; and therefore takest upon thee as if an earthly angel. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God.] Thou hast been in heaven: or, at least, on Mount Sinai with Moses, where God appeared with millions of his angels, having a fiery pavement under his feet. In the midst of the stones of fire,] i.e., Of seraphims, say some, those flaming creatures of lightnings and thunderbolts, say others, which thou hurlest about at thy pleasure. “ Saevum praelustri fulmen ab arce venit. ” Trem.

(14) Thou art the anointed cherub.—The tense is not expressed in the Hebrew, and it is better to supply the same simple past as is used throughout the passage: thou wert. The imagery is taken from the Temple upon Mount Zion: not that the king of Tyre had at this time any special connection with this, but that these terms were natural to the prophet in this ironical description of him. “The cherub that covereth” the mercy-seat is spoken of as anointed, with reference to Exodus 30:26; Exodus 40:9. Upon the holy mountain of God.—The prophet still has his mind upon Mount Zion (comp. Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 56:7), but yet the words are ironically spoken of Tyre as a venerated sanctuary, rising up from the sea. Stones of fire.—An obvious explanation of this expression, given by many writers, is that it refers to the brilliant sparkling jewels on the robes in which the king walked. But if this were the case, the expression would be a strange one, and the connection implies a deeper and a religious meaning. It is better, therefore, to understand the imagery as similar to that in Revelation 2:1, and to suppose the prophet to have had in mind such a passage as Exodus 24:10, where a paved work of sapphire stone appears as beneath the feet of God, while His glory is “like a devouring fire.” This would then be one of the ways in which the king of Tyre is ironically represented as assuming to himself God-like attributes.

Verse 14. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth] The irony is continued; and here he is likened to the CHERUB that guarded the gates of Paradise, and kept the way of the tree of life; or to one of the cherubs whose wings, spread out, covered the mercy-seat. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God] The irony is still continued; and now he is compared to Moses, and afterwards to one of the chief angels, who has walked up and down among the stones of fire; that is, thy floors have been paved with precious stones, that shone and sparkled like fire. Lucan, describing the splendour of the apartments of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, speaks in nearly a similar language: - Nec summis crustata domus, sectisque nitebat Marmoribus, stabatque sibi non segnis achates, Purpureusque lapis, totusque effusus in aula Calcabatur onyx -- Pharsal. lib. x. Rich as some fane by slavish zealots reared, For the proud banquet stood the hall prepared: Thick golden plates the latent beams infold, And the high roof was fretted o'er with gold. Of solid marble all the walls were made, And onyx e'en the meaner floor inlaid; While porphyry and agate round the court In massy columns rose, a proud support. Of solid ebony each post was wrought, From swarthy Meroe profusely brought. With ivory was the entrance crusted o'er, And polished tortoise hid each shining door; While on the cloudy spots enchased was seen The trusty emerald's never-fading green. Within the royal beds and couches shone, Beamy and bright with many a costly stone, The glowing purple rich. ROWE.

14. Thou art the anointed] The word “thou” is pointed here anomalously as Numbers 11:15; Deuteronomy 5:24. It may more naturally be read with or beside. The terms rendered “anointed” and “that covereth” are wanting in LXX. (also in Ezekiel 28:16). No meaning can be attached to anointed cherub, probably: cherub with spreading wings. The other phrase “that covereth” is used to describe the cherubim over the mercy-seat whose wings covered it and (at least in the temple of Solomon) extended from wall to wall of the most holy place (Exodus 25:20; Exodus 37:9; 1 Chronicles 28:18). In these passages LXX. renders the word rightly “overshadowing.” I have set thee] I set thee. holy mountain of God] Different representations of the abode of God were current; it was sometimes spoken of as a mountain and sometimes as a garden. The mountain here is the same as the garden of Eze 28:13, cf. Ezekiel 28:16. It is the abode of God, where the cherub was and where the prince was placed on the day when he was created. The allusion to the mount of assembly in Isaiah 14:13 is obscure. The combinations of Del. (Parad.) and Jeremias (Bab. Assyr. Vorstellungen vom Leben nach dem Tode) are controverted by Jensen, who makes it probable that Arâlu, the “mountain of the countries,” is not a special mountain on the earth, but the earth itself conceived as a mountain, under which lay the primary ocean. Neither is there the slightest foundation for the supposition that the prophet compares the prince of Tyre to a Gryph guarding treasure upon the mountain of God. hast walked up and down] didst walk in the midst of (the) stones of fire. The “stones of fire” might be flashing precious stones (Assyr. aban ishâti, precious stone, Frd. Del., Par. p. 118); more probably there is some reference to the phenomena attending the divine presence and manifestation, ch. Ezekiel 1:13, Ezekiel 10:6, cf. Isaiah 6:6; Psalms 18:14. Among the Muhammedans the shooting stars are held to be thunderbolts hurled at the eavesdropping demons who pry into the divine secrets.

14. The anointed cherub — The prince stood in Eden as divinely appointed guard and protector of the treasures of the garden, and as the highest possible form of life (Ezekiel 1:10, and note Ezekiel