Fire Between the Cherubim – Ezekiel 10:7

Question

2 Samuel 6:2 says, “Whose name is called by the name of God of hosts, that dwells between the cherubim.”

2 Kings 19:15 says, “And Chizkiyah prayed before God, and said: Hashem, Lord of Yisrael, who dwells [between] the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.”

Psalms 80:1 says, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Yisrael, that leads Yosef like a flock; You who dwells between the cherubim, shine forth.”

Psalm 99:1 says, “God reigns; let the people tremble. He sits between the cherubim. Let the earth be moved.”

Ezekiel 10:7 says, “And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the ‘fire’ that was between the cherubim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen.”

Question: In all the above passages, it says that God dwells between the cherubim. However, is the presence of God fire, as it implies in Ezekiel 10:7? Is “consuming fire” on the mercy seat above the ark of testimony?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    The commentaries explain that the verse is describing how one of the cherubim handed the fiery coal to the “one clothed in linen.” Originally, God designated the “one clothed in linen” to take the fiery coal himself, and use it to destroy Jerusalem. However, the “one clothed in linen” did not want to do something as destructive as that, and so God commanded one of the cherubim to hand it to him, and in that way mitigate the extent of the punishment.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team