Cherubs (actually, Hebrew כְּרֻבִים , Crucifix or Keruvim , already in the form of plural, however, in Russian and a number of other European languages it was historically fixed as the name of one creature; singular, Hebrew כרוב , Cruv ) - The winged heavenly being mentioned in the Bible . In the biblical view of heavenly beings, together with the seraphs, they are closest to God. In Christianity, the second, following the seraphim, is the angelic rank .
Content
In the scriptures
In the Old Testament
In Genesis ( 3:24 ), a cherub, armed with a "fiery sword," guards the entrance to the Garden of Eden . David describes the cherubim as a means of transport for God : “he sat on the cherubim and flew” ( Psalm 17:11 ); a frequent epithet of God in the Old Testament is “He who sits on cherubim” ( 1 Sam. 4: 4 , 2 Sam. 6: 2 , Isa. 37:16 and elsewhere). The prophet Ezekiel , predicting the fall of King Tire , compares him to a cherub whose garments were decorated with sparkling precious stones that God had cast down from the Garden of Eden because he had fallen into sin of pride ( Ezekiel 28: 11–19 ).
In the Tabernacle , on top of the lid of the Ark of the Covenant , probably on its short sides, two cast of gold cherubim were installed facing each other, with wings spread, as if covering the Ark ( Exodus 25: 18-20 , 37: 7–9 ) . Cherubs and the lid of the Ark ( caporet ) were a single whole. The text does not contain a detailed description of the cherubs, it is only said that they possess wings and faces. It seems that, sitting on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, the cherubim simultaneously symbolized the throne of the invisible God and served as the protection of the Ark. God told Moses that over the Ark between the two cherubs he would be revealed to him and, through him, give commandments to the people of Israel ( Exodus 25:22 ).
Solomon ordered to cut from an olive tree and cover with gold giant cherubs ten cubits high (about 5 m). Their five-meter wings “stretched over the place of the Ark” (1 Kings 6: 23-28 ) [1] in the Holy of Holies of Jerusalem Temple .
Images of the cherubs were embroidered on the curtain ( parochhet ) at the entrance to the Holy of Holies ( Exodus 26:31 ; 36:35 ), on the bedspreads of the Tabernacle ( Exodus 26: 1 ; 36: 8 ) and carved on the inner and outer walls (1 Kings. 6:29 ), at the doors of the inner and outer sanctuaries (1 Kings 6:32, 35 ) and the panels of the Temple (1 Kings 7:29, 36 ). Carvings on the walls and above the door of the Temple are also mentioned in the prophetic vision of Ezekiel, with each cherub having two faces, a man and a young lion ( Ezek. 41: 18–20, 25 ).
Traditional Traditions
In Jewish tradition
According to the Midrash on Genesis , cherubs were created by God on the third day. [2] While, according to another source, they were the first living creatures created in the world. [3]
The Talmud [4] says that the four creatures that Ezekiel saw near the throne of God were originally a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle, but that Ezekiel urged God to take a cherub instead of a bull so that God would not have to constantly have a bullock before his eyes, which would remind Him how the Jews worshiped this animal .
Tradition says that when the pharaoh chased the Jews to the Red Sea , God took the cherub from the wheels of His throne and flew to that place. [5]
In religious tradition
In Judaism
The Talmud mentions a cherub among the five objects found in the First , but not in the Second Temple [6] . The same treatise explains that when the First Temple was destroyed, when the cherubs were seen, the pagans began to mock the Jews, believing that they worshiped the statues. [7] For this reason, the cherubim in the Second Temple did not represent separate statues, but were carved on the walls. [8]
It should be noted that in the Talmud, [9] describing the heavens and celestials, only three types of celestial beings are listed: seraphim , ofanim and khaiot , without mentioning the cherubim. The same three types are also mentioned in the ancient Jewish liturgy.
At the same time, the Midrash on Ecclesiastes says that “when a person is sleeping, the body tells the soul ( Neshama ) what it did during the day; the soul passes this information to the spirit ( nefesh ), the latter to the angel, the angel to the cherub, the cherub to the seraph, who finally makes a report to God. " [10]
Midrash says that God, sitting on a cherub, observes everything that is happening in His world. The cherub, however, does not contain anything material and is worn by God, and not vice versa. [5]
In Midrash Tadsha [11], cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant correspond to two qualities of God and two of His Names [12] : the quality of mercy ( tetragrammaton ) and the quality of justice ( Elohim ).
In Kabbalah
In the Zohar , where ten classes of angels are listed, the cherubim are not mentioned as a special class. [13] At the same time, in the Kabbalistic book “Masekhet Atzilut”, cherubims occupy the third place in the host of angels, and their leader is Cheruviel (Keruviel). [fourteen]
In the circles of medieval Jewish mystics of Germany there was a so-called "school of a special cherub." [fifteen]
In Christianity
Christian theology did not initially have a definite view of the nature of cherubs; opinions were divided on the question of whether they are beings or merely symbols and images to represent the actions of God. [16] Following Philo of Alexandria, they saw in the cherubim only the symbolic meaning of Jerome Stridon (IV century) and Theodorite of Cyrus (V century). However, Clement of Alexandria (II – III centuries) already begins to depart from this understanding, calls the cherubim “ song-spirits ”, but continues to place the main emphasis on the symbolism of their image:
| The name of the Cherubim means "great knowledge." Together they had twelve wings, as an indication of the sensual world, twelve signs of the zodiac and the course of time determined by them ... the image of the cherubim has symbolic meaning: the face is a symbol of the soul, the wings are the services and actions of the forces rising left and right, and the mouth is a hymn to glory in ceaseless contemplation.Clement of Alexandria. Stromats (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment February 17, 2009. Archived November 26, 2010. |
Starting from the 4th century , the prevailing teaching is that cherubim are creatures, although they possess certain symbolism. John Chrysostom gave the following concept of cherubs, which became traditional for Christianity at the end of the era of Ecumenical Councils :
| A cherub means nothing but complete wisdom. This is why Cherubs are full of eyes: back, head, wings, legs, chest - everything is full of the eye, because wisdom looks everywhere, it has an eye wide open.John Chrysostom [17] |
Theodore Studit calls the cherubim “the highest of all and closest to God ”, his opinion is supported by Catholic ( Thomas Aquinas ) and Protestant ( Keil ) theologians. [eighteen]
The properties of cherubs were described by the Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite in his essay “On the Celestial Hierarchy”:
| The name of the Cherubim means their power - to know and contemplate God, the ability to receive the Upper Light and contemplate the Divine magnificence at its very first manifestation, their wise art is to teach and communicate abundantly the wisdom bestowed by others.Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite. "On the heavenly hierarchy" . Archived on November 28, 2012. |
In the liturgy of the Orthodox Church at the liturgy, a prayer is called a cherubic song : " The cherubs are secretly forming and the Life-giving Trinity Trisagy song is singing ... ". It consists of two parts, separated by a great entrance , the royal gates of the altar are opened in front of it.
Legends and folklore
In apocryphal literature, cherubs are considered angels : the Book of the Secrets of Enoch refers them to the inhabitants of the sixth and seventh heaven; together with the phoenixes and six-winged seraphim, they sing at the foot of the throne of God. [19]
The Ethiopian book of Enoch also speaks of three kinds of angels, always awake at the throne of God. [twenty]
One of the three with their own will (not opposing the Will of God (controversial))
Name Etymology
The etymology of the word “ cherubim ” is debatable.
In the Talmud, the name “כרוב” is derived from the Aramaic expression “כרביא” (`youth-like`). [21]
Biblical critics derived this word from the Aramaic root כרב - “to plow,” from which they concluded that the cherub had the appearance of a bull. [22] But this etymology was rejected. [23]
Some (like, for example, Eichhorn ) combined this word with the Greek γρυψ ( vulture ), the performance by which came to the Greeks through colonies in the regions of Pontus, Tauride Chersonesos, etc .; the vultures were depicted as winged creatures, with a lion's body, an eagle's head and glowing eyes; according to Greek myth, they guarded the gold of the Arimaspi living on the Riphean mountains.
Assyriologists suggest that the Hebrew word " keruv " is associated with the Assyrian verb "karâbu" (to pray, to `bless`), that is, the cherub is the mediator, offering human prayers to God. [15] The sacrament “kâribu” - “blessing”, according to the Assyriologists, is often found in cuneiform texts, as a designation of bull-shaped winged colossi, which were placed at the portals of the Assyrian royal palaces, as powerful guardians of the state and happiness, depicting the god “Adar”. However, these four-legged colossi represent only a faint analogy of biblical cherubs. [23]
Appearance
The Bible contains several different descriptions of cherubs. The cherubim in the Tabernacle and in the Temple have one face each ( Exodus 25:20 ) and two wings ( Exodus 25:20 , 3 Samuel 6:24, 27 ). The prophet Ezekiel in his vision ( Ezek. 1: 5 ) describes the cherubs in a slightly different way: they are human-like creatures with four wings (two are raised up and touch each other, and two are lowered down and cover the body), with four legs, like a bull, but sparkling, “Like shiny copper,” with four hands under each of the four wings and four faces: a man and a lion (on the right side), a bull and an eagle (on the left). See tetramorph for details. Near each of them on the wheel. The whole body of the cherubim, and the back, and arms, and wings, as well as wheels, are all covered in eyes. A way of movement - procession and flight.
| ... from the middle of it was seen the likeness of four animals - and such was their appearance: their appearance was like that of a man; and each has four faces, and each of them has four wings; And their feet are straight legs, and the soles of their feet are like the feet of a calf, and sparkled like brilliant copper. And the hands of men were under their wings, on their four sides; and their faces and their wings — all four; their wings touched one another; during their procession they did not turn around, but each walked in the direction of his face. The likeness of their faces is the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side of all four of them; and on the left side is the face of the bull in all four and the face of the eagle in all four. And their faces and their wings from above were divided, but each had two wings in contact with one another, and two covered their bodies. And they went, each in that direction, which was before him; where the spirit wanted to go, they went there; during their procession did not turn around. And the sight of these animals was like the sight of burning coals, like the sight of icon lamps; [fire] walked between animals, and radiance from fire and lightning came from fire. And the animals quickly moved here and there, like lightning flashing. <...> on the ground beside these animals, one wheel in front of their four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their arrangement is like the appearance of a topaz, and the similarity of all four is the same; and in their appearance and in their dispensation it seemed as if the wheel was in the wheel. When they walked, they walked on their four sides; during the procession did not turn around. And their rims - they were high and terrible; the rims of all four around them were full of eyes. And when the animals walked, the wheels beside [them] also walked; and when the animals rose from the ground, then the wheels also rose. <...> and each had two wings that covered them, each two wings covered their bodies. And as they walked, I heard the sound of their wings, the sound of many waters, the voice of the Almighty, the great noise, the noise in a military camp; [a] when they stopped, they lowered their wings. ( Ezek. 1: 5-24 ) |
Below ( Ezek. 10: 1 ) these creatures are called cherubs (cf. also 1 Chronicles 28:18 ), and instead of the face of a bull, Ezekiel mentions the face of a cherub ( Ezek. 10:14 ). In Ezek. 41: 18,19 at the carved on the walls and doors of the Temple of the Cherubim there are only two faces - human and lion. Perhaps this difference is due to the two-dimensional image of the figures, in contrast to the three-dimensional picture in the vision.
Talmudists imagined cherubs in the form of a young child. To the question: " What is כרוב"? "Rabbi Abbagu replies:" The likeness of a young man, "because in Babylon the young man is called רביא. [21] To another question: “If the image of the cherubim was like a man, then why in the biblical text ( Ezek. 10:14 ) the expressions are different: the face of the cherubim and the face of a man?” - the answer is given in the Talmud: “ Under the face of a person you need to understand the face of an adult, and under the face of a cherub - the adolescent . " [24]
According to the Midrash, cherubim do not have a definite form, being either men, then women, or spirits and angel-like creatures. [2]
In contrast to the scarlet seraphim, cherubs are represented in iconography , as a rule, in azure color.
At the same time, Josephus categorically refuses to explain how the ancient Jews depicted cherubs in the Temple. According to him, “ they looked like no one had ever seen; no one could explain what they depicted . " [25]
In the Renaissance, it was popular to portray cherubs as winged babies.
Source of images and analogues in other traditions
Images of winged creatures (for example, Lamassu) were widespread in the art and religious symbolism of the ancient Near East . Two winged creatures were placed on both sides of the throne of King Byblos Hiram , the Shedu winged bulls stood at the entrance to the Babylonian and Assyrian palaces and temples; they were also depicted on the clay altars for incense found in Megiddo and Ta'anah ; winged sphinxes , griffins and humanoid creatures are found in the art and iconography of Karchemish , Kalah , Nimrud , Aleppo and Tel Khalaf . Similar figures are depicted on ivory plates from the capital of the kingdom of Israel, Samaria . [15] The very word cherub dates back to Akkadian Kerib and Assyro-Babylonian Karab .
In Philosophy
Philo of Alexandria
According to Philo of Alexandria , cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant are a symbolic depiction of the two highest qualities of God and two of His Names : the quality of mercy ( tetragrammaton ) and the quality of justice ( Elohim ), and in another place he considers them an allegorical image of both hemispheres. Finally, Philo mixes cherubim with the more familiar Egyptian sphinxes and calls them images of secret wisdom, based on an erroneous interpretation of the name «רובים as כ (`how`), רוב (` much`) and בין (`meaning`) [26 ]
Maimonides
Maimonides has ten classes of angels, among which cherubim take the ninth place. [27]
The third part of his “ Guide to the Perplexed ” begins with a philosophical interpretation of Ezekiel’s prophecy on the “ Divine Chariot ” ( Merkava ), in which Maimonides sees a description of the earthly world, celestial spheres and intellects - the beginnings to which the spheres owe their movement.
In his opinion, cherubs were placed in the sanctuary of the Temple in order to inspire people with faith in angels, and there were two of them, so that the people would not consider them an image of God himself. [28]
In art and literature
In the literature
- The Andrew Hussey Homestack web comic (Homestuck, also stuck at home) also contains cherubs, creatures of an alien origin, completely unlike any creatures from religion or computer games. Херувимы в представлении Эндрю Хасси — разумная форма жизни, напоминающая смесь человека и ящера: полный набор конечностей, выступающие скулы, далеко выступающие клыки, зелёная кожа (чешуя?); антропоморфное существо также имеет цветные спиральки на щеках, по цвету соответствующие одному из двух возможных цветов крови: лаймовому (миролюбие) или красному (агрессия).
В изобразительном искусстве
Описание серафимов в Книге пророка Исаии очень конкретно, поэтому их часто и легко изображают, как, например, в купольной росписи церкви Преображения в Великом Новгороде , подписанной Феофаном Греком в 1378 году . Однако, туманные мистические свидетельства о Херувимах пророка Иезекииля ставили художников в трудное положение. В древности художники стремились как можно точнее следовать библейскому тексту, представляя Херувима с четырьмя ликами и со всеми возможными подробностями. Такое изображение Херувима называют тетраморф («четырёхликий»). Херувим-тетраморф истолковывался как символ единого Евангелия — Слова Божия, записанного четырьмя евангелистами. Но постепенно различия между иконописными образами Серафимов и Херувимов стёрлись. Их общие черты — наличие крыльев и предстояние у Божественного Престола — оказались для иконописцев важнее различий. Так возникло «соединённое» изображение высшего небесного существа с шестью или четырьмя крыльями, на которых часто рисовались глаза, с руками и ногами; голова этого небесного существа (окружённая нимбом или без нимба) либо выступала над крыльями, либо была спрятана в середине крыльев, и видимым оставался только лик; под ногами их иногда рисовали колеса. Одновременно возникло ещё более простое и обобщённое изображение — без рук и ног, с четырьмя или шестью крыльями и человеческим лицом. Эти изображения сопровождают надписи «Херувим» или «Серафим», которые нередко пишутся под совершенно одинаковыми по внешнему виду образами. Данные наименования в большинстве случаев обозначают не конкретного Серафима из видения пророка Исаии и не Херувима из видения пророка Иезекииля, но лишь обобщённый образ высших Небесных Сил, окружающих Божественный Престол. [29]
See also
- Тетраморф
- Херувизм (заболевание, происхождение названия которого происходит от термина «херувим» из-за определённого внешнего сходства вида больных)
Notes
- ↑ также 3Цар. 8:6,7
- ↑ 1 2 Мидраш Берешит Раба XXI
- ↑ Танна дебе Элияху Раба I
- ↑ Талмуд, Хагига 13б
- ↑ 1 2 Мидраш Тегиллим XVIII, 15; Мидраш Шир ха-Ширим Раба к 1:9
- ↑ Талмуд , Иома 21а
- ↑ Талмуд , Иома 54б
- ↑ Талмуд , Иома 54а
- ↑ Талмуд , Хагига 12б
- ↑ Мидраш Кохелет Раба X, 20
- ↑ Мидраш Тадше , изд. Эпштейна, стр. 15
- ↑ см., например, Сифре, к Втор. 3:24
- ↑ cf. Зогар на Книгу Исход, глава Бо, 43а
- ↑ Adolf Jellinek , Auswahl Kabbalistischer Mystik, p. 3
- ↑ 1 2 3 cherub - article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia
- ↑ Skaballanovich M.N. The first chapter of the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Experience of explanation. - Mariupol: 1904. - S. 29.
- ↑ Creations of the holy father of our John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation. SPb. 1900.V. 6 S. 751.
- ↑ Skaballanovich M.N. Decree. Op. S. 30
- ↑ The Book of the Secrets of Enoch XIX, 6; XX, 1
- ↑ Book of Enoch , LXX, 7; Wed LXI, 10
- ↑ 1 2 Talmud , Sukkah 5b
- ↑ This is due to a comparison of two places in the prophet Ezekiel (1:10 and 10:14): in the first place it is said that the creatures of the heavenly chariot had four faces: a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle, and in another place it is said that these four the faces were: cherub, man, lion and eagle. Thus it follows that the cherub = bull.
- ↑ 1 2 Jewish Encyclopedia , Ed. Islands for Scientific Jewish Ed. and Brockhaus-Efron. St. Petersburg: 1906-1913; reprint: M .: Terra, 1991. ISBN 5-85255-057-4 .
- ↑ Talmud , Hagiga 13b
- ↑ Jewish Antiquities , VIII, 6 § 5; VIII, 3, 3
- ↑ Philo of Alexandria , De Cherubim, VII, X; De Vita Mosis, III, 8
- ↑ Maimonides , the Mishneh of the Torah , section “The Basics of the Torah” II, 7)
- ↑ Maimonides , A Guide to the Confused IIΙ, 45
- ↑ How to portray the incomprehensible? . Archived on November 28, 2012.
Sources
- Brief Jewish Encyclopedia , Ed. Jewish Community Research Islands. Jerusalem: 1976-2005.
- Jewish Encyclopedia , Ed. Islands for Scientific Jewish Ed. and Brockhaus-Efron. St. Petersburg: 1906-1913; reprint: M .: Terra, 1991. ISBN 5-85255-057-4 .
Links
- Cherub - an article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia
- Cherub . Archived on November 28, 2012. . Jewish Encyclopedia
- Cherubim . Archived on November 28, 2012. . Catholic Encyclopedia (English)
- "The symbols of the four evangelists, their origin and meaning" . Archived on November 28, 2012. , Alexander Podosinov