Exodus 25:20

And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
cherubims	הַכְּרֻבִים֩ ha.ke.ru.Vim	H3742	a cherub or imaginary figure · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
stretch	פֹּרְשֵׂ֨י po.re.Sei	H6566	to break apart · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
wings	כְנָפַ֜יִם khe.na.Fa.yim	H3671	an edge or extremity · noun, common feminine dual absolute
high	לְמַ֗עְלָה le.Ma'.lah	H4605	properly · preposition + cardinal number, both genders singular absolute + directional suffix
covering	סֹכְכִ֤ים so.khe.Khim	H5526	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
seat	הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת ha.ka.Po.ret	H3727	a lid (used only of the cover of the sacred Ark) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
wings	בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם֙ be.khan.fei.Hem	H3671	an edge or extremity · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
faces	וּפְנֵיהֶ֖ם u.fe.nei.Hem	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
one	אִ֣ישׁ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
another	אָחִ֑יו 'a.Chiv	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
seat	הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת ha.ka.Po.ret	H3727	a lid (used only of the cover of the sacred Ark) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
faces	פְּנֵ֥י pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
cherubims	הַכְּרֻבִֽים ha.ke.ru.Vim	H3742	a cherub or imaginary figure · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Kings 8:7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
1 Chronicles 28:18 And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings,…
Hebrews 9:5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we can not now speak particularly.
Genesis 28:12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and des…
Exodus 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
2 Chronicles 3:10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Ezekiel 1:20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spir…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 25:10-22

The first thing which is here ordered to be made is the ark with its appurtenances, the furniture of the most holy place, and the special token of God's presence, for which the tabernacle was erected to be the receptacle. I. The ark itself was a chest, or coffer, in which the two tables of the law, written with the finger of God, were to be honourably deposited, and carefully kept. The dimensions of it are exactly ordered; if the Jewish cubit was, as some learned men compute, three inches longer than our half-yard (twenty-one inches in all), this chest or cabinet was about fifty-two inches long, thirty-one broad, and thirty-one deep. It was overlaid within and without with thin plates of gol…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 25:18

two cherubim--The real meaning of these figures, as well as the shape or form of them, is not known with certainty--probably similar to what was afterwards introduced into the temple, and described in Eze 10:8-22. They stretched out their wings, and their faces were turned towards the mercy seat [Exo 25:20], probably in a bowing attitude. The prevailing opinion now is, that those splendid figures were symbolical not of angelic but of earthly and human beings--the members of the Church of God interested in the dispensation of grace, the redeemed in every age--and that these hieroglyphic forms symbolized the qualities of the true people of God--courage, patience, intelligence, and activity.

Adam Clarke on Exodus 25:18

Thou shalt make two cherubims - What these were we cannot distinctly say. It is generally supposed that a cherub was a creature with four heads and one body: and the animals, of which these emblematical forms consisted, were the noblest of their kinds; the lion among the wild beasts, the bull among the tame ones, the eagle among the birds, and man at the head of all; so that they might be, says Dr. Priestley, the representatives of all nature. Concerning their forms and design there is much difference of opinion among divines. It is probable that the term often means a figure of any kind, such as was ordinarily sculptured on stone, engraved on metal, carved on wood, or embroidered on cloth.…

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Dictionary and topics

Ark — Noah’s ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side…
Ark Of The Covenant — The first piece of the tabernacle’s furniture, for which precise directions were delivered. Exod 25. I. Description.— It appears to have been an oblong chest of shittim (acacia) wood, 2 1/2 cubits…
Cherub — Plural cherubim, the name of certain symbolical figures frequently mentioned in Scripture. They are first mentioned in connection with the expulsion of our first parents from Eden (Gen. 3:24). There…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Tabernacle — (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., “Siccuth”). (3.) The human body (2 Cor.…
Cherubim · In the tabernacle — In the tabernacle
Gold · .Overlaying with — .Overlaying with
Holy Of Holies · Contained: Cherubim — Contained: Cherubim
Mercy-Seat · General references — General references
Types · .The Mercy-Seat — .The Mercy-Seat
Types Of Christ · Mercy-seat — Mercy-seat

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 25:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 25:10-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 25:18

Adam Clarke on Exodus 25:18

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 25:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 25:10-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 25:18

Adam Clarke on Exodus 25:18

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Exodus 25:20

John Calvin on Exodus 25:1-22

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 25:20-22

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 25:18

Rashi on Exodus 25:20