Ezekiel 1:15

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
beheld	וָאֵ֖רֶא va.'E.re'	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
creatures	הַחַיּ֑וֹת ha.chai.Yot	H2416	alive · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
one	אֶחָ֥ד 'e.Chad	H259	properly · cardinal number, feminine singular absolute
wheel	אוֹפַ֨ן 'o.Fan	H212	a wheel · noun, common masculine singular absolute
earth	בָּאָ֛רֶץ ba.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
by	אֵ֥צֶל 'E.tzel	H681	a side · noun, common both genders singular construct
creatures	הַחַיּ֖וֹת ha.chai.Yot	H2416	alive · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
four	לְאַרְבַּ֥עַת le.'ar.Ba.'at	H702	four · preposition + cardinal number, both genders singular construct
faces	פָּנָֽיו pa.Nav	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

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

Ezekiel 10:9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance…
Daniel 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like th…
Ezekiel 1:6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
Ezekiel 1:19-21 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were li…
Revelation 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was lik…
Ezekiel 10:13-17 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 1:15-25

The prophet is very exact in making and recording his observations concerning this vision. And here we have, I. The notice he took of the wheels, Eze 1:15-21. The glory of God appears not only in the splendour of his retinue in the upper world, but in the steadiness of his government here in this lower world. Having seen how God does according to his will in the armies of heaven, let us now see how he does according to it among the inhabitants of the earth; for there, on the earth, the prophet saw the wheels, Eze 1:15. As he beheld the living creatures, and was contemplating the glory of that vision and receiving instruction from it, this other vision presented itself to his view. Note, Thos…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezekiel 1:15

one wheel--The "dreadful height" of the wheel (Eze 1:18) indicates the gigantic, terrible energy of the complicated revolutions of God's providence, bringing about His purposes with unerring certainty. One wheel appeared traversely within another, so that the movement might be without turning, whithersoever the living creatures might advance (Eze 1:17). Thus each wheel was composed of two circles cutting one another at right angles, "one" only of which appeared to touch the ground ("upon the earth"), according to the direction the cherubim desired to move in. with his four faces--rather, "according to its four faces" or sides; as there was a side or direction to each of the four creatures,…

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Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 1:15

One wheel upon the earth - It seems at first view there were four wheels, one for each of the living creatures; that is, the creatures were compound, so were the wheels, for there was "a wheel in the middle of a wheel." And it is generally supposed that these wheels cut each other at right angles up and down: and this is the manner in which they are generally represented; but most probably the wheel within means merely the nave in which the spokes are inserted, in reference to the ring, rim, or periphery, where these spokes terminate from the center or nave. I do think this is what is meant by the wheel within a wheel; and I am the more inclined to this opinion, by some fine Chinese drawings…

The Church Fathers

Whoever is stretching forward, like a wheel, touching the earth with a small part of itself, is really such as that wheel was, about which Ezekiel spoke.
— Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 13:3 (PS 28)

And so, I recognize more clearly what I read: For the wheel runs within the wheel and is not hindered (Ezek. 1:16-17). For he passes his life without any offense in any passion, and even within these things the wheel runs. The Law runs within grace, and obedience to the Law is within the course of divine mercy: for the more it turns, the more it is proven.
— Ambrose of Milan, On Jacob and the Blessed Life 2.11.49

The wheels that lie beneath it signify the various periods of time in which all the component members of the world are constantly being whirled forward. Furthermore, feet have been given to these members that they may not always stand still but move on. All their limbs are studded with eyes because the works of God are to be contemplated with ever careful observation. And within their very bosom is a fire of glowing coals, to signify that this world is hastening to the fiery day of judgment or that all the works of God are fiery and not obscure.
— Novatian, ON THE TRINITY 8:8-9

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Cherubim · Engaged in accomplishing the purposes of God — Engaged in accomplishing the purposes of God
Wheel · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI

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).

Ezekiel 1:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 1:15-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezekiel 1:15

Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 1:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Ezekiel 1:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 1:15-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezekiel 1:15

Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 1:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Ezekiel 1:15

John Calvin on Ezekiel 1:15

Keil & Delitzsch on Ezekiel 1:4-21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ezekiel 1:15

Rashi on Ezekiel 1:15