Ezekiel 1:20 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
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 spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
wind · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
go
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
went
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
spirit
הָר֖וּחַha.Ru.ach
H7307
wind · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
go
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
wheels
וְהָאוֹפַנִּ֗יםve.ha.'o.fa.Nim
H212
a wheel · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
up
יִנָּשְׂאוּ֙yi.na.se.'U
H5375
to lift · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
against
לְעֻמָּתָ֔םle.'u.ma.Tam
H5980
conjunction · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
spirit
ר֥וּחַRu.ach
H7307
wind · noun, common feminine singular construct
creature
הַחַיָּ֖הha.chai.Yah
H2416
alive · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
wheels
בָּאוֹפַנִּֽיםba.'o.fa.Nim
H212
a wheel · preposition with the 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
Ezekiel 1:12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
Ezekiel 10:17 When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in th…
1 Corinthians 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
Zechariah 6:1-8 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains w…
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…
the spirit was to go--that is, their will was for going whithersoever the Spirit was for going.
over against them--rather, beside or in conjunction with them.
spirit of the living creature--put collectively for "the living creatures"; the cherubim. Having first viewed them separately, he next views them in the aggregate as the composite living creature in which the Spirit resided. The life intended is that connected with God, holy, spiritual life, in the plenitude of its active power.
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 1:20
The spirit of the living creature was in the wheels - That is, the wheels were instinct with a vital spirit; the wheels were alive, they also were animals, or endued with animal life, as the creatures were that stood upon them. Here then is the chariot of Jehovah. There are four wheels, on each of which one of the compound animals stands; the four compound animals form the body of the chariot, their wings spread horizontally above, forming the canopy or covering of this chariot; on the top of which, or upon the extended wings of the four living creatures, was the throne, on which was the appearance of a man, Eze 1:26.
John Gill on Ezekiel 1:20
Whithersoever the spirit was to go they went,.... That is, the Spirit of God; wherever that leads and directs, whether in the paths of faith or duty, they follow; they walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; he guides their feet in the way of peace, and into all truth; and leads them in a right way to the land of uprightness:
thither was their spirit to go; their spirits or souls being regenerated by the spirit of God, are moved and actuated by him, and readily go where that directs:
and the wheels were lifted up over against them; that is, over against the living creatures; being by their sides going where they go, and being lifted up when they are:
for the spirit of the living c…
The Church Fathers
The prophet also claims that the spirit of life was in the wheels, its movement was spontaneous and of its own free will. For the chariot was not placed on some living creatures or on a yoke, but violent clouds went before, and that mighty wind followed. The divine vehicle ran on its own accord with the living creatures preceding it and the wheels moving on their own.
"Wherever the spirit went, the wheels were equally lifted as the spirit went there, following it." For wherever the spirit of the reader tends, there the divine utterances are also lifted up, because if you seek something lofty in them by seeing and understanding, these same sacred utterances grow with you, ascend with you to higher things. And it is well said of these same wheels: Following him. For if the spirit of the reader seeks to know something moral or historical in them, the moral sense of history follows him. If something typological, the figurative speech is immediately recognized. If something contemplative, at once the wheels as it were receive wings and are suspended in the air, because in the words of sacred utterance heavenly understanding is opened. Therefore wherever the spirit went, there as the spirit went the wheels were likewise lifted up, following him. For the wheels follow the spirit, because the words of sacred utterance, as has often been said already, grow in understanding according to the perception of the readers. In one and the same sentence of Scripture, one person is nourished by history alone, another seeks the typical meaning, and yet another seeks the contemplative understanding through the type. And it often happens that, as has been said, in one and the same sentence all three can be found together. For when Moses had been called from the burning bush, he drew nearer to see the sight, and behold, the bush was burning and was not consumed. This is a great miracle. If you seek only the history in it, there is something by which the mind of the reader may be nourished, so that you see fire burning in wood and not consuming it. But if you seek the typical understanding, what does the flame signify but the law, of which it is written: "In his right hand a fiery law"? And what did that bush designate but the Jewish people, beset with the thorns of their sins? But the burning bush could not be consumed, because the Jewish people both received the fire of the law and yet did not abandon the thorns of their sins, nor did the flame of the divine word burn up their vices. Perhaps in this event another person desires to contemplate greater things through the type. Because his understanding grows, the wheels are likewise raised. For among men the only-begotten Son of God became perfect man, who had no sins of his own but took upon…
Dictionary and topics
Cherubim · Animated by the Spirit of God — Animated by the Spirit 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 1:20
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 spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
20. Quo erat spiritus ad curtdum ambulabant, illuc spiritus ad eundum; etiam rotae attollebantur cum ipsis; quia spiritus antmalis erat in rotis.
Thus I arrange the clauses, for though others join the first; clause with the second part of the verse, it is too forced. Therefore the Prophet repeats what he had said, though he is rather prolix. Afterwards he adds, that the wheels were raised, taking the word generally for elevated, but not exactly as in the last and next verse. I now add the n…
Description of the theophany seen by the spirit of the prophet. - Eze 1:4. And I saw, and, lo, a tempestuous wind came from the north, a great cloud, and a fire rolled together like a ball, and the brightness of light round about it, and out of its midst, as the appearance of glowing metal from the midst of the fire. - The description begins with a general outline of the phenomenon, as the same presented itself to the spiritual eye of the prophet on its approach from the north. A tempestuous wind brings hither from the north a great cloud, the centre of which appears as a lump of fire, which throws around the cloud the brightness of light, and presents in its midst the appearance of glowing…
The chariot was infused with the spirit of the living beings, and the whole assembly moved as a single entity.
Rashi on Ezekiel 1:20
the will The will of the Holy One, blessed be He.
there was the will to go It was not necessary to tell them [to go] to this side [or that] because the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, was in the living beings, and the will of the living beings was in the wheels.