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Cherubs in the bible
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Baal Melqart View Drop Down
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Posts: 869 		  Quote Baal Melqart Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Cherubs in the bible
    Posted: 21-Jun-2012 at 15:15
Whenever the word cherub is mentioned everyone thinks of cute babies with wings. What I'm interested in is the original sense of the word Cherub כְּרוּב mentioned in the bible. What are they supposed to be, some sort of guardian angels or the means through which God moves about in heaven (Ezekiels's vision)?
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Sidney View Drop Down
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Posts: 690 		  Quote Sidney Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-Jun-2012 at 18:59
As far as I remember they were huge winged creatures that God used for transport, and pretty fierce. God placed a cherub with a flaming sword at the entrance to Eden, to stop Adam or his descendants returning. Two golden cherubim were placed on top the Ark of the Covenant, and God would speak to the priests from between from.

It's assumed that the cherubim (along with other types of angels) were inspired from Babylonian mythology, but they have lots of winged creatures, so it seems pot luck on which one you claim as the origin.

There seems uncertainty about what the word means; Hebrew for 'great understanding', or Assyrian for 'to be near'. This site http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Cherubim.htmlhas some suggestions.

The cute baby cherubs are also called putti or cupids. I'd be interested to know how and why the image changed.

Edited by Sidney - 21-Jun-2012 at 18:59
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Nick1986 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7940 		  Quote Nick1986 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-Jun-2012 at 19:06
Cherubs were just one type of angel or heavenly being. Among the most unusual were the six-winged Seraphim
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Posts: 6240 		  Quote Cyrus Shahmiri Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22-Jun-2012 at 11:38
I have talked in this thread: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=22988 about Greek Grupa (Griffin), Hebrew Kerubh, Assyrian Kuribu, Akkadian Kuruba from Avestan Khurupa/Urupa (Uru=eagle + Pa=foot -> Quadruped Eagle), as Herodotus says this legendary creature lived in Scythia to guard its gold.  (Herodotus. History, Book IV, verse 13)
 
Relief of a Assyrian Kuribu from Ashurnasirpal II's palace at Nimrud:
 
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Posts: 7392 		  Quote Centrix Vigilis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22-Jun-2012 at 11:55
See also: http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/VolumeII/CelestialHierarchy.html
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Nick1986 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7940 		  Quote Nick1986 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22-Jun-2012 at 19:23
Originally posted by Sidney

As far as I remember they were huge winged creatures that God used for transport, and pretty fierce. God placed a cherub with a flaming sword at the entrance to Eden, to stop Adam or his descendants returning. Two golden cherubim were placed on top the Ark of the Covenant, and God would speak to the priests from between from.

It's assumed that the cherubim (along with other types of angels) were inspired from Babylonian mythology, but they have lots of winged creatures, so it seems pot luck on which one you claim as the origin.

There seems uncertainty about what the word means; Hebrew for 'great understanding', or Assyrian for 'to be near'. This site http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Cherubim.htmlhas some suggestions.

The cute baby cherubs are also called putti or cupids. I'd be interested to know how and why the image changed.


Perhaps the Cupids were borrowed from Classical paganism by the early Christians? There's also the messenger angel Gabriel who could be identified with Mercury
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Baal Melqart View Drop Down
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Posts: 869 		  Quote Baal Melqart Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23-Jun-2012 at 11:36
Originally posted by Nick1986

Originally posted by Sidney

As far as I remember they were huge winged creatures that God used for transport, and pretty fierce. God placed a cherub with a flaming sword at the entrance to Eden, to stop Adam or his descendants returning. Two golden cherubim were placed on top the Ark of the Covenant, and God would speak to the priests from between from.

It's assumed that the cherubim (along with other types of angels) were inspired from Babylonian mythology, but they have lots of winged creatures, so it seems pot luck on which one you claim as the origin.

There seems uncertainty about what the word means; Hebrew for 'great understanding', or Assyrian for 'to be near'. This site http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Cherubim.htmlhas some suggestions.

The cute baby cherubs are also called putti or cupids. I'd be interested to know how and why the image changed.


Perhaps the Cupids were borrowed from Classical paganism by the early Christians? There's also the messenger angel Gabriel who could be identified with Mercury
Well Gabriel was around in the Old Testament age before any serious contact with Greek paganism...
 
The application of Cupid's image to Cherubs probably was influenced by Greek mythology on the other hand.
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