Biblical Hebrew Forum

[ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk (Ben and Jo Crick)]

On Sat  3 May 2003 (23:29:18), cc.constantine AT worldnet.att.net wrote:
> Yes I see several points of contact between the Ezekiel scene and the
> 1st Kings 7:27ff  description of the stands which held the basins. There
> are the chariot wheels, cherubim, lions. I was a little hard pressed to
> find a picture of this but I did find one in well known reference work* that
> every OT student probably has in his library :-) The depiction I found shows
> very little detail on the stands, the wheels are not spoked. Did the 
> chariots
> have four wheels? One or two excellent representations of Cherubim in the
> style that Walter would appreciate.

 I suppose that young Ezekiel before he was carried away captive was familiar
 with the bronze sea and the portable lavers. Maybe his vision of the
 mobile Throne of YHWH reminded him of them.

 The chariots of Egypt MeR:KaBoT such as Joseph and his Pharaoh rode in
 (Genesis 46:29) had four wheels, and were drawn by four onagers (donkeys).
 The Hittites who domesticated the horse had light military chariots with
 only two wheels. There were no seats. Both riders stood at the front; one
 controlled the horse and the other engaged the enemy.

 The wheels of Ezekiel 1:15-21 seem to be two wheels in one, with the
 rim or circumfernce of one intersecting with the rim of another. This
 reminds me of the rolling castors fitted to domestic furniture for ease of
 moving it around. They were like "a wheel in the middle of a wheel" and they
 "turned not when they went": that is, they could glide off in any direction
 without having to be pointed in that direction first.

 The wheels of 1 Kings 7:32-33 had spokes Xi$$uRiYM and rims Xi$$uQiYM.
 Perhaps they were rather like the wheels on supermarket trolleys which
 can be pushed in any direction.

 John in the Apocalypse describes the Throne (Revelation 4:6-7) in terms
 reminiscent of both Ezekiel 1 and 1 Kings 7. The four creatures are a Man,
 a Lion, an Ox, and an Eagle. The early Church interpreted these as the
 Four Gospels; but rather they represent the totality of living Creatures:
 Man as the crown of creation; the Lion as the king of the wild beasts;
 the Ox as the king of the domesticated beasts; and the Eagle as the king
 of the birds.

 But I've strayed from the parameters of B-Hebrew.

 Shalom
 Ben
-- 
 Revd Ben Crick BA CF, and Mrs Joanna (Goodwin) Crick
 <ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk>
 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
 http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm