kerobim
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Both sides previous revisionPrevious revisionNext revision | Previous revision | ||
kerobim [2024/04/07 18:08] – ken | kerobim [2025/02/18 20:19] (current) – [Kerobim in Ezekiel] ken | ||
---|---|---|---|
Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
כרובימ | כרובימ | ||
- | Also known as " | + | Also known as " |
+ | The root word [[kerob]] appears to be a flying vehicle. Thus the literal meaning of the plural form ' | ||
- | Etymologically, | + | The kerobim appear within the texts in only a few very specific contexts, each of which will be examined here. |
+ | ====Kerobim in Eden==== | ||
+ | The kerobim make their first appearance in Genesis 3, where they are placed to guard the entrance of Eden so that Adam and Eve may not return. | ||
- | FIXME - import from [[https://dimensionfold.com/ | + | //And Yahweh the [[alehim]] said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So Yahweh the [[alehim]] banished man from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden kerobim with a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.// |
- | 2Chronicles 2:3-7 - Solomon sent this message | + | From the context, it is clear that the role of the ' |
- | //Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. Now I am about to build a temple... [it] will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him? | + | This is certainly one aspect of the ' |
- | Send me, therefore, **a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving**, | + | |
- | The specific skills required by Solomon seem like a strange combination of metallurgy, engraving and weaving of specific colored threads. These are the same skills that were taught to Bezalel by the Elohim for the construction | + | ====Kerobim in the Temple |
+ | In 2 Chronicles 2:3-7 - King Solomon sent this message to Hiram king of Tyre: //Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. Now I am about to build a temple... [it] will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him? Send me, therefore, **a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving**, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The specific skills required by Solomon are an odd combination of metallurgy, engraving and weaving of specific colored threads. The project to be undertaken by these hired craftsmen was for the decorating of a specific set of objects in the new royal temple in Jerusalem. These decorations included ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Most peculiarly though, decorative arts were strictly outlawed by Moses as part of his so-called Ten Commandments, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Granted, a great span of time had elapsed between the times of Moses and Solomon, so perhaps this apparent contradiction can be explained by the idea that this particular bit of the ten commandments had fallen out of favor culturally during the four-hundred years or so that elapsed. This hypothesis seems at least plausible, but only until one considers the fact that the requirements outlaid by Solomon during the construction of the Temple on Jerusalem actually mirror almost exactly the specifications for the Tabernacle laid out by none other than Moses himself, immediately following the penning of the very commandments which the specifications appear to break. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The only difference between the cases of Moses and Solomon are that whereas Solomon sought to import skilled workers from Tyre (aka, Lebanon, aka Syria), Moses had no readily available neighboring allies from which to borrow employees and was forced to train someone((This man's name was Bezalel, and he is discussed in the book, //UFOs In The Bible// by Ken Goudsward)) especially for the task. In fact though, it was not Moses himself who performed the training. Rather he handpicked a skilled craftsman from among his followers and sent him on a special assignment, to receive a very specifically customized training program. The teachers of this training program were the [[alehim]], and at least some of the instructions for the project were given to Moses from [[ihoh]] himself.((Exodus 25:9 - Yahweh said to Moses, “Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”)) | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | We are now left with an intriguing set of dilemmas. | ||
+ | *Why would Moses himself fund a training program to accomplish a task that he had literally just outlawed. | ||
+ | *Why would the [[alehim]] be interested in getting involved in the art tutorial business? | ||
+ | *Why would [[ihoh]] tell Moses to outlaw visual arts, then give Moses a picture of how to make a sculpture? | ||
+ | |||
+ | Something strange is going on. Perhaps we have been missing some critical points of information in our traditional telling of these stories. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ====Kerobim in Ezekiel==== | ||
+ | Ezekiel chapters 8-10 tells of an encounter with ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | When he says “above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim” he is referring to a physical location, in the temple. These cherubim are the decorations on top of the Ark of the Covenant. This ark was one of the items made by Bezalel for the Tabernacle, and it was eventually moved to the temple in Jerusalem, where it remained at Ezekiel’s time. It is somewhat interesting that Ezekiel was allowed to see it, as the room containing it was considered sacred and only accessible to the high priests on special occasions. Nevertheless, | ||
+ | |||
+ | So the scene is set up as the cherubim being ornamental decorations that are part of the Ark of the Covenant, but then they are described as having hands that are capable of interacting with the humanoid alien. Perhaps they are some sort of mechanism? Additionally, | ||
+ | |||
+ | I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. […] the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. Then the cherubim rose upward. When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Finally it dawns on Ezekiel: These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. How is it possible that Ezekiel doesn’t recognize these so-called “living creatures”? | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then the glory of Yahweh departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. Suddenly, I have more respect for the English translators of the Bible. They were in the same boat as Ezekiel. Or perhaps they were in the opposite boat. Ezekiel had a lot of experience with a technological object. He had seen this UFO not once but twice, plain as day, in broad daylight, from a very clear vantage point, and with plenty of time to take it in and really absorb what he was seeing. He had no language for it and had to try to make some kind of sense out of it, which he actually did a commendable job on. He described in great detail its appearance, its movements, and even, to the best he could figure out, how it worked. He just had no reason to think it was in any way related to his religious lessons. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The cherubim could be interpreted as some kind of robots, just as easily as some type of transdimensional spiritual beings, or even aliens. Is there enough new information to answer the question at hand? The question under pursuit is this—what were these cherubim that Bezalel was supposed to program? One must return to the design specifications listed in Exodus 25. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Make a כַפֹּ֖רֶת (kapporet) of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the kapporet. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Firstly, a note is in order regarding the naming of this object. We have already seen a few instances where a novel technical term is given. Ezekiel learned the name of a few specialized components, including the cherubim, and the haggalgal. This is another case. Moses is being directed to oversee the building of a certain specific object called the ‘kapporet’. This is a specific technical term given to Moses and Bezalel directly from Yahweh. There is no normal Hebrew word for it. It is a technical term which appears only in reference to this exact object. To call it anything else is purely misleading. Yet, attempts have been made to translate the name. Such names as “mercy seat” and “atonement cover” are typically applied, and in fact, these names may actually provide some useful information to the function of this strange object, as shall be expanded upon momentarily. We see, further that: The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, covering the kapporet with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are several aspects here which are directly echoed in the UFO encounters of Ezekiel. Specifically, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Thanks to Ezekiel’s second UFO encounter in Jerusalem, it is now clear that the cherubim have four surfaces. Suddenly, a geometric figure springs to mind—a solid object with four surfaces: a tetrahedron. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Edit | ||
+ | Six Wings | ||
+ | The figure above is said to be four sided, since it contains four surfaces. However, it could also be described as having six edges. The Hebrew word ‘panim’ is not exactly clear. It might mean ‘surface’ or ‘edge’. The ruach of the Elohim may just as well have been hovering over the edge of the deep. This ambiguity is particularly interesting when we consider another UFO encounter. That of the prophet Isaiah. His description is very similar to certain aspects described by Ezekiel but differs in one regard: Whereas Ezekiel counts four “wings”, | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Edit | ||
+ | The Merkabah | ||
+ | A tetrahedron has been mentioned briefly, however, it requires further analysis. Consider the arrangement of the cherubim. There are to be two cherubim, and they are to face each other. In other words, they are facing opposite directions. Consider what geometrical wonders occur when two tetrahedrons are superimposed, | ||
+ | |||
+ | These two superimposed tetrahedrons now form a unique shape, and arguably the most important symbol in Hebrew history and culture. A couple hundred years after Ezekiel penned his book, Jewish scholars became increasingly interested in analyzing his account, eventually creating a large body of works focussing on the vehicle he described, which they began to refer to as the ‘merkabah’ (meaning ‘chariot’). They recognized the object for what it is, a flying vehicle. The same vehicle that David describes in his psalms, with Yaweh travelling upon it. The Hebrew scholars developed a whole set of commentary and theology based around this object, as well as a rich symbology. Their primary symbol continued to be this superposition of two tetrahedrons, | ||
+ | |||
+ | One must ask then, how is it that this graphical representation of a UFO came to be the enduring symbol of an entire nation? One that symbolizes unimaginable repression and suffering as well as an unquenchable hope. | ||
- | This page is part of a series - see [[im]] backlinks for a dynamic list | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | LexID 93742 | + | This page is part of a series - see [[im]] backlinks for a dynamic list |
kerobim.1712534927.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/04/07 18:08 (external edit)