keruv · cherub

What it means

keruv (כְּרוּב) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “cherub”.

(im): heavenly beings who in the Bible appear near God's presence and guarding what is holy, such as the way to the tree of life and the place above the ark of the covenant. They are not the "little angels" of paintings.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A heavenly being guarding holy things beside YHWH.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Cherub: a heavenly being the Bible places beside the presence of YHWH and as a guard of what is holy. The Bible does not describe it the same way in every passage.

• The cherubim who guard the way to the tree of life Genesis 3:24
• The two cherubim on the ark Exodus 25:18Exodus 25:22
• YHWH “sits on the cherubim” 1 Samuel 4:4
• “He rode on a cherub and flew” Psalms 18:10
• The cherubim of the temple and of Ezekiel's vision 1 Kings 6:23Ezekiel 10:1

Historical and cultural background

On the cover of the ark there were two cherubim of hammered gold, and from between them YHWH spoke to Moses (Exodus 25:18-22). Solomon made two cherubim of olive wood ten cubits high for the inner sanctuary (1 Kings 6:23).

How we translate it

“Cherubim” 64 times and “cherub” 27: the Hebrew word is kept, with its Hebrew plural. יֹשֵׁב הַכְּרֻבִים is “who sits on the cherubim” (1 Samuel 4:4).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• cherubim ×64
• cherub ×27

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×1
• Exodus×17
• Numbers×1
• 1 Samuel×1
• 2 Samuel×2
• 1 Kings×20
• 2 Kings×1
• 1 Chronicles×2
• 2 Chronicles×11
• Psalms×3
• Isaiah×1
• Ezekiel×31

• Genesis 3:24

  And he drove out the man, and he stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the sword that turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

• Exodus 25:18

  You shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them, at the two ends of the cover of expiation.

• Exodus 25:19

  Make one cherub at the end on this side and one cherub at the end on that side; of one piece with the cover of expiation you shall make the cherubim on its two ends.

• Exodus 25:20

  The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, overshadowing with their wings the cover of expiation, and their faces shall be one toward the other; toward the cover of expiation the faces of the cherubim shall be turned.

• Exodus 25:22

  There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the cover of expiation, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, all that I will command you for the sons of Israel.

• Exodus 26:1

  The dwelling you shall make of ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; with cherubim, the work of a skilled craftsman, you shall make them.

• Exodus 26:31

  You shall make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; with cherubim, the work of a skilled craftsman, it shall be made.

• Exodus 36:8

  And all the wise of heart among those who did the work made the dwelling with ten curtains of twisted fine linen and blue and purple and scarlet, with cherubim, the work of a skilled craftsman, he made them.

• Exodus 36:35

  And he made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet and twisted fine linen; the work of a skilled craftsman, he made it with cherubim.

• Exodus 37:7

  And he made two cherubim of gold; of hammered work he made them, at the two ends of the cover of expiation,

• Exodus 37:8

  one cherub at the end on this side, and one cherub at the end on that side; of one piece with the cover of expiation he made the cherubim at its two ends.

• Exodus 37:9

  And the cherubim were spreading out their wings upward, covering with their wings over the cover of expiation, and their faces were each toward the other; toward the cover of expiation were the faces of the cherubim.

• Numbers 7:89

  And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the cover of expiation that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and he spoke to him.

• 1 Samuel 4:4

  So the people sent to Shiloh, and they carried from there the ark of the covenant of YHWH Tsevaot, who sits on the cherubim; and there were the two sons of Eli with the ark of the covenant of Elohim, Hophni and Phinehas.

• 2 Samuel 6:2

  David arose and went, with all the people who were with him, from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of Elohim, over which is called the name, the name of YHWH Tsevaot, who sits on the cherubim.

• 2 Samuel 22:11

  He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind.

• 1 Kings 6:23

  And he made in the inner sanctuary two cherubim of olive wood, ten cubits was its height.

• 1 Kings 6:24

  And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: ten cubits from the tip of its wings to the tip of its wings.

• 1 Kings 6:25

  And ten cubits was the second cherub; one measure and one form had the two cherubim.

• 1 Kings 6:26

  The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the second cherub.

• 1 Kings 6:27

  And he put the cherubim in the middle of the inner house; and the wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one touched the wall, and the wing of the second cherub was touching the second wall, and their wings toward the middle of the house were touching wing to wing.

• 1 Kings 6:28

  And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

• 1 Kings 6:29

  And all the walls of the house all around he carved with engravings of carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, inside and outside.

• 1 Kings 6:32

  And the two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and he spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

• 1 Kings 6:35

  And he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold fitted over what was incised.

• 1 Kings 7:29

  And on the panels that were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars likewise; above and below the lions and the oxen were wreaths, hanging work.

• 1 Kings 7:36

  And he engraved on the plates of its handles and on its panels cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, and wreaths all around.

• 1 Kings 8:6

  And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of YHWH to its place, to the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place, to beneath the wings of the cherubim.

• 1 Kings 8:7

  For the cherubim were spreading their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered over the ark and over its poles from above.

• 2 Kings 19:15

  Hezekiah prayed before YHWH and said, “YHWH, Elohim of Israel, who sit on the cherubim, you are the Elohim, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you made the heavens and the earth.

• 1 Chronicles 13:6

  And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of Elohim, of YHWH, who sits on the cherubim, where the name is called.

• 1 Chronicles 28:18

  and for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and for the pattern of the chariot, the cherubim of gold that spread out and cover over the ark of the covenant of YHWH.

• 2 Chronicles 3:7

  He covered the house —the beams, the thresholds, its walls and its doors— with gold, and he engraved cherubim on the walls.

• 2 Chronicles 3:10

  He made in the house of the Most Holy Place two cherubim, a work of sculpture, and they overlaid them with gold.

• 2 Chronicles 3:11

  The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits in length: the wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and the other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub.

• 2 Chronicles 3:12

  And the wing of the one cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and the other wing, of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the other cherub.

• 2 Chronicles 3:13

  The wings of these cherubim spread out twenty cubits; and they stood on their feet, with their faces toward the house.

• 2 Chronicles 3:14

  He made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and put on it cherubim.

• 2 Chronicles 5:7

  The priests brought the ark of the covenant of YHWH to its place, to the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.

• 2 Chronicles 5:8

  The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles from above.

And 51 more times.