Hebrews 9 · Verse 5

Hebrews 9:5

And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.

Hebrews 9:5, King James Version

Hebrews 9:5 in other translations

BSB	Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
WEB	and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail.
ASV	and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally.
YLT	and over it cherubim of the glory, overshadowing the mercy-seat, concerning which we are not now to speak particularly.
DARBY	and above over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy-seat; concerning which it is not now the time to speak in detail.
BBE	And over it were the winged ones of glory with their wings covering the mercy-seat; about which it is not possible now to say anything in detail.
Webster	And over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy-seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.

What does Hebrews 9:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

5. over it--over "the ark of the covenant." cherubim--representing the ruling powers by which God acts in the moral and natural world. (See on Eze 1:6; Eze 10:1). Hence sometimes they answer to the ministering angels; but mostly to the elect redeemed, by whom God shall hereafter rule the world and set forth His manifold wisdom: redeemed humanity, combining in, and with itself, the highest forms of subordinate creaturely life; not angels. They stand on the mercy seat, and on that ground become the habitation of God, from which His glory is to shine upon the world. They expressly say, Re 5:8-10, "Thou hast redeemed us." They are there distinguished from the angels, and associated with the elders. They were of one piece with the mercy seat, even as the Church is one with Christ: their sole standing is on the blood-sprinkled mercy seat; they gaze down at it as the redeemed shall for ever; they are "the habitation of God through the Spirit." of glory--The cherubim were bearers of the divine glory, whence, perhaps, they derive their name. The Shekinah, or cloud of glory, in which Jehovah appeared between the cherubim over the mercy seat, the lid of the ark, is doubtless the reference. Tholuck thinks the twelve loaves of the showbread represent the twelve tribes of the nation, presented as a community before God consecrated to Him (just as in the Lord's Supper believers, the spiritual Israel, all partaking of the one bread, and becoming one bread and one body, present themselves before the Lord as consecrated to Him, 1Co 10:16, 17); the oil and light, the pure knowledge of the Lord, in which the covenant people are to shine (the seven (lights), implying perfection); the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God's kingdom in the old covenant, and representing God dwelling among His own; the ten commandments in the ark, the law as the basis of union between God and man; the mercy seat covering the law and sprinkled with the blood of atonement for the collective sin of the people, God's mercy [in Christ] stronger than the law; the cherubim, the personified [redeemed] creation, looking down on the mercy seat, where God's mercy, and God's law, are set forth as the basis of creation. mercy seat--Greek, "the propitiatory": the golden cover of the ark, on which was sprinkled the blood of the propitiatory sacrifice on the day of atonement; the footstool of Jehovah, the meeting place of Him and His people. we cannot--conveniently: besides what met the eye in the sanctuary, there were spiritual realities symbolized which it would take too long to discuss in detail, our chief subject at present being the priesthood and the sacrifices. "Which" refers not merely to the cherubim, but to all the contents of the sanctuary enumerated in He 9:2-5.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 5. And over it. That is, over the ark.

The cherubim of glory. A Hebrew mode of expression, meaning the glorious cherubim. The word cherubim is the Hebrew form of the plural, of which cherub is the singular. The word glory, used here in connexion with "cherubim," refers to the splendour, or magnificence of the image, as being carved with great skill, and covered with gold. There were two cherubim on the ark, placed on the lid in such a manner that their faces looked inward towards each other, and downward toward the mercy-seat. They stretched out their wings "on high," and covered the mercy-seat, or the lid of the ark, Ex 25:18-20. Comp. 1Kgs 8:6,7; 1Chr 28:18. In the temple, the cherubim were made of the olive-tree, and were ten cubits high. They were overlaid with gold, and were so placed that the wing of one touched the wall on one side of the holy of holies, and that of the other the other side, and their wings met together over the ark, 1Kgs 6:23-28. It is not probable. However, that this was the form used in the tabernacle, as wings thus expanded would have rendered it inconvenient to carry them from place to place. Of the form and design of the cherubim much has been written, and much that is the mere creation of fancy and the fruit of wild conjecture. Their design is not explained in the Bible, and silence in regard to it would have been wisdom. If they were intended to be symbolical as is certainly possible comp. Eze 10:20-22, it is impossible now to determine the object of the symbol. Who is authorized to explain it? Who can give to his speculations anything more than the authority of pious conjecture? And of what advantage, therefore, can speculation be, where the volume of inspiration says nothing? They who wish to examine this subject more fully, with the various opinions that have been formed on it, may consult the following works, viz.: Calmet's Dictionary, Fragment No, 152, with the numerous illustrations; Bush's Notes on Ex 25:18; and the Quarterly Christian Spectator, vol. viii. pp. 368--388. Drawings resembling the cherubim were not uncommon on ancient sculptures. The preceding winged figure, taken from the sculpture at Persepolis, may perhaps have been a rude image of the ancient cherub. The common representation of the ark and cherubim is something like the following, which may perhaps be as correct as it is possible now to furnish.

Shadowing. Stretching out its wings so as to cover the mercy-seat.

The mercy-seat. The cover of the ark, on which rested the cloud or visible symbol of the Divine Presence. It was called "mercy-seat," or propitiatory-- ιλαστηριον--because it was this which was sprinkled over with the blood of atonements or propitiation, and because it was from this place, on which the symbol of the Deity rested, that God manifested himself as propitious to sinners. The blood of the atonement was that through or by means of which he declared his mercy to the guilty. Here God was supposed to be seated; and from this place he was supposed to dispense mercy to man when the blood of the atonement was sprinkled there. This was undoubtedly designed to be a symbol of his dispensing mercy to men, in virtue of the blood which the Saviour shed as the great sacrifice for guilt. See Heb 9:13,14.

Of which we cannot now speak particularly. That is, it is not my present design to speak particularly of these things. These matters were well understood by those to whom he wrote, and his object did not require him to go into a fuller explanation.

(a) "cherubim" Ex 25:18,22

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 5 And over it the cherubims of glory - Cherubim is the plural of cherub, and it is absurd to add our plural termination (s) to the plural termination of the Hebrew. The glory here signifies the shechinah or symbol of the Divine presence. Shadowing the mercy-seat - One at each end of the ark, with their faces turned toward each other, but looking down on the cover or propitiatory, ἱλαστηριον, here called the mercy-seat. Of which we cannot now speak particularly - The apostle did not judge any farther account of these to be necessary; and I may be excused from considering them particularly here, having said so much on each in the places where they occur in the Pentateuch. What these point out or signify is thus explained by St. Cyril: Christus licet unus sit, multifariam tamen a nobis intelligitur: Ipse est Tabernaculum propter carnis tegumenturn: Ipse est Mensa, quia noster cibus est et vita: Ipse est Arca habens legem Dei reconditam, quia est Verbum Patris: Ipse est Candelabrum, quia est lux spiritualis: Ipse est Altare incensi, quia est odor suavitatis in sanctificationem: Ipse est Altare holocausti, quia est hostia pro totius mundi vita in cruce oblata. "Although Christ be but one, yet he is understood by us under a variety of forms. He is the Tabernacle, on account of the human body in which he dwelt. He is the Table, because he is our Bread of life. He is the Ark which has the law of God enclosed within, because he is the Word of the Father. He is the Candlestick, because he is our spiritual light. He is the Altar of incense, because he is the sweet-smelling odour of sanctification. He is the Altar of burnt-offering, because he is the victim, by death on the cross, for the sins of the whole world." This father has said, in a few words, what others have employed whole volumes on, by refining, spiritualizing, and allegorizing.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hebrews 9:1-5

The apostle shows to the Hebrews the typical reference of their ceremonies to Christ. The tabernacle was a movable temple, shadowing forth the unsettled state of the church upon earth, and the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily. The typical meaning of these things has been shown in former remarks, and the ordinances and articles of the Mosaic covenant point out…

Read the full comment on Hebrews 9:1-5 →

Hebrews 9:5 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ὑπεράνωhuperanōAboveG5231

δὲdethenG1161

αὐτῆςautēsitG846

ΧερουβὶνCheroubin[were the] cherubimG5502

δόξηςdoxēsof gloryG1391

κατασκιάζονταkataskiazontaovershadowingG2683

τὸtotheG3588

ἱλαστήριον,hilastērionmercy seat,G2435

περὶpericoncerningG4012

ὧνhōnwhichG3739

οὐκouknotG3756

ἔστινestinit isG1510

νῦνnunnow [the time]G3568

λέγεινlegeinto speakG3004

κατὰkatainG2596

μέρος.merosdetail.G3313

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hebrews 9:5

Leviticus 16:2
And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
Numbers 7:89
And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.
1 Kings 8:6-7
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
Exodus 25:17-22
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. …
Psalms 99:1
The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
Psalms 80:1
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim–Eduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
Leviticus 16:13
And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
2 Kings 19:15
And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
1 Samuel 4:4
So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
1 Peter 1:12
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Chronicles 28:11
Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

over.
Ex 25:17-22; 37:6-9; Le 16:2; Nu 7:89; 1Sa 4:4; 1Ki 8:6,7; 2Ki 19:15
Ps 80:1; 99:1; Eph 3:10; 1Pe 1:12
the mercy-seat.
4:16; Le 16:2,13; 1Ch 28:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Hebrews 9:4
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Hebrews 9:5
And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
Hebrews 9:6
Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

Read all of Hebrews 9

Hebrews 9:5 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y sobre ella los querubines de gloria que cubrían el propiciatorio; de las cuales cosas no se puede ahora hablar en particular.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et, au-dessus de l’arche, des chérubins de gloire ombrageant le propitiatoire; sur quoi nous n’avons pas à parler dans ce moment en détail.
German Elberfelder 1871	oben über derselben aber die Cherubim der Herrlichkeit, den Versöhnungsdeckel überschattend, von welchen Dingen jetzt nicht im Einzelnen zu reden ist.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	superque eam erant cherubim gloriæ obumbrantia propitiatorium: de quibus non est modo dicendum per singula.