J. A. Sklrie.
CHERITH (n-15 ijnj).— The brook by which Elijah lived (1 K 1 7'' ") was ' before .Jordan,' i.e. , accord- ing to familiar usa^e, on the E. of .lordan. Elijah 'was of the inhabitants' (or ' sojourners,' UV) of Gilead, or according to the LXX 'of Tishlieh of Gilead,' and would be well acquainted with the hiding-places of that country. If the 'Ravens' (c'j-iy) were an Arab tribe, as many believe (see Oreb), it must have been well to the E. where they pastured their flocks. The popular identifica- tion of the brook Cherith with the Wady Kelt between Jerus. and Jericho is unwarranted.
A. Hf.xuer.son.
CHERUB.— A proper name (Ezr 2°", Neh 7»') ; one of the places from whidi certain families, on the return From Babylon, failed to prove their register as genuine branches of the Israelite people. The name has been identified with the Chiripha of Ptolemy. See Charaathalan. II. E. Ryle.
• In view of the OrientAl reverence for the threahold, this wema an unlikely oxitlanation. (See Tnimbull, Threnhold Covenant, p. 269 (. ; ana for the Philiatine custom, p. llCf.)
CHERUBIM (c"? or o';nj, xfp°'^'^^f-\ sing. 3i"i?, Xepoi'fl). — By this name are denoted the whiged creatures which, in the religious symboli.sm of UT, are not infrequently mentioned as attending upon the Most High, and as possessed of certain sacred duties in the court of the heavenly beings that surround the throne of God.
What the Heb. conception of a 'cherub' was, does not appear at all certain. And if, as seems most probalile, both name and thing were derived from a primitive stage of religious thought in W. Asia, this uncertainty in the Israelitish writings admits of a natural explanation. For writers who were under the infiuence of the worship of J" would shrink from giving a description that might lend itself to obvious comparison with the idolatrous symbolism of other religions.
i. In UT we find references to the cherubim
(1) in the Israelite version of primitive myth;
(2) in early Heb. poetry j (3) in apocalyptic vision ; and (4) in the descriptions of tlie furniture and adornments of the ark, the tabernacle, and the temjde.
1. (in 3" ' And he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the ll.ime of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.' The function of the cherubim here is to guard the approach to the sacred tree. The number of the cherubim appointed for this duty is not mentioned ; nor is it stated, as is usually supposed, that each of the cherubim bore in his hand a flaming sword. We are only told that a sword with darting flames was entrusted to them for the purjjose of keeping the way.
It has been natural to compare with these guardian, or sentinel, 'cherubim' the monster winged bulls with human heads which stood at the entrance of Assyr. palaces and temples. M. Le- normant having suggested, on the authority of a talismanic inscription, that kirubu was an Assyr. name in use for the steer-god, the temptation to connect the cherubim of Gn 3 with the Assyr. figures was almost irresistible. But this use of kirubu is questionable ; the cherubim in our passage are not limited to two ; there is no mention of a gate of Paradise ; and the function of the cherubim is evidently primarily connected with the sword, which, to judge from the description, is probably intended to denote lightning.
2. Ps IS'" ( = 2 S 22") 'And he rode upon a cherub, and did Uy.' In the context of this poetical description, the Psalmist describes the power of J" as manifested in the thunderstorm. J" is represented in flight through mid-air, borne up upon the wings of a cherub, while the light- nings flash before Him ('at the brig'htness before him,' v."). The cherub appears to be the mighty winged spirit of the storm, — on whose back J" Himself is seated. He is the personification of the swift storm-cloud that sweeps down as upon eagles' wings. J" is carrieil by the cherub, as the Indian god Vishnu by Garuda, and as Oceanus by the grillin (.Ksch. I'mm. li'.l.j).
3. In the prophetical writings of Ezekiel we have two allusions to the cherubim. (1) In Ezk 2S" 'Thou wast the anointed cherub that coveretli ; and I set thee so th/it thou wast upon the holy mountain of tiod ; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.' Here the prophet compares 'the Prince of Tyre' to one of the chosen attend.-ints upon God, a cherub whose wings, as in the Holy of Holies, shaded the mercy- seat, one whoso abode was in the holy mountain, and one who there walked among the fl.ashing lightnings that surrounded the Divine Presence. A 'cherub,' according to this account, abides in the sacred precincts of the Most High, and round about him play the thunderbolts. The idea of th«
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CHERUBIM
CHERUBIM
thundercloud U combined ydth that of heavenly guardianship. . , , ,, u^t
(2) The imagery employed by the same prophet in the Vision of the Cherubim (Ezk 10) is very obscure, and introduces a much more complex idea. The prophet recognises them as identical with the livin" creatures that I saw under the God of Israel bv the river Chebar' (10»), referring to the vision 'the chariot' in ch. 1. These were four in