ii. In NT they are spoken of in the Ep. to the Hebrews in connexion with the ark, ' above it the cherubim of glorv overshadowing the mercv-seat' (He y), where tlie expression, "the cherubim of glory,' conve3's the special thought of created beings ministering to the manifestation of the divine glory. In the Ajioc. they are reiiresented as ' living creatnres,' four in number, full of eyes, stnnding in the midst of the throne, and rouml ib'mt the throne of God (Rev 4'-'). Prom this
description it is difficult to understand their exact position. But presumably the words are intended to convey the picture of the four ' living animals ' upliolding the throne, and facing outwards towards the four quarters of heaven, and the scene is de- rived from Ezekiel's vision.
Rabbinic theology regarded the cherubim as youthful angels, but also as those who were ad- mitted into the special group of spirits attending the throne of God. The ' livin" creatures ' support the throne at rest ; the cherubim bear the glory of God as it passes through heaven (cf. Weber, Altsynag. Palast. Theolog. 163, 164). There is a strange passage in the treatise Chagigah (lob, i. 25) which has reference to the cherubim, and tht passages in Ezk 1 and 10. The passage concludes, 'What is the meaning of cherub'; R. Abohu said, It is equivalent to a growing chUd. For so in Babylon a young chSd is called Rabya. R. Papa said to Abohu, But, as it is written. The lirst face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the tliird the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle, this shows that the face of a cherub is the same as the face of a man. There are large faces, and there are small faces ' (see trans- lation by Streane, pp. 73, 74).
iii. It remains Co mention the various deriva- tions which have been given of the word. (1) As has been mentioned above, it was derived from the Assyr. kirubu ; but apparently considerable uncertainty hangs over this derivation. (2) Renouf (PSBA, 1S84, p. 103) conjectured that it was do- rived from the Egyp. xeref. (3) Gesenius con- nected it with a SjT. word meaning ' strong.' (4) Others have suggested another Syr. word nieaning ' to plough.' It is difficult to resist the impression that the word must have a common origin with ypvxp, ' griffin,' ' hippogriti'.'
Bu^, for the present, the etymology of the word must be considered doubtful. The explanations which were given of the name by the Fathers may be illustrated by the following.
diem. Alex. Utrom. v. 240 : ^W\ei Si t4 tvo/xa Tujy x^/'o^'yStM OTjXouv atcdrjaiv iToWrjv.
Theodorus ap. Theodoret, Qaiest. in Gen. iii. : ctXXd x^po^l^^M- KaXei vav rb bwarbv ouriai X^et, h naOri- ficvos (irl tCjv xfpovi:li^, dvrl tov 6 Swaruii ^atriXevwVj Kalf iir^^Tj inl x^P^^t^^P- ftt' iverdaOrif dvTl ToO, /icrd woXX^x Trapey^veTo t^s ovvdfjLetos,
Jerome, CoTtiin. in Is. lib. iii. cap. vi. : In septuagesimo nono psalnio legimus : Qui sedes ^iiper vlierubim manijcstare ; qui in nostra lingua interpretantur 4'Ptcn<iVc m«//i('«(/o. Unde et Doiiii- nus in auriga; nioduni super cherubim aperte sedere ostenditur. ... In cherubim ergo ostendi- tur Dominus ; in seraphim ex parte ostenditur, ex parte celatur.
Augustine, Enarrat. in Ps 79' [Eng. 80'] : Qui sedes super cherubim. Cherubim scdes est gloria' Dei, et interpretatur Plenitudoscientiie. Ibi sedet Deus in plenitudine scieiitia;. Licet intelligamus cherubim sublimes esse cu'lorum potestates atque virtutes ; taiiien si vis, eris cherubim. Si eiiim Cherubim sedes est Dei, audi quid dicat Scriptura : Aninia justi sedes est sapientiie.
Didymus Alexandrin., Expos, in Ps 79 [Eng. 80]: KaO^Mfos bi iirl tCid x'^w/Si/i 6 Kipibt iirriv, us (v rifi ^fevtTjX wapiararaL. 'E^^^frat Si Toty if roU fwo(? c^'trty^ rtTfuxbci, TauTTjS t^j Tpoinj-yopias ovrA ttjs irpoaouarit ai>rois trotplai. nXijOot ydp yfuifffon ip/njvfV€TaL tA Xtpoi'^ip-.
These patristic explanations seem to go back to Philo's statement that the Greek meaning of ' cherubim ' was ' much knowledge,' 4 iraTp'^j. fiir yXurrrj) irpoffayopderai x^poi'/^'M, us Sf if " ICXXtjit i ttiroifv, frlyivuxTit Kal ^Trurnj/ii) roXXi) ( I'it. Mus. lib iii. § 8; Mangey, ii. 150).
380
CHESALON
CHIEF
LiTE&ATUKR. — The subject iB extensively discussed in the standard works on the Theology of the OT, by Oehler, Smend, Bcbultz, Dilhiiann ; and on the Archsology, by Nowacl£ and Benziager. See also Che>'ne's * Excursus ' in voL iL of lus Itaiah^ and bia Notes on the word in Com. on Psalms.
H. E. Rylk. CHESALON (l"i'?p?).— Near Kiriath-jearim on the border of Judah, Jos 15'". Now the vilJage Kesla on the hill N. of Kiriath-jearim. See iiiVP vol. ii. sheet xvii. It is noticed in the 4th cent. A.D. {Onomasticon, s.v. Chasalon) as a large village in the Jems, district. C. Ii. Condi::r.
CHESED (1^3).— One of the sons of Nahor and Milcah (Gn 22^ J). He is obviously here intro- duced into the genealogy of the Terahites as the presumptive forefather of the Casdim (Q'^i?'?) or Chaldaeans. This probably represents a different tradition from that in P, where Ur of the Chaldees (».e. Casdim) is spoken of aa the dweUing-place of Terah (Gn 11), Nahor's father.
It is noticeable that the eldest of the brothers of Chesed is Uz, and that in Job 1 the Casdim (trans- lated Chaldseans) are found invading the territory of Uz. Gn 22''"- ^ probably represent, in the terms of genealogy, the supposed kinship of allied clans who dwelt in Mesopotamia. The Heb. tradition gives the names of tribes identified with various localities oa the borders of the plain of Mesopo- tamia. H. E. Ryle.