Ezekiel 28:14

28:1-19 Ethbaal, or Ithobal, was the prince or king of Tyre; and being lifted up with excessive pride, he claimed Divine honours. Pride is peculiarly the sin of our fallen nature. Nor can any wisdom, except that which the Lord gives, lead to happiness in this world or in that which is to come. The haughty prince of Tyre thought he was able to protect his people by his own power, and considered himself as equal to the inhabitants of heaven. If it were possible to dwell in the garden of Eden, or even to enter heaven, no solid happiness could be enjoyed without a humble, holy, and spiritual mind. Especially all spiritual pride is of the devil. Those who indulge therein must expect to perish.

Ezekiel 28:14-15 . Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth — The prophet here alludes to the cherubim in the temple of Solomon, which were a part of the ark, being made of beaten gold, and therefore were with it anointed, and were very large, and covered the mercy-seat with their wings. The prince of Tyrus is here compared to one of these, on account of the high power which he bore among men, and his covering or protecting his people by that power. St. Jerome translates the expression, The extended cherub that covereth: that is, whose wings are stretched out to cover, &c., reading ממשׁן , extended, instead of ממשׁח , anointed. And I have set thee so — It was I myself that determined that thou shouldest be so great a king, and have a vast power to defend and protect thy people. But this prince, like too many of mankind, was insensible of the hand which raised him, and did not consider to whom he owed his power and glory. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God — The image of the cherub is pursued. “Such was thy eminent distinction, that thou wast, as it were, placed in the temple of God on his holy mountain.” Or, thou wast placed in as secure a situation as if thou hadst been fixed on the holy mountain where the temple of God stands. Thou hast walked, &c., in the midst of the stones of fire — Thou hast, as it were, been placed among the twelve precious stones on the breast-plate of the high-priest.

Or this obscure sentence may signify that this prince’s palace and his attendants were very richly adorned with precious stones, which shone with a burning brightness, like fire. Lowth thinks “the words allude to the high advancement of Satan in heaven before his fall, where he was placed in one of the highest orders of angels, such as were nearest in attending upon the Divine Majesty.” Thou wast perfect in thy ways, till iniquity was found in thee — “An exact description of the evangelical purity in which the devil was created, and in which he continued till, being lifted up with pride, he fell from his first estate.” “Whoever compares this place in Ezekiel with the parallel place in Isaiah 14:12 , &c., where the downfall of the king of Babylon is foretold in the same prophetic language, will soon perceive that they throw a reciprocal light upon each other, and that the fall of angels is alluded to in both.

(14) Thou art the anointed cherub.— The tense is not expressed in the Hebrew, and it is better to supply the same simple past as is used throughout the passage: thou wert. The imagery is taken from the Temple upon Mount Zion: not that the king of Tyre had at this time any special connection with this, but that these terms were natural to the prophet in this ironical description of him. “The cherub that covereth” the mercy-seat is spoken of as anointed, with reference to Exodus 30:26 ; Exodus 40:9 . Upon the holy mountain of God.—The prophet still has his mind upon Mount Zion (comp. Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 56:7), but yet the words are ironically spoken of Tyre as a venerated sanctuary, rising up from the sea. Stones of fire.—An obvious explanation of this expression, given by many writers, is that it refers to the brilliant sparkling jewels on the robes in which the king walked. But if this were the case, the expression would be a strange one, and the connection implies a deeper and a religious meaning. It is better, therefore, to understand the imagery as similar to that in Revelation 2:1, and to suppose the prophet to have had in mind such a passage as Exodus 24:10, where a paved work of sapphire stone appears as beneath the feet of God, while His glory is “like a devouring fire.” This would then be one of the ways in which the king of Tyre is ironically represented as assuming to himself God-like attributes.

Verse 14. - The anointed cherub that covereth . The word for "anointed" is not found elsewhere, but is cognate in form with that which is commonly so rendered. The Vulgate, however, tracing it to another root, gives extentus et protegens , and is followed by Luther, Gesenius, Ewald, and others. Keil and Hengstenberg accept "anointed." The sequence of thought seems to be as follows: The splendor-of the King of Tyre had suggested the idea of Eden the garden of God. This, in its turn, led on to that of the cherub that was the warder of that garden ( Genesis 3:24 ). The Paradise of God is pictured as still existing, and the cherub - we remember how prominent the word and the thing had been in Ezekiel's thoughts ( Ezekiel 1:10 ; Ezekiel 10:1-16 ) - is there (according as we take the above words) either as its anointed, i.e. "consecrated," ruler, or as extending the protection of its overshadowing wings far and wide as the cherubim of the tabernacle extended their wings over the ark (comp. Exodus 25:20 ; Exodus 33:22 ; 1 Kings 8:7 ). Those cherubim, we may remember, were actually anointed ( Exodus 30:26 ). The King of Tyro boasted that he was, like them, consecrated to his office as king "by the grace of God." In that earthly Paradise the prophet saw the "holy mountain of God," the Olympus, so to speak, of the Hebrews, the throne of the Eternal (compare the Meru of India, the Albard of Iran, the Asgard of German poetry).

Isaiah's words as to the King of Babylon ( Isaiah 14:13, 14 ) present a suggestive parallel. In the midst of the stones of fire. The words receive their interpretation partly from Genesis 3:24 ; partly from 2 Samuel 22:9, 15 ; Psalm 18:8, 12 ; Psalm 120:4 . The cherub's sword of fire is identified with the lightning-flash, and that in its turn with the thunderbolts of God. Out of the throne of God went thunders and lightnings ( Exodus 19:16 ). The "Flammantia maenia mundi" of Lucretius (1. 73) offers a suggestive parallel. The King of Tyre, like the King of Babylon ( Isaiah 14:13, 14 ), is painted as exulting in that attribute of the Divine glory. Ezekiel 28:14

14 . Thou art the anointed ] The word “thou” is pointed here anomalously as Numbers 11:15 ; Deuteronomy 5:24 . It may more naturally be read with or beside. The terms rendered “anointed” and “that covereth” are wanting in LXX. (also in Ezekiel 28:16 ). No meaning can be attached to anointed cherub, probably: cherub with spreading wings. The other phrase “that covereth” is used to describe the cherubim over the mercy-seat whose wings covered it and (at least in the temple of Solomon) extended from wall to wall of the most holy place ( Exodus 25:20 ; Exodus 37:9 ; 1 Chronicles 28:18 ). In these passages LXX. renders the word rightly “overshadowing.” I have set thee ] I set thee. holy mountain of God ] Different representations of the abode of God were current; it was sometimes spoken of as a mountain and sometimes as a garden. The mountain here is the same as the garden of Ezekiel 28:13 , cf. Ezekiel 28:16 . It is the abode of God, where the cherub was and where the prince was placed on the day when he was created. The allusion to the mount of assembly in Isaiah 14:13 is obscure. The combinations of Del. ( Parad .) and Jeremias ( Bab. Assyr. Vorstellungen vom Leben nach dem Tode ) are controverted by Jensen, who makes it probable that Arâlu, the “mountain of the countries,” is not a special mountain on the earth, but the earth itself conceived as a mountain, under which lay the primary ocean.

Neither is there the slightest foundation for the supposition that the prophet compares the prince of Tyre to a Gryph guarding treasure upon the mountain of God. hast walked up and down ] didst walk in the midst of (the) stones of fire. The “stones of fire” might be flashing precious stones (Assyr. aban ishâti , precious stone, Frd. Del., Par . p. 118); more probably there is some reference to the phenomena attending the divine presence and manifestation, ch. Ezekiel 1:13 , Ezekiel 10:6 , cf. Isaiah 6:6 ; Psalm 18:14 . Among the Muhammedans the shooting stars are held to be thunderbolts hurled at the eavesdropping demons who pry into the divine secrets.

Thou art {e} the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee {f} so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the {g} stones of fire. (e) He means the royal state of Tyre, which for the excellency and glory of it he compares to the cherubim which covered the Ark, and by anointed he signifies the same. (f) I did you this honour to make you one of the builders of my temple, which was when Hiram sent to Solomon things necessary for the work. (g) That is, among my people Israel, which shined as precious stones.

Thou art - Better," Thou" wert. "the anointed cherub that covereth" In the temple the cherubim and all holy things were consecrated and anointed with oil ( Exodus 30:26 ff). The prince of Tyre was also anointed as a sovereign priest - covering or protecting the minor states, like the cherubim with outstretched wings covering the mercy-Seat. Thou wast upon the holy mountain - As the cherub was in the temple on the holy mountain, so the prince of Tyre was presiding over the island-city, rising like a mountain from the deep. Stones of fire - i. e., bright and shining. Decked with bright jewels, the prince walked among jewels in gorgeous splendor.

Thou art the anointed cherub: I would rather keep the order of the words in the Hebrew, which the French also keep, Thou art a cherub, anointed, a protector, or one who covereth for defence. For thy wisdom, power, and excellency, like a cherub or angel; for the sacredness of thy person and office, as the anointed of God; for the exercise of thy power and office, as a shield or a protector of the weak; thus thou art, or thinkest thyself to be, and pridest thyself herein. I have set thee so; I, whom thou forgettest, I have made thee so, set thee above others; this should have been matter of thanks and humility, not of pride and atheism. Thus the sarcasm is continued, and he is upbraided for his insolence. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; or thus, in the holy mountain a god thou hast been; so it is an irony, and suits the rest; or else, in pursuance of our version, thou wast advanced to kingly dignity, (which David calls a mountain, Psalm 30:7 Jeremiah 51:25 Daniel 2:35 ) a sacred office, and of Divine institution and consecration, and thou hast in pride exalted thyself above me, as well as above men. Walked up and down, in proud and stately manner, surrounded every way in thy chambers and beds and clothes with stones that sparkle like fire, thy crown, thy throne, thy chariots, thy umbrellas or canopies, glistering and dazzling beholders; as if thus also thou wouldst contend with God, who is clothed with light.