By the river Chebar among the exiles the heavens open: the four living creatures, the wheels within wheels, and above the firmament the likeness of the glory of Hashem.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
verse value 5065
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 74 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִֽים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "year" (שָׁנָ֗ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·midst·of·the·exiles" (בְתֽוֹךְ־הַגּוֹלָ֖ה, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 355: year, in·five. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "in·the·fourth" (בָּֽרְבִיעִי֙), "in·midst·of·the·exiles" (בְתֽוֹךְ־הַגּוֹלָ֖ה), "they·were·opened" (נִפְתְּחוּ֙). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "and·I" (root אני, 166x in Ezekiel); "in·five" (root חמש, 76x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root היה ("and·it·was") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root שנה ("year") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'by·the·river·Chebar', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֣י [and·it·was] (31) + בִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים [in·thirty] (682) + שָׁנָ֗ה [year] (355) + בָּֽרְבִיעִי֙ [in·the·fourth] (294) + בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֣ה [in·five] (355) + לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ [to·the·month] (342) + וַאֲנִ֥י [and·I] (67) + בְתֽוֹךְ־הַגּוֹלָ֖ה [in·midst·of·the·exiles] (477) + עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָ֑ר [by·the·river·Chebar] (577) + נִפְתְּחוּ֙ [they·were·opened] (544) + הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם [heaven] (395) + וָאֶרְאֶ֖ה [and·I·saw] (213) + מַרְא֥וֹת [visions·of] (647) + אֱלֹהִֽים [God] (86) = 5065.
Rashi
“And it came to pass in the thirtieth year.” The prophet left his words unspecified and did not explain his name, who he was, nor did he clarify the reckoning, what he was counting. Therefore, the Holy Spirit interrupted his words with two verses adjacent to this one, to teach who the prophet was and to teach regarding the reckoning, what he was counting, as it is stated: “In the fifth month, on the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin.” These are not the words of the prophet, for he had already said that he was standing on the fifth of the month. Furthermore, from the beginning he stated his prophecy in his own words: “I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, and the visions of God appeared to me,” and likewise at the end: “I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came.” And these two verses interrupt his words, as if another person were speaking about him. It was one matter: “The word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel,” and “The hand of the Lord was upon him there.”
"And I in the midst of exile." That is to say, outside the Land of Israel.
“By the river Chebar.” This is the name of the river.
"Mirrors of God." Because he did not see in a mirror that is illuminated, he calls them "mirrors of God," akin to a dream and not literally. And all the prophets, even they, saw through a mirror that is not illuminated, except for Moses our teacher, as it is stated: "And by the ministry of the prophets I have used similitudes" (Hosea 12:11).
Radak
“And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month.” My master and father, of blessed memory, wrote that according to the simple meaning, this calculation refers to the thirtieth year of the Jubilee. The proof for this is that when Ezekiel saw in his prophecy the building of the city and the building of the Temple for the future, it was the Jubilee year, and it was the twenty-fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin. Now, since Jehoiachin was exiled on the twentieth of the month, in the fifth year of the Jubilee, and this vision occurred in the fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin, it was therefore in the thirtieth year of the Jubilee. And how do we know that when he saw the building of the city and the building of the Temple, it was the Jubilee year? As it is stated: “On the first day of the year, on the tenth day of the month.” Which year is it whose New Year falls on the tenth of the month? Say that this is the Jubilee year.
And I say that what Jonathan the Targumist translated, “In the thirtieth year of the time when Hilkiah the High Priest found the Book of the Law,” leads to another calculation, according to what my master and father, of blessed memory, explained: In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, Hilkiah the priest found the Book in the House of the Lord. How many years remained of his reign? Thirteen years. For Josiah reigned thirty-one years: thirteen years of Josiah and eleven years of Jehoiakim make twenty-five, and in the twenty-fifth year Jehoiachin reigned. And even though his reign did not count as a full year, as it is written, Jehoiachin was exiled in the twenty-fifth year of the Jubilee. And this vision was in the fifth year for him, making it the thirtieth year of the Jubilee. And God, blessed be He, showed Ezekiel this vision, which contains an allusion to the departure of the Divine Presence from the Temple thirty years after the finding of the Book, when the king tore his garments upon hearing the words of the Book. For the evil and the exile would come upon Israel for transgressing the words of the Book, and the evil had already begun to come in the days of Josiah. Therefore, God, blessed be He, showed the prophet the sign of the departure of the Divine Presence from the Temple, for just as the evil began in the days of Josiah, so too would it come to its completion. And He showed him in the thirtieth year of the Jubilee, which was the fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin, because Zedekiah went to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign, which is the fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin. And He also showed him in the fourth month, which is the month of Tammuz, because this month was in the year of the Destruction the beginning of the Destruction, for in it the city was breached. And when He showed him this vision of the return from exile in the days of the Messiah, and the building of the city and the building of the Temple, He showed them to him in the Jubilee year and on the Day of Atonement, which is a sign of the slaves going out from bondage to freedom, to teach that God, blessed be He, will forgive the iniquity of Israel and will remember their sin no more. And He showed him this vision in Babylon, as the prophet was there, as a sign of the exile, which is in Babylon. And when He showed him this vision of the return from exile, He showed it to him in a manner that he saw himself in the Land of Israel, as a sign of the return from exile.
“And I was among the exiles.” The appellation precedes the knowledge, for afterwards it says, “To Ezekiel, son of Buzi.” Similarly, “And she saw the child, and he was weeping,” and “his soul loathes bread,” and cases like them, as we have written in the book *Makhlal*, in its first part. It was shown to him in the prophetic vision that he was with the exiles by the Kebar River, meaning that they were standing on the bank of the river, and he was among them, and the prophecy came to him in this manner: it was shown to him that the heavens were opened, and he saw these visions that he proceeds to recount. And what he said, “Visions of God,” means great and wondrous visions, for the way of Scripture, when it wishes to magnify a thing, attaches it to God, such as “a great city to God,” “like the mountains of God,” “cedars of God,” “darkness of God, flame of God,” and the Targum translates the verse thus: “And it came to pass in the thirtieth year,” etc. And in some manuscripts, the Targum translates “by the Kebar River” as “the River Euphrates.” And so say the commentators, that Kebar is Euphrates. And we have found a dispute in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: Rav Yudan and Rav Huna. Rav Yudan says: It is Euphrates; it is Kebar, Euphrates, meaning it is *parah* (Euphrates) and *rabbah* (great), for its fruits are coarse and do not emerge in a pod. Rav Huna says: Euphrates is by itself, Kebar is by itself.
Metzudat David
“And it was in the thirtieth year.” In the thirtieth year of the last Jubilee, in which they went into exile, for here it states, “This is the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin.” And when he saw in prophecy the future Temple, it was said, “In the twenty-fifth year of our exile” (below 40), and that was the exile of Jehoiachin. And that prophecy he saw in the Jubilee year, as it is stated there, “On the New Year, on the tenth of the month.” Which year is it whose New Year falls on the tenth of the month? This is the Jubilee year, whose beginning is on Yom Kippur, the tenth of the seventh month. Therefore, that prophecy, which preceded by twenty years, was in the thirtieth year of the previous Jubilee. (And he linked that prophecy to the Jubilee because in that Jubilee year, Hilkiah the High Priest found the Book of the Torah in the House of the Lord in the days of Josiah, for he found it in the eighteenth year of his reign, and he reigned thirty-one years. Therefore, there remained fourteen more years after him: Jehoiakim reigned eleven years, making twenty-five. For Jehoahaz, who reigned before him, and Jehoiachin, who reigned after him, did not reign full years, only six months and ten days combined, and there was no complete year.) Therefore, in the fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin, thirty years were completed. And according to this, when they found the Sefer Torah, there was great commotion, and that year was recorded, publicized, and known among the people, for then it was revealed to them that the destruction was destined to come. Therefore, he linked that prophecy, in which he saw the departure of the Divine Presence from the House of the Lord, to it, like a king riding on a chariot.
In the fourth [month]. In the fourth month:
And I. At that time, I was among the exiles by the river Chebar.
"Visions of God." Visions of the Divine Presence.
Metzudat Zion
Kebar. So is the name of the river:
Malbim
“And it came to pass in the thirtieth year” — in the eighteenth year of King Josiah of Judah, it was the Jubilee year, as stated in Seder Olam. At that time, the Book of the Torah was found in the House of the Lord; it had been rolled up at the verse, “The Lord shall bring you and your king.” This event made a great impression, and then prophecy came through the prophetess Hulda, who foretold that the Temple was destined to be destroyed. In the twenty-sixth year of the Jubilee cycle, Jehoiachin was exiled. And in the thirtieth year of the Jubilee cycle, he saw the Chariot and recorded that he was then in exile by the River Chebar. This implies that he was not prepared for prophecy, whether due to the place, since he was outside the Land of Israel, or due to the time, since he was in exile. Rather, the heavens opened of their own accord, without his preparation, and he saw the visions of God.
In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
verse value 2516
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "it" (הִ֚יא, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·fifth" (הַחֲמִישִׁ֔ית, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "the·fifth" (הַחֲמִישִׁ֔ית), "to·exile·of" (לְגָל֖וּת), "Jehoiachin" (יוֹיָכִֽין). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "it" (root הוא, 86x in Ezekiel); "in·five" (root חמש, 76x in Ezekiel); "king" (root מלך, 32x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root הוא ("it") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root גלות ("to·exile·of") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·month', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. Full calculation: בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה [in·five] (355) + לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ [to·the·month] (342) + הִ֚יא [it] (16) + הַשָּׁנָ֣ה [year] (360) + הַחֲמִישִׁ֔ית [the·fifth] (773) + לְגָל֖וּת [to·exile·of] (469) + הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ [king] (95) + יוֹיָכִֽין [Jehoiachin] (106) = 2516.
Rashi
"This is the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin." We have learned that he counted thirty years from the beginning of the Jubilee. Thus, the last Jubilee began in the eighteenth year of Josiah, which is the year in which Hilkiah found the Book (II Kings 22). Likewise, we learned in Seder Olam that this was the beginning of the Jubilee: Josiah reigned for thirty-one years. Subtract from them the seventeen years that had already passed, and fourteen years remain. Jehoiakim reigned eleven years, making twenty-five years in total. And his son Jehoiachin did not reign for more than three months before he was exiled. The year in which Ezekiel prophesied was the fifth year of his exile, making it the thirtieth year of the Jubilee. And so we find at the end of his prophecy that he gave a sign for the counting of the Jubilee, as it is stated: "And it came to pass in the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month" (below, 2:1). And our Sages said: Which year is it whose New Year falls on the tenth of the month? Say, this is the Jubilee year.
Radak
"On the fifth day of the month." We have already written the reason for the fifth year:
Yoyachin. Like Yehoyachin; and similarly, Yonadav and Yehonadav; Yonatan and Yehonatan.
Metzudat David
"On the fifth of the month, etc." This means that the "fifth of the month" mentioned here refers to the fifth year of the exile, etc.
Malbim
"On the fifth day of the month," and he explains why the vision occurred on the fifth of the month, because then began the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, who was exiled on the fifth of Tammuz and entered that day into his fifth year; therefore, it was then that the word of the Lord came to him to comfort the exiles, so that they would know that the Divine Presence was with them even while they were in the land of their enemies. And the speech was in the land of the Chaldeans, by the Chebar Canal, which, according to the commentators, is the Euphrates River, which flows from the Land of Israel to Babylonia, as our Sages of blessed memory stated: "Rain in the west — its great witness is the Euphrates." And although it was in the land of the Chaldeans, he was prepared for prophecy because of that river, as stated in the Kuzari, that revelation occurs in the Diaspora in a place of water; therefore, the hand of the Lord was upon him.
the word of Hashem came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Hashem was there upon him.
verse value 2777
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 64 letters. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Ezekiel" (אֶל־יְחֶזְקֵ֨אל, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 20: surely, was. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "to·Ezekiel" (אֶל־יְחֶזְקֵ֨אל), "son·of·Buzi" (בֶּן־בּוּזִ֧י). The root היה appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "word·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "surely" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "upon·him" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root יהוה ("word·of·Hashem") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root איל ("to·Ezekiel") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'by·the·river·Chebar', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: הָיֹ֣ה [surely] (20) + הָיָ֣ה [was] (20) + דְבַר־יְ֠הֹוָ֠ה [word·of·Hashem] (232) + אֶל־יְחֶזְקֵ֨אל [to·Ezekiel] (187) + בֶּן־בּוּזִ֧י [son·of·Buzi] (77) + הַכֹּהֵ֛ן [priest] (80) + בְּאֶ֥רֶץ [in·land·of] (293) + כַּשְׂדִּ֖ים [Chaldeans] (374) + עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָ֑ר [by·the·river·Chebar] (577) + וַתְּהִ֥י [and·it·was] (421) + עָלָ֛יו [upon·him] (116) + שָׁ֖ם [there] (340) + יַד־יְהֹוָֽה [hand·of·Hashem] (40) = 2777.
Rashi
"It came, it came, the word of the Lord." Our Sages taught: The repeated word "hayah" implies "already," because the Divine Presence does not rest upon a prophet outside the Land of Israel unless it had previously rested upon him within the Land. And we learned in a Baraita of the Mekhilta: "Son of man, stand upon your feet" (below, 12)—this was the beginning of the book, except that there is no early or late in Scripture. And there are those who say: "Son of man, hear the riddle" (below, 17)—this is the beginning of the book. And I say that that prophecy was spoken to him before the exile, for it was fitting to be spoken to him in the Land, since it does not explicitly mention "exile," and it marks the beginning of his mission to them. And Jonathan [ben Uzziel] also rendered it thus in the Targum: "Thus was the word of prophecy from before the Lord with Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of Israel. He came a second time and spoke with him in the land of the Chaldeans." And Ezekiel was exiled with the smiths and the carpenters who were exiled with Jehoiachin.
Hand of G-d. Every instance of the term “hand” mentioned in this book, and in every instance of prophetic language, is nothing but an expression of force, meaning that the prophecy forcefully overcomes him against his will, like a person who goes mad, as it is said in the vernacular: “deishtreitsa.”
Radak
“Then the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans.” Our Sages of blessed memory said: The Divine Presence does not rest upon the prophets outside the Land [of Israel]. And when God speaks with them outside the Land, He does not speak with them except in a ritually pure place, by the waters, as it is stated: “By the river Chebar” (Ezekiel 1:1); “And I was by the stream Ulai” (Ezekiel 3:15); and “And I was by the side of the river” (Ezekiel 3:15). Rabbi Elazar ben Zadok says: Behold, it is stated, “Arise, go out to the Valley” (Ezekiel 3:22), indicating that the Valley is in a field. This teaches that the Divine Presence is not revealed outside the Land, as it is stated: “Then Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3). And there are those who say: The first time, God does not speak with the prophet outside the Land; the second time, He does speak. And this is the view to which the opinion of Jonathan [ben Uzziel] leans, for he translated: “What happened was that the word from before the Lord came to Ezekiel, etc.” as “like a pillar.” And regarding what it says “to Ezekiel, son of Buzi,” it should have said “to me,” and similarly, “And it came upon him,” it should have said “upon me.” But such is the manner of Scripture at times, like “The wives of Lamech” (Genesis 4:19) and “And to Moses He said, ‘Go up to the Lord’” (Exodus 19:3), and “Jephthah and Samuel” (1 Samuel 10:27). And in Targum Yerushalmi, it says: “Ezekiel the prophet, son of Jeremiah the prophet.” And Jeremiah was called Buzi because they mocked him.
Metzudat David
"The word of the Lord." This is the utterance mentioned after the account of the vision.
The hand of the Lord. The strength and power of prophecy.
And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire flashing up, so that a brightness was round about it; and out of the midst thereof as the colour of electrum, out of the midst of the fire.
verse value 4606
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "wind·of" (ר֨וּחַ, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·the·north" (מִן־הַצָּפ֗וֹן, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "storm" (סְעָרָ֜ה), "from·the·north" (מִן־הַצָּפ֗וֹן), "and·fire" (וְאֵ֣שׁ). The root אש appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "going·in" (root בוא, 175x in Ezekiel); "round·about" (root סביב, 112x in Ezekiel); "and·from·her·midst" (root תוך, 111x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root הנה ("and·behold") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root רוח ("wind·of") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'round·about', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 5 words.
Rashi
And behold, a stormy wind came from the north. It is the chariot of the Throne of Glory of the Divine Presence, as it is stated in this matter. And since it came in wrath to destroy Israel, it was likened to a stormy wind and a cloud.
“Coming from the north.” She would return from the land of Babylonia, which is in the north, as it is stated: “From the north the evil shall be opened” (Jeremiah 1:14). Why did she go there? In order to conquer the entire world under Nebuchadnezzar, so that the Babylonians would not say, “He handed over His children to a lowly nation,” for the Chaldeans were a lowly nation, as it is stated: “This people was not” (Isaiah 23:13). Thus our Sages expounded in Tractate Hagigah.
"And a light shone for him." This is an allusion to the cloud surrounding it from the outside, indicating that Israel is destined to be redeemed from there.
Like the appearance of chashmal. "Chashmal" is an angel whose name is so, and he saw a hue resembling it within the fire. And thus did our Rabbis teach: There was an incident involving a certain child who was expounding on the Chariot Merkabah, and he understood the chashmal; and fire issued from the chashmal and consumed him. And they further said that the word is a compound, as they asked: What is "chashmal"? Rabbi Yehuda said: "Chayot" (living creatures) of fire who "melelot" (speak). In a Mishnah it is taught: At times they are silent, and at times they speak. When the utterance issues from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they are silent; when the utterance does not issue from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they speak, meaning that they offer praises and laudations to the Name. And it is possible that "chashmal" is the name of the appearance, which is close to the appearance of fire, for it says "chashmal from within the fire," and it says "like the appearance of chashmal," like the appearance of fire all around Him from His waist and upward. And in the second vision it says: "And from His waist and upward, like the appearance of gleaming metal, like the appearance of chashmal."
"And from within it." From that fire I saw something like chashmal, which appears within the fire, and its nature was not known. And the Midrash that our Sages expounded regarding it, that "living creatures of fire were speaking," is not settled in accordance with the matter.
Radak
And I saw, and a fire was kindled. Explanation: "Was kindled" means within the cloud, just as it says, "and a fire was kindled within the hail."
And from within it, like chashmal. The Targum: “And from the cloud, from the shining, like chashmal, from the fire.” And the opinion of our Sages of blessed memory is that the chashmal is an angel. And they said: An incident occurred with a certain child who was reading in his teacher’s house from the book of Ezekiel, and he understood the chashmal; fire came forth from the chashmal and burned him. And furthermore, they interpreted it as an acronym: “Living creatures of fire speaking.” In a Mishnah it is taught: At times they are silent, at times they speak. When the utterance issues from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they are silent; when the utterance does not issue from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they speak.
Metzudat David
“A storm wind comes from the north.” This is an allusion to the king of Babylonia and the Chaldeans, who were situated to the north of the Land of Israel, and who will come upon the Land of Israel in a flood of wrath.
A great cloud. He also saw a great cloud, which was an allusion to the darkness of the troubles that were to befall her.
"And a fire was kindled." This is an allusion to the burning of the Temple of the Lord.
"And a light shines for Him all around." The surroundings of these matters, He saw a shining and illumination, and it is an allusion that after all the troubles, they will be surrounded by the light of salvation.
And from within it. The thing that is within each one, and which is the cause and brings about all of these, is like the color of the chashmal seen within the fire, and it is the pure essence within the fire, cleansed from the smoke, to the extent that the eye can hardly perceive it as it is. And this is to hint that neither the evil nor the good comes by chance, but everything is by the decree of the Omnipresent. And it is called "lightning" because it cannot be grasped. Also, "lightning" is a compound word: "chash" from "mal," meaning that one ought to be silent and refrain from speech and discourse about it, for it cannot be described by any likeness.
Metzudat Zion
matlekhachet. It becomes inflamed and burns, as in “and there was a burning fire among the hail” (Exodus 9:24). And it is from the root of “taking,” for the flame is taken and clings to the thing that is burning.
And the shining light. The meaning is illumination and rising, like "from the brightness before him" (Psalms 18:12).
Like. As in the color, similar to: "And its appearance was like that of bdellium" (Numbers 11:7):
"Hahashmal" is the pure [substance] that is in the fire, cleansed from smoke. It too is a compound word: "hash" from "chash," and "chash" is a matter of silence, as in "a time to be silent" (Ecclesiastes 3:7); and "mal" is from the language of "milah" (word) and "dibur" (speech).
Malbim
Regarding the section Va'era: We have already learned from the secrets of the Holy Ones that the chariot which Ezekiel saw was in the World of Formation, which is the world of angels. And that vision was lower than the vision of the chariot which Isaiah saw, which was in the World of the Throne. For since Isaiah saw the King while the Divine Presence was in its place and Israel was on their land, then the governance was by the Lord Himself, and the Lord prepared His throne and His kingdom in the heavens, ruling over all. Therefore, he saw the King sitting on a high and exalted throne, for even the governance of the system came from Him without intermediaries. And he saw seraphim standing above Him, for the seraphim stand in the height of the world in the World of the Throne, which is above the World of the Living Creatures which Ezekiel saw. It is like a king sitting in his house and the princes of his kingdom standing before him. But Ezekiel saw Him in exile in a foreign land, for then He does not govern to do any act of royal dominion in a miraculous, wondrous way, but rather governs according to the order of nature and the system, which are the Wheels. This is accomplished by the movers of the system, which are the angels. Therefore, he saw the Living Creatures of Holiness and the Wheels rising up opposite them.
Now, the World of the Living Creatures, which are the angels, is intermediate between the World of the Throne, which is above them, and the World of the Wheels, which is the world of the spheres, which is below them. They receive power and abundance from the Throne of the Kingdom of the Lord which is above, and they govern with this power and move the Wheels below. Therefore, he first relates the apprehension he attained concerning the Living Creatures themselves, then he relates how they move and draw the Wheels which are beneath them, and afterwards he relates how they receive strength and might from the Throne which is above them.
And it has been explained in the Kuzari (Fifth Discourse) that the prophets attain to the Name in different forms, corresponding to the action being performed at that time. At the time when He was removing kings and establishing kings, Daniel saw (Daniel 7:9) "Until the thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat." And at the time of the journey when He traveled in exile, Ezekiel saw Him riding in a chariot, like the custom of kings when they travel from place to place, that they prepare for them a chariot to go on the road. And he likened it to the custom of human beings, that the physical chariot is drawn by four living creatures which move the wheels of the chariot upon which the king sits. And so Ezekiel saw the chariot in which the King of Glory travels in exile, and four living creatures carrying the chariot to wherever the spirit would go.
And our Sages of blessed memory said that Isaiah was like a city-dweller who saw the King, and Ezekiel was like a country-dweller who saw the King. For a city-dweller sees Him in His palace, sitting on His royal throne, and His servants doing His will standing around Him. And so Isaiah saw Him in His royal city, sitting on His throne. But a country-dweller sees Him when the king travels through the village from place to place, seeing Him traveling in a chariot, and he sets his heart on the chariot and on the living creatures and the wheels which lead the king, and he relates what he saw.
Now, he saw the chariot coming from the north, which indicates that this was not the beginning of His coming from the Land of Israel, for the Land of Israel is south of Babylon. Rather, He was already there with the exiles who dwelled in the north in Tel Abib, which was north of the river Chebar. And he saw Him now traveling from north to south, to return from Babylon to the Land of Israel. But he saw Him traveling with the intent to destroy Zion and burn His Temple, for he saw around the chariot a whirlwind and a cloud and a kindling fire, all of which indicate destruction and ruin and burning. Only that he saw that around the fire there was a gleam. The gleam receives the light and shines but does not burn; it is the attribute of kindness flowing within the darkness to illuminate the night. And from within the gleam he attained the electric fire, which is the camp of the Divine Presence, which is within the fire. This means that this burning would not be by the system, but by the Lord alone, and that with Him too are mercies to illuminate the darkness and save those who cling to holiness within the gleam around.
(And also Elijah, who saw the chariot outside its place in a foreign land, saw also like this vision: a great and strong wind, which is the whirlwind; and after the wind, an earthquake (for the earthquake comes from the cloud); and after the earthquake, fire, which is a kindling fire. And in all these, the camp of the Divine Presence was not yet, as it is stated, "Not in the wind of the Lord... not in the fire of the Lord." And after the fire, a still small voice, which is the electric fire. "Still" implies silence, and "small" implies speech, which is a still voice, meaning composed of voice and silence, as it is stated, "Silence and a voice I shall hear." This is "small" speech. And they are the four husks surrounding the nut, three of which are hard and bitter, and one is soft, attached to the fruit, mixed of good and evil, which is the husk of gleam. And this is the "small" that Elijah saw. And so it is said (Isaiah 29:6): "You will be punished by the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and earthquake and great noise, whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire," which is the evil in the three elements: wind, water, and fire).
And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
verse value 2533
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 38 letters. Notable word values: "and·this" (וְזֶה֙) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "and·this" (וְזֶה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·from·her·midst" (וּמִ֨תּוֹכָ֔הּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 450: likeness, likeness. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "vigorous" (חַיּ֑וֹת), "their·sight" (מַרְאֵיהֶ֔ן). The root דמות appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·from·her·midst" (root תוך, 111x in Ezekiel); "four" (root ארבע, 59x in Ezekiel); "to·them" (root הנה, 56x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root דמות ("likeness") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root ארבע ("four") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'vigorous', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּמִ֨תּוֹכָ֔הּ [and·from·her·midst] (477) + דְּמ֖וּת [likeness] (450) + אַרְבַּ֣ע [four] (273) + חַיּ֑וֹת [vigorous] (424) + וְזֶה֙ [and·this] (18) + מַרְאֵיהֶ֔ן [their·sight] (306) + דְּמ֥וּת [likeness] (450) + אָדָ֖ם [man] (45) + לָהֵֽנָּה [to·them] (90) = 2533.
Rashi
"Likeness of a man" is here. One might wonder, for surely the likenesses of an ox, a lion, and an eagle are also here. And it appears to me that since this [likeness] is the father of all of them, the prophet praised the chariot with it, and it is the likeness of the countenance of our father Jacob.
Radak
"From within it." Jonathan rendered it: "living creatures."
Metzudat David
And out of it. From the *nogah* mentioned above, He saw the likeness of four living creatures:
And this is their appearance. That is to say, this is the description of their bodily appearance, for they had the form of a human body.
Metzudat Zion
Living creatures. This means from the species of living beings, and Targum Yonatan renders: "creatures."
Image. Forms:
For them. For them:
Malbim
And from within it, the form of four living creatures: The seers have already informed us through these visions of God that four camps of angels surround the Throne, and your sign is “His chariot is purple” (Song of Songs 3:10). We have already explained that Isaiah saw the King in His royal house, with seraphim standing above Him in the world of the Throne, to carry out their mission not through the medium of the Ophanim—which are nature and the cosmic order—but rather through the path of miracles. However, Ezekiel saw Him not in His place, and he beheld the Chariot in the world of angels. For in the time of exile, He does not act through the path of open miracle and wonder, but rather conducts governance according to the order of the army and the cosmic system, which are the Ophanim and the celestial spheres. And when He desires to conduct the system according to His will through hidden miracles, He moves it and guides it through the living creatures, who are His servants, doers of His will, who stand above the Ophanim and lead them. This is analogous to a traveler in a chariot who guides the wheels of the chariot through the living creatures that draw the chariot. In such a way, the living creatures that Ezekiel saw are lower than the seraphim that Isaiah saw, and their power is inferior to the power of the seraphim, who perform a superior act without any intermediary. But they are the drivers of the King’s chariot and do not act except through the medium of the Ophanim. Therefore, He depicted them in the form of living creatures, which are lower in rank than man, who is above them. Since this mode of governance—conducting through the medium of the cosmic system—is fixed during the time of exile, when the princes of the nations rule according to the necessity of the cosmic order, and the power of God is clothed in them to incline their dominion and governance according to His will, at that time began the dominion of the four kingdoms, which were destined to rule until the end of days, when the Throne will return to its place and the first kingdom, the Kingdom of God, will return, so that His Name will be complete and His Throne complete, to govern through the seraphim who stand around the Throne, and the King will sit upon it in His palace and royal house. Therefore, at that time, governance was clothed in the four living creatures, the drivers of the Chariot, whose matter will be explained later. From them, the princes of the nations will receive influence, each from a specific living creature, from which they will draw their sustenance, and they will influence the nation below according to the instruction of the Ophan that pertains to them. We have already explained in the prophecy of Zechariah (Chapter 2) that the four kingdoms will correspond to the four winds of heaven, that the dominion of each is strengthened by a specific wind, and each wind of the world draws its power and abundance from one of the four quarters of the celestial sphere that pertains to it, from which its root and success come. And this is from one Ophan of the four Ophanim, and the life of each Ophan is connected with the living creature of the four living creatures that governs it. And so, the prince will influence, through the medium of the Ophan, the nation under him all the days of the rising of the star of its success, until the sphere turns and runs to the pit, and it sets, and the other Ophan rises in its place. And this is “their appearance was the likeness of a man.” Although He called them by the name of living creatures, because each has the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle, nevertheless, since each also has the face of a man, we cannot call it by name according to its face, but only according to its overall form. For the form of a living creature is different from the form and structure of a man, for it walks on four legs and its face is downward, and it has no intellect. But their form and bodily structure were like a man, standing upright on two legs and having two hands, and they were also filled with wisdom and understanding like a man. Only in the faces was found the face of a living creature, not in the structure of the body. Therefore, He said that their appearance was the likeness of a man. The expression is that they have good intellect, and these four children, God gave wisdom and understanding to the beasts, to understand their Creator, praise Him, and give honor to His Name.
And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.
verse value 1896
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "to·them" (לָהֶֽם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·four" (וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 439: for·each, for·each. The root ארבע appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·them" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel); "face" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel); "for·each" (root אחד, 104x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root פנים ("face") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root אחד ("for·each") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·each', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה [and·four] (284) + פָנִ֖ים [face] (180) + לְאֶחָ֑ת [for·each] (439) + וְאַרְבַּ֥ע [four] (279) + כְּנָפַ֖יִם [wings] (200) + לְאַחַ֥ת [for·each] (439) + לָהֶֽם [to·them] (75) = 1896.
Rashi
“And four faces to each one.” “To each one” means that for the face of the man alone there were four faces, and likewise for the lion, for the eagle, and for the ox. Thus, there are sixteen faces for each living creature. And likewise, for each living creature, there are four wings for each of the faces, making sixty-four wings for each living creature. This is what Jonathan the Targumist translated as “two hundred and fifty-six wings.”
Metzudat David
And four faces to each one. For each living creature had four countenances, namely: a human face, a lion’s face, an ox’s face, and an eagle’s face—one for each direction. As it is stated in this matter, and it is explained here that each [countenance] was composed of all four. Thus, for all the living creatures in their entirety, there were sixty-four faces. And for each of the faces there were four wings. Hence, among them all, there were two hundred and fifty-six wings. So too does the Targum render it.
Malbim
And four faces to each one: although each had other faces on the side in which it walked forward—this one had the face of a lion, this one the face of a man, etc.—nevertheless, on their sides and behind them, they also had the other three faces, so that each one had four faces. The meaning is that although each possesses a special power and distinct governance, this one for kindness, this one for judgment, and this one for mercy, nevertheless, all the other attributes were included in each one, only that the faces on the front side were the primary ones. That is to say, in one, the attribute of kindness was dominant and went before it, and the other attributes were included within it; in one, the power of might was dominant, and so on with all of them (as is known that in every attribute, the other attributes are also included: the might within kindness, the mercy within kindness, and so forth). Similarly, the kingdoms, which received influence from them, were all included in the head that was dominant at that time and went before them. For even when the Kingdom of Babylon ruled, the Kingdom of Persia, the Kingdom of Greece, and the Kingdom of Rome were also present, only that the Kingdom of Babylon went in the lead and was the cornerstone. Likewise, they received the influence from their upper ministering angels in this manner: the ministering angel of Babylon stood then at the head, drawing his power from high to high, at the head of all, and the other faces were included within him.
And four wings to each one of them: I have already explained in my commentary on Isaiah (chapter 6) that he depicted the angels with wings. This is either because the wings serve for flight, depicting that they have two wings to fly instantly to any place to which they are sent by their Creator; or because the wing indicates concealment and hiding. From this perspective, they have two additional wings to cover their bodies, meaning that their essence is concealed and hidden from comprehension. Isaiah saw that each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet. For he saw the Seraphim, who stand in the heights of the World of the Throne, and there are two types of concealment and hiding within them: 1. The influence which they receive from those above them, namely the World of Emanation, which is hidden in supreme concealment. To this he alludes with "with two he covered his face," indicating that they have no comprehension of the essence of this Emanation, and they ask, "Where is the place of His honor?" 2. They hide and cover the influence which they descend to bestow upon those below them. To this he alludes with "with two he covered his feet," meaning that although the angels who receive it comprehend the essence of the influence according to how they receive it (which is why the Living Creatures do not cover their faces), nevertheless, the essence of the Throne, as it is in its own right, is hidden from them. For the upper Seraphim cover their feet so that the recipients below them do not see it.
However, Ezekiel saw the Living Creatures which are in the World of Formation. They do not cover their faces, for they gaze upon and comprehend the influence that descends upon them according to how they receive it, even though its essence, as it is in the Influencer, is covered and hidden. Likewise, they do not cover their feet, for they do not conceal their influence from the Wheels below them, just as physical bodies comprehend the influence of the soul that moves and animates them, for they too are composed of matter, and the motion of the separate entities serves as a living soul for them. Only they have two wings to cover their bodies, for their essence, as they are in themselves, is hidden, just as the essence of the soul, as it is in itself before descending into the body, is hidden. And our Sages of blessed memory said: "From the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, the wings of the Living Creatures were diminished." For since then, they do not receive and bestow in the manner of the hidden miracle, but only through the system in a revealed and known manner, which does not require wings and many coverings.
And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
verse value 3246
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "foot" (רֶ֣גֶל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·their·feet" (וְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 233: foot, foot. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·their·feet" (וְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם), "straight" (יְשָׁרָ֑ה), "and·hand" (וְכַ֣ף). The root רגל appears 4 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·eye·of" (root עין, 73x in Ezekiel); "and·their·feet" (root רגל, 22x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root רגל ("and·their·feet") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root כף ("and·hand") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'straight', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 9 words. Full calculation: וְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם [and·their·feet] (294) + רֶ֣גֶל [foot] (233) + יְשָׁרָ֑ה [straight] (515) + וְכַ֣ף [and·hand] (106) + רַגְלֵיהֶ֗ם [their·feet] (288) + כְּכַף֙ [as·ladle·of] (120) + רֶ֣גֶל [foot] (233) + עֵ֔גֶל [calf] (103) + וְנֹ֣צְצִ֔ים [and·shining] (286) + כְּעֵ֖ין [as·eye·of] (150) + נְחֹ֥שֶׁת [copper] (758) + קָלָֽל [burnished] (160) = 3246.
Rashi
"Legs straight." Their legs are aligned, positioned directly opposite one another. Another interpretation: "straight" means they do not have knee joints to bend their shins, because they do not sit or lie down, and thus do not require knees like those of an animal, which has an upper knee and a lower knee, with which it bends its shins in order to lie down.
"Foot of a calf." A round foot; and so did Jonathan translate: "roundish feet."
And they were sparkling. From their brilliance, it appears as though sparks are emanating from them, as we say in the tractate Yoma: “It too made a golden chandelier, etc., at the time when the sun rises, sparks emerge from it, etc.”
Like the appearance. Just as it says, "like the appearance":
“Copper, refined.” It is refined, bright, and Menachem associates it with roasted in fire (Leviticus 3):
Radak
"And their feet, and they were shining." From the root of "natzutz" (sparkling):
“Polished.” [The word] is polished and pure, and the Targum [renders it] “and they shone like refined copper.”
Metzudat David
“Straight leg.” This means that they have no joints to bend their legs, since they neither lie down nor sit, and thus have no need for joints.
"And the soles of their feet." The lower parts of their feet were shaped like the hoof of a calf.
“And they were shining.” The legs were radiant, as if casting sparks, like refined copper, which shines most brightly, as if it were casting sparks.
Metzudat Zion
Yasharah. Equal, without crooked joints:
And the sole. It is the underside of the foot:
And they were sparkling. The word is from the term "spark" of fire.
And it was polished. Refined and shining; and so too, "and the soles of his feet like polished bronze" (Daniel 10:6).
Malbim
And their feet were straight feet: the wings, which fly, indicate the time when the bird ascends upward; at that time, the wheels also rise up with them, as stated in verse 19. And the feet indicate the time when they stand or walk on the earth, for the earth beneath the living creatures is in the place of the wheels. According to this, the wings indicate the time when they rise up with the wheels above, namely, at the time when the wheels do not move in their usual manner according to the rotation of the sphere, but rather ascend above the necessity of the sphere according to the will of God. And the walking of the feet indicates the time when they guide the wheels according to nature and according to the necessity of the sphere. And "foot" among spiritual beings, indicates the effect that proceeds from them (as stated in the Guide for the Perplexed, Part I, Chapter 28, and Part III, Chapter 4). Therefore, it says that their feet were straight feet, meaning that when they guide according to the necessity of the sphere, that which is caused by them goes in a straight path, namely, according to the necessity of the causes and the caused that are fixed in the order of the array from the beginning of creation, and they move according to the fixed causes by which their caused entities move. And there are no joints in their feet, for the causes and the caused are attached to each other without interruption.
And the sole of their feet was like the sole of the foot of a calf: the sole with which one stands on the floor and touches the earth, which is that by which they touch the world of the wheels below them and move them. This movement is the circular movement, which is round like the sole of the foot of a calf, meaning that they will influence the fixed circular movement for all the wheels, whose root is from the living creatures above, which move the spheres. And they sparkled like the appearance of polished brass: the sparks that come forth from the feet are similar to the sparks of polished brass. In the World of Action, which is the world of the spheres, there is the way of the serpent, the serpent of brass, which is found there, for it is the world of matter and composition. However, the sparks that come to the World of Action from the feet of the living creatures are from pure and polished brass, which is clean and pure from the brass. And this means that they nullify, through their spirituality, the turbid power of the serpent and the brass, and their influence is pure and clear relative to the turbidity of this world. And nevertheless, there is in it a little of the impurity of the serpent, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which they ate through the serpent's agency, and which is also found somewhat in the World of Formation in the influence that descends from there to the lower ones, as is known. And according to the words of our Sages of blessed memory in the Midrash, the word "polished" (kalel) indicates burning. Since their matter at that time was to destroy the Temple and burn it, behold the sparks that were influenced from them at that time were sparks of fire by virtue of the serpent, which then ruled to cast poison and consuming fire against the Holy Temple.
And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and as for the faces and wings of them four,
verse value 3399
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "hand" ((וידו)) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "on" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·their·wings" (וְכַנְפֵיהֶ֖ם, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "hand" ((וידו)). The root יד appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "on" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "and·their·faces" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel); "hand" (root יד, 75x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root יד ("hand") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root תחת ("from·under") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·sides', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: (וידו) [hand] (26) + וִידֵ֣י [and·the·hands·of] (30) + אָדָ֗ם [man] (45) + מִתַּ֙חַת֙ [from·under] (848) + כַּנְפֵיהֶ֔ם [their·wings] (205) + עַ֖ל [on] (100) + אַרְבַּ֣עַת [four] (673) + רִבְעֵיהֶ֑ם [their·sides] (327) + וּפְנֵיהֶ֥ם [and·their·faces] (191) + וְכַנְפֵיהֶ֖ם [and·their·wings] (211) + לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽם [to·four·of·them] (743) = 3399.
Rashi
“And the hand of a man was under his wings.” As Targum Jonathan renders: “Underneath them, to rake coals of fire, etc.” And similarly, we find in this very book: “And the cherub stretched out his hand toward the fire that was between the cherubim, and he took and gave it to the one clothed in linen” (Ezekiel 10:2); and likewise thereafter: “And the appearance of the hands of a man was under the wings of the cherubim” (ibid., 10:8). The hands of a man were stirring up the fire and giving it to the cherubim, and the cherubim to the messenger, so that the coals would be cooled from hand to hand, thereby mitigating the calamity upon Israel.
“Upon their four quarters.” [This refers] to the four directions of the world, for they have faces and wings toward each direction.
“And their faces and their wings toward the four [directions].” As its Targum [renders it]: “corresponding to the four [directions].”
Radak
"Vayad'u adam" – it is written with a vav and read with a yod, and the verse intends to say "vayad'u adam" as if it said "vayaday yaday adam," just as "eineichayonim" means "like the eyes of doves."
Metzudat David
"And the hands of a man." They had hands like the hands of a man beneath their wings; so it was on all four sides of them.
"And their faces." The faces and the wings that they had were equal to those of the four living creatures, each like the other.
Metzudat Zion
"their quarters." The Targum renders it as "their sides," and this is from the term "quarter," for every side is a quarter, since there are four sides.
Malbim
“And the hands of a man were under their wings”: Since it stated that their feet were like the feet of living creatures, with the sole rounded, not like the feet of a man, it said that their hands were not like those of living creatures, but only like the hands of a man. And also, that they resembled a man, who has two hands and two feet, and not like a beast, which has four feet and no hands. And the hands were under their wings, so that the hands would not be revealed except at the time they raised their wings upward, and at the time the wings lay upon the body, the hands were covered. The allusion in this is that when they walked on their feet and did not fly, this indicates that they would govern the system according to its natural order, according to fixed causes; then the hands were covered, and no human hands were seen, only the feet of a beast, for then their actions were compelled, like the actions of beasts that have no choice to change their actions. But when they raised their wings to fly, that is, at the time they altered the system (as stated above in the previous verse), then they would govern according to the will and elective command of the Lord; then their actions were the actions of a man who chooses and is not compelled in his deeds. And this would be at the time Israel does repentance, when the system is changed, and then human hands are seen. And our Sages of blessed memory said: “The hands of a man under their wings” [are] to receive penitents. “On their four quarters”: Just as the flying wings were fixed in all four sides of the creature, near each face on that side, to fly in them to every direction, so too the hands were fixed in all four sides. The allusion is that in every direction in which they raised a wing to elevate themselves above the orders of the system, whether for kindness, or for judgment, or for mercy, their actions were with choice and will, not compelled according to the system, but only according to the will and desire of the Lord to act with that measure. And therefore it says, “And their faces and their wings were toward the four [directions],” meaning that the wings were with their faces, that for each face there were wings separately (lest we err to think that what it said, “And four wings to each of them,” refers to each creature; it explains that thus it was for each face). And consequently, according to the number of the wings were the hands. And this is according to the opinion of Radak, that there were two hands for each wing. And the opinion of Rambam is that there were only two hands for each creature, just as it had only two feet. And the explanation of “And the hands of a man under their wings” is that below the place where the wings were fixed near the faces, two hands were fixed on the body of the creature, and these two hands were on their four quarters, that is, for all four faces together they had only two hands, for in the place of the joining of the hands and from there downward they were one body, and only above the hands were they divided into four heads. And according to this opinion, what is written, “And their faces and their wings were toward the four [directions],” means that opposite this, above the hands, were four faces with their wings, for each face and face.
their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
verse value 3009
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "wife" (אִשָּׁ֥ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·her·sister" (אֶל־אֲחוֹתָ֖הּ, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "joined" (חֹ֥בְרֹ֛ת). The root הלך appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·front" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "his·face" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel); "man" (root איש, 84x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root חבר ("joined") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root אשה ("wife") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·wings', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: חֹ֥בְרֹ֛ת [joined] (610) + אִשָּׁ֥ה [wife] (306) + אֶל־אֲחוֹתָ֖הּ [to·her·sister] (451) + כַּנְפֵיהֶ֑ם [their·wings] (205) + לֹא־יִסַּ֣בּוּ [not·turned] (109) + בְלֶכְתָּ֔ן [in·their·going] (502) + אִ֛ישׁ [man] (311) + אֶל־עֵ֥בֶר [to·front] (303) + פָּנָ֖יו [his·face] (146) + יֵלֵֽכוּ [went] (66) = 3009.
Rashi
Their wings were joined one to another. The wing of this one is extended toward the wing of that one, here and there, until they are joined and reach one another, and thereby they cover their faces, for the wings are spread above the faces.
They shall not turn aside in their going. If they wish to go in whatever direction they desire, they do not need to turn their faces, for they have faces toward every side. Therefore, each one shall go toward the face of his own direction, toward the face of that direction in which they wish to go, they shall go.
Radak
“Joined together as a woman.” Just as it says, “like the curtains of a woman to her sister,” for every matter is referred to as “man” and “woman,” and so the living creatures are described in terms of “woman” and “man,” just as He joined them in the living creatures and the cherubim. And Jonathan rendered it: “One was set opposite the other; their backs did not turn away from each other; they went face to face.”
Metzudat David
"Bound together, etc." Their wings were bound together and touching one another, to cover their faces with them; and when it is stated below regarding this matter:
"And they shall not turn as they go." When they wish to change their path from one side to another, they shall not turn from side to side, because each of them shall walk toward the side opposite his face, for they have faces toward every direction, and whichever side they go to, they shall go facing forward with their faces.
Metzudat Zion
“Connected.” This means: touching.
"A woman opposite her sister": Thus it is stated in the case of equal things; and likewise, "and their faces, each man opposite his brother" (Exodus 25:20).
They surrounded. From the language of "surrounding" and "turning aside":
Ever. Side:
Malbim
“Joining a woman to her sister” refers to their wings; that is to say, the wings were joined together, meaning that the tips of the wings, which were attached to the body, touched one another. This signifies that since the number of pairs in the wings was such as to indicate that they did not possess the unity that their Creator possesses—namely, that they were created beings who comprehend themselves and their cause—nevertheless, although they lacked that unity, they possessed connection, for they are intellectual entities abstracted from matter, and their cognition is sudden, continuous, and uninterrupted by the duration of the act of understanding or by place. They did not turn as they walked; each went in the direction of its own face, because each face had wings of its own; thus, they had no need to turn their faces even while flying, for they flew with the two wings situated on the side toward which they were moving. This phrasing will be clarified in verse 12.
As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle.
verse value 5353
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "face" (פְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·right" (אֶל־הַיָּמִין֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 753: to·four·of·them, to·four·of·them. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "to·the·right" (אֶל־הַיָּמִין֙), "and·face·of·ox" (וּפְנֵי־שׁ֥וֹר), "from·the·left" (מֵהַשְּׂמֹ֖אול). The root פנים appears 5 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·right" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "their·faces" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel); "to·four·of·them" (root ארבע, 59x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root ארי ("lion") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root שמאל ("from·the·left") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·four·of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 2 words. Full calculation: וּדְמ֣וּת [and·likeness·of] (456) + פְּנֵיהֶם֮ [their·faces] (185) + פְּנֵ֣י [face] (140) + אָדָם֒ [man] (45) + וּפְנֵ֨י [and·face·of] (146) + אַרְיֵ֤ה [lion] (216) + אֶל־הַיָּמִין֙ [to·the·right] (146) + לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֔ם [to·four·of·them] (743) + וּפְנֵי־שׁ֥וֹר [and·face·of·ox] (652) + מֵהַשְּׂמֹ֖אול [from·the·left] (422) + לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֑ן [to·four·of·them] (753) + וּפְנֵי־נֶ֖שֶׁר [and·face·of·eagle] (696) + לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן [to·four·of·them] (753) = 5353.
Metzudat David
"And the likeness of their faces." The appearance of the faces of the living creatures was one; it was the face of a man, and it was comprised of four [faces], and so too were all of them (and in the face of a man he saw opposite the direction of his face).
"To the right." On the right side of a person's face:
"To all four." So it was with all four living creatures:
“From the left.” On the left side of a person’s face:
"To all four." So it was with all four living creatures:
“And the face of an eagle to the four of them.” In all four living creatures there was the face of an eagle, and it was behind the face of the man.
Malbim
And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man and the face of a lion: before him was the face of a man, and to the right of that face was the face of a lion, and to his left was the face of an ox, and behind him was the face of an eagle. It did not say "the face of a man" for all four, as it stated regarding each of them, because it had already said (in verse 5) "the likeness of a man," so that we know that the face of a man was for each and every one. And the sages skilled in hidden wisdom have explained that the attribute of Kindness serves on the right, and the attribute of Fear on the left, and the Glory of Man is in the center, mixed between Judgment and Kindness, which is the attribute of Mercy. And the Woman of Valor is in the innermost parts of the house, behind the Tabernacle, like an eagle hovering over her young—the attribute of Kingship, which receives and influences downward. And when the light bursts forth upon His angels in the World of Formation, the right side appears in the form of a lion, to indicate that Kindness will strengthen like a lion with very great power. (And the Name of Seventy-Two [Shem Ayin-Bet], which is the Name of Kindness, in its three letters is Resh-Yod-Vav, corresponding in number to "Lion" and "Might.") And the tearing lion, which draws its power downward from this side, will weaken and submit before the lion of Holiness. And the left side appears in the form of an ox, (and the first Name of the Forty-Two [Shem Mem-Bet], which is Kindness within Might, adds up in number to "Ox"), so that the attribute of Judgment does not go forth with a strong hand and with burning venom. Rather, abundant harvests will come with the strength of an ox, bringing down the might of rains that fall with might, as our Sages of blessed memory stated. And the one who draws his power downward through his ministering angel will not be able to harm, because there is no burning venom in its root in the attribute of Fear. And in the center, Truth to Jacob, which decides between the sides, has the face of a man, and its attribute is Mercy. And behind it is the face of an eagle, whose nature is to raise up birds; so too, this attribute will raise up the bird to receive, and like an eagle stirring up its nest, it will influence its young. And behold, four ministering angels of kingdoms received their power from the faces of the Chariot: Babylon received its power from the lion, for Babylon and Assyria, which were a shared kingdom, were likened to a lion: "A lion has come up from his thicket," and Daniel saw the first [beast] as a lion. And the Lord clothed Himself there in that form to save His children, as it is stated: "After the Lord they shall walk, as a lion roars," as explained in the commentary there. Media and Persia were like the Glory of Man, and they did good to Israel and gave permission to build the Holy Temple. And the ministering angel of Greece received from the ox of the left, and it is said: "Write for yourselves on the horn of the ox, etc." And although their root is from the attribute of harsh Judgment, they could not burn the Holy Temple, because there is no burning venom in their root above. And Rome is the fourth beast, which will prolong its days like an eagle that renews its youth ten times, for Daniel saw ten horns for it, and the banner of Rome was in the form of an eagle, and the Lord is there, like an eagle stirring its nest. And Ezekiel saw that each of the living creatures had four faces, for always the four kingdoms are found, each in one of the four winds of the world, only that one kingdom dominates them all and goes first, and they all go after it. First, the beast of the right side dominated, and so did all the others, as stated above.
Thus were their faces; and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
verse value 5497
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֔ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "a·body" (גְּוִיֹּתֵיהֶֽנָה, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "spread·out" (פְּרֻד֖וֹת), "uniting" (חֹבְר֣וֹת), "a·body" (גְּוִיֹּתֵיהֶֽנָה). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·faces" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel); "to·man" (root איש, 84x in Ezekiel); "two" (root שנים, 37x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root מעל ("on·top") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root שנים ("two") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'on·top', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words.
Rashi
“And their faces and their wings were separate above.” Had I not seen a large zakef gadol accent marked on “and their faces,” I would not have known how to interpret it. But the vocalization taught me to distinguish them from one another, and to treat the word “and their faces” as standing on its own. And so its interpretation is: “Their faces” were theirs, and their wings were separate above their faces, covering them. How so? For each living creature, two wings were joined, one for each face; and for each face, two wings were joined, each wing of this living creature extended toward the wing of that living creature, and the wing of that toward this, and the faces between them were covered by them. A similar biblical expression occurs elsewhere in this passage: “And their backs, and their height were theirs,” where the word “and their backs” stands on its own.
“And two [wings] cover.” And the two remaining wings cover their bodies.
Radak
"And their faces." The word "and their faces" is separated by the cantillation mark to indicate that it is not connected to the following phrase; namely, "and their faces were as described, and their wings were detached from the body and spread upward for flying."
Metzudat David
"And their faces." This means that the faces of the living creatures were such that their wings were spread above them, so that they were covered by them.
“לאיש” – For every face, there were two wings that joined and touched one another, each to its fellow, to cover with them the face.
And two. And two wings covered their bodies:
Metzudat Zion
“And their wings.” The vav comes in place of “with,” just as in “And Joseph was in Egypt” (Exodus 1:5), that is to say, “with Joseph who was in Egypt.”
“Perudot.” The meaning of *perishah* is like *mefuzar* and *mefurad* (Esther 3:8).
goytehanu. Their bodies, like the body of Saul (1 Samuel 31):
Malbim
"And their faces and their wings were separate above" (Ezekiel 1:11): Even though below, each living creature was a single, attached body without separation, above, in the place of the faces, and in the wings attached behind each face, they were separated into four heads. And below the place of the wings, they joined together and were one body. The explanation is that even though in each living creature a specific attribute predominated, which was the primary aspect of its face—for example, on the right side, the primary aspect was the face of a lion, which went in the lead—nevertheless, the other three heads were also recognizable, each one individually. Thus, even though it acted from the side of kindness, and the might and the mercy within kindness followed after it, nevertheless, each one was recognizable in its own power individually. The faces of a lion act kindness with the power of kindness; the faces of an ox act kindness with the power of might; and so it is with all of them.
Similarly, the ministers above and the kingdoms below: even when one king reigned over them, the other heads were also recognizable individually. For example, when Babylon ruled, Media and Persia were also kingdoms individually, Greece individually, and Rome individually; only Babylon went in the lead in governance.
"To each two joined" (Ezekiel 1:11): "To each"—now it will explain why there were four wings. For each of the living creatures had two wings for flying, and they were joined to one another on the side where they were fixed to the body (as stated above, "joined together, a woman to her sister, were their wings"). And two [wings] that were not joined at their roots to one another covered their bodies. The wings that were for covering were not joined; rather, each one had its root individually, and they covered the body from head to toe from all sides. The intent is that even though the two flying wings are joined at one root, because they fly toward a single purpose by the command of their Creator, nevertheless, the two that were made for covering and concealing their matter indicated two divided matters: 1. The concealment and hiding that exists in their matter and essence, such that intellect bound to matter cannot grasp intellect abstracted from matter. 2. The concealment that exists in the light overflowing upon them from the First Cause, which is above them, for all this is hidden and stored away.
And they went every one straight forward; whither the spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went.
verse value 3115
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "to" (אֶ֣ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "would·be·there" (יִֽהְיֶה־שָּׁ֨מָּה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 66: went, went. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "would·be·there" (יִֽהְיֶה־שָּׁ֨מָּה). The root הלך appears 4 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "where" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "would·be·there" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "to·front" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root אל ("to") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root אשר ("where") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'went', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. Full calculation: וְאִ֛ישׁ [and·man] (317) + אֶל־עֵ֥בֶר [to·front] (303) + פָּנָ֖יו [his·face] (146) + יֵלֵ֑כוּ [went] (66) + אֶ֣ל [to] (31) + אֲשֶׁר֩ [where] (501) + יִֽהְיֶה־שָּׁ֨מָּה [would·be·there] (375) + הָר֤וּחַ [the·spirit] (219) + לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ [to·go] (480) + יֵלֵ֔כוּ [went] (66) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + יִסַּ֖בּוּ [they·will·be·turned] (78) + בְּלֶכְתָּֽן [in·their·going] (502) = 3115.
Rashi
"to where the wind will go there"—this refers to the desire to go:
Radak
"And a man" – this refers to the spirit, the will. And so did Jonathan render it: "desire."
Metzudat David
"And a man." Every living creature of the beasts would walk opposite the direction of his face; that is to say, in whatever direction they walked, it was opposite the direction of his face, for they had a face in every direction.
"To wherever [the spirit] would go, etc." To the place where the will was to go, so they went; and they did not turn to face from side to side during their walking.
Metzudat Zion
The wind. The matter of will, as it is said: "Behold, I will put My spirit in him" (Isaiah 37:7).
Malbim
“And each went in the direction of its own face,” and he explains, lest we err and think that they walk according to their own choice; rather, only to wherever the Spirit wills to go, there they shall go. This is the Upper Spirit that emanates upon them, for just as the spirit of the living creature is in the Wheels, so too is the Creator’s Spirit in the Living Creatures. And according to the will of the Upper Spirit that they shall walk, so they walk; they do not turn aside in their walking, since they have faces to every side. And above (verse 9) it already stated that they do not turn aside in their walking, but there the matter was concerning the wings, that the wings would not need to turn aside as a bird must, which needs to turn its wings to the direction in which it wishes to go, for there are wings to every side. And here he speaks concerning the faces; here he informs us that they do not turn aside in their walking upon the earth, which is at the time when the Wheels are moved according to the order of the arrangement, that they move them according to the Spirit of their Creator in every direction as needed, and they do not turn back from the Upper Will, for their faces are ready for every direction, and they all do with awe and reverence the will of their Maker. And there we learned that even when they fly with their wings and elevate the arrangement above the natural order (as stated in verse 7 regarding the difference between walking on foot and flying), also then they do not turn aside in their walking, and their wings are prepared for the miraculous and wondrous deed which God commands them to do without delay. And in the allegory, [they represent] the princes of the kingdoms (for this purpose He showed him the vision), meaning that each of the kingdoms has specific faces to walk and to stride in the land in every wind of the world according to the Divine Will. And they do not turn aside, neither in their walking during times of peace, nor in their flying during times of war, to shake kingdoms and abolish their systems of governance—they do not turn aside in their walking. And also their matter is concealed, for the heart of kings is in the hand of the Lord, and from Him their steps are established toward the hidden end which the Upper Spirit wills, who shakes the earth from its place and overturns the throne of kingdoms.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like coals of fire, burning like the appearance of torches; it flashed up and down among the living creatures; and there was brightness to the fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
verse value 5274
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 76 letters. Verse gematria: 5274 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "it" (הִ֕יא, 3 letters) and the longest is "as·coals·of·fire" (כְּגַחֲלֵי־אֵ֗שׁ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 429: the·living creatures, the·living creatures. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "as·coals·of·fire" (כְּגַחֲלֵי־אֵ֗שׁ), "burning" (בֹּֽעֲרוֹת֙), "the·torches" (הַלַּפִּדִ֔ים). The root חי appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "between" (root בין, 145x in Ezekiel); "it" (root הוא, 86x in Ezekiel); "going·forth" (root יצא, 75x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root גחל ("as·coals·of·fire") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root בער ("burning") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·living creatures', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Rashi
She walks among the living creatures. This appearance walks among all the living creatures:
“And a brightness of fire.” More than our fire.
Barak. In Old French: “Flendurs.”
Radak
And the likeness. The meaning of "likeness" is that of eyes, for the likeness of their bodies he had already stated.
"She walks about." "She" refers to the fire, and so did Jonathan translate: "The fire burns up among the creatures."
Metzudat David
And the likeness of the living creatures. The appearance of the forms and hue of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire, and to add further explanation, they said: like the appearance of torches.
He. That appearance was walking among all the animals, meaning that it was present in all of them.
"And the brightness of the fire." This means that the appearance of the fire that they had contained an additional and abundant illumination.
“And from the fire.” From the appearance of the fire that was in them, a sort of lightning would emerge.
Metzudat Zion
Burning. Blazing:
The torches. So too, the tree to which the flame is attached is called a "torch," as it is stated: "And it shall burn like a torch" (Isaiah 62:1).
Malbim
And regarding the likeness of the living creatures, our Sages of blessed memory already explained that this refers to the actions of the living creatures, which are prepared to be carried out at this time (for in beings separate from all matter, no "likeness" applies except in accordance with their actions). He saw that they were like burning coals of fire, because their action is to consume the House of the Lord and the royal palace. And they were like the appearance of torches, for thus they will bring forth war and battle, and a torch of contempt against the complacent ones. It clarifies that this was not their essence, such that they themselves were composed of the wall of fire, but rather that the fire moved among the living creatures, as it is stated later (ch. 10): "Take fire from between the wheels," etc. The fire is associated with them on account of their actions. And he saw that the fire had a radiance, for the radiance is that which illuminates but does not burn. He was shown that the kindnesses of the Lord have not ceased, and that His wrath has been exhausted upon the timbers and the stones, and that He will not abandon His people but will ultimately save them. And from this fire lightning issues forth, to consume those who destroy His holy city. And so our Sages of blessed memory explained (in the Midrash on Job) that it speaks of the actions of the angels: sometimes He makes His angels fire, sometimes torches, and sometimes lightning, etc.
And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
verse value 1426
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "ran" (רָצ֣וֹא, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·the·living creatures" (וְהַחַיּ֖וֹת, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·the·living creatures" (וְהַחַיּ֖וֹת), "ran" (רָצ֣וֹא), "and·returning" (וָשׁ֑וֹב). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·returning" (root שוב, 61x in Ezekiel); "as·sight·of" (root מראה, 40x in Ezekiel); "and·the·living creatures" (root חי, 39x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root שוב ("and·returning") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·returning', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְהַחַיּ֖וֹת [and·the·living creatures] (435) + רָצ֣וֹא [ran] (297) + וָשׁ֑וֹב [and·returning] (314) + כְּמַרְאֵ֖ה [as·sight·of] (266) + הַבָּזָֽק [lightning] (114) = 1426.
Rashi
“Ratzo v’shov, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Our Sages interpreted “ratzo v’shov” as referring to the flame of a furnace, which constantly emerges from the mouth of the furnace and hastens to return and re-enter. Similarly, when they raise their heads from beneath the firmament that is stretched above them, as is explained in the matter that they recoil out of reverence for the Divine Presence that is above the firmament, they hasten to return their heads.
“Like the appearance of a flash.” In Old French, *latensia* [a term for a flash or gleam], and their color was like the color of the fire that emerges from between the clay pots in which they refine gold in their furnaces, and the fire that emerges from there is dyed with various hues. (Tosafot, and some interpret: “Flash” is a term denoting scattering, as our Rabbis explained it: “Like the appearance of a flash.” Rabbi Yitzchak says in the name of Rabbi Simon, in the name of Rabbi Levi bar Parta: “Like one who scatters pomace into a stove,” meaning that he scatters the pomace, which is the refuse of olives, in a stove, which becomes heated quickly and produces a flame, and the flame rises and falls; and this is the explanation of “going forth and returning.” Furthermore, in their words, “flash” is a term for scattering: “Scatter dust and they will be broken,” meaning scatter; and likewise in the Mishnah: “They scatter salt upon the altar ramp so that it will not be slippery.” And there is an implication that “flash” is like “lightning,” which is a term for searching.) Thus far the Tosafot; in other editions this [passage] does not appear.
Radak
And the living creatures went and returned. The root of its source is *ratza* (to run), and the aleph takes the place of a he, so that *ratza* and *ratz* are of one meaning; and likewise, “and he ran with him” is from the root *ratza*, meaning “to run eagerly.” And *bazak* is like *barak* (lightning), and so did Jonathan translate it: *barqa*. And in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: “What is ‘went and returned’? Rav Yehuda said: Like the flame that goes forth from the mouth of the furnace. What is ‘like the appearance of lightning’? Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina said: Like the flame that goes forth from among the shards. And Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Pirta: Like one who scatters olive pomace in a stove”—meaning, like one who scatters olive pomace, which is the refuse of the olives, in a stove, for it ignites quickly and produces sparks, and the flame rises and falls. And this is its interpretation: “went and returned.” And since it is lightning, its meaning is that lightning runs swiftly and returns and gathers in swiftly, to the point that one’s vision can scarcely catch it in its running, returning, and gathering, for it is light and swift. And Jonathan translated the verse thus: “And the covenant in their sending forth to do the will of their Master, blessed be He, who dwells on high, etc.” And in some manuscripts it reads *bagafah* with a gimel.
Metzudat David
“Ratzu v’shov.” They did not stand in one place; rather, they ran from place to place and returned to their place with great speed, like this lightning that flashes and gathers quickly, and you barely catch sight of it.
Metzudat Zion
“Flash.” Like “lightning,” for the letters zayin, samekh, shin, resh, and tzadi are interchangeable.
Malbim
“And the living creatures went and came” – behold, they are running; that is to say, they will perform their task swiftly and without delay. And behold, they will return immediately from their mission, like the appearance of a flash of lightning, which is the fire of the furnace that is seen for an instant and immediately disappears. For since He saw that their task at that time was to destroy and burn, this showed him that this action would not endure, but only for an instant would the fire appear, burn, and then immediately return, for He desires kindness. And our Sages of blessed memory said (Berakhot 4b): “Michael goes in one flight, Gabriel in two.” That is to say, Michael, who is the angel of kindness, flies in a single flight and does not return, for kindness remains forever. But Gabriel, who is the angel of judgment, returns immediately and does not linger there, flying two flights – going and coming.
Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel at the bottom hard by the living creatures, at the four faces thereof.
verse value 2545
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 42 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֥ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "one" (אֶחָ֥ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·four·of" (לְאַרְבַּ֥עַת, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 429: the·living creatures, the·living creatures. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "to·four·of" (לְאַרְבַּ֥עַת). The root חי appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "his·face" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel); "one" (root אחד, 104x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root אופן ("wheel") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root אצל ("beside") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·living creatures', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 8 words. Full calculation: וָאֵ֖רֶא [and·I·saw] (208) + הַחַיּ֑וֹת [the·living creatures] (429) + וְהִנֵּה֩ [and·behold] (66) + אוֹפַ֨ן [wheel] (137) + אֶחָ֥ד [one] (13) + בָּאָ֛רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + אֵ֥צֶל [beside] (121) + הַחַיּ֖וֹת [the·living creatures] (429) + לְאַרְבַּ֥עַת [to·four·of] (703) + פָּנָֽיו [his·face] (146) = 2545.
Rashi
One wheel [was] on the earth: “On the pavement of the firmament.”
“to its four faces.” Either every living creature has four faces, or the wheel has four faces. Our Sages said that this refers to Sandalphon, who stands on the earth and whose head reaches up among the living creatures. But according to the context, we learn that the wheels are four.
Radak
"And I saw the living creatures: And behold, a wheel was on the earth." Its meaning is: below, in a lowly place, as it is said, "I was engraved in the depths of the earth" (Psalms 139:15), and so too in Targum Jonathan.
Metzudat David
"And I saw the living creatures." I gazed upon the living creatures, and I saw, and behold, the likeness of a single wheel on the earth—meaning, beneath the living creatures.
"Beside the living creatures." Beside every living creature among the living creatures, one wheel stood:
"to his four faces." This means that for all four faces of the living creature there was but one wheel, not a separate wheel for each face.
Metzudat Zion
Opan. A wheel resembling that of a cart:
Malbim
“I saw the living creatures, and behold, one wheel was on the earth.” After he had seen the living creatures, the leaders of the Chariot, and recounted all their particulars, he saw and recounted the matter of the wheels of the Chariot, which are the spheres of the Chariot that the living creatures draw. And he saw that for each living creature there was a specific single wheel for the four faces of the creature; that is to say, although each living creature possesses four faces, the wheel is only one for each entire creature. And for the four living creatures there were four wheels. The intention is that he saw the form of the spheres that the living creatures move, depicted in the number four, namely: if one looks at the encompassing sphere, which the ancients divided into four quarters comprising all its parts; and likewise, they divided the sphere of the zodiac into four parts, with three zodiacal signs in each part. According to them, the year is divided into four seasons, the moon into four phases in the month, the day into four watches, and in the world there are four winds. Or, if one looks at the particular aspect shown to him in the four living creatures—the four princes of the kingdoms that will stand—each one moves a single star that rules and influences that nation, for each nation has a specific star. And there is one wheel for each living creature. Although later astronomers maintained and accepted that there is no physical sphere in existence, nevertheless, the air or ether in which the planets revolve their circle is depicted as a fixed wheel, along whose path they will go and will never deviate forever.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like to the colour of a beryl; and they four had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel.
verse value 5527
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 78 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֖ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "one" (אֶחָ֖ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·wheels" (הָאוֹפַנִּ֤ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 471: and·their·works, and·their·works. The root אופן appears 3 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "it·will·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "in·midst·of" (root תוך, 111x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root מעשה ("and·their·works") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root תרשיש ("beryl") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·four·of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 7 words.
Rashi
Like Tarshish. Just as there is a precious stone called Tarshish, which is known in the foreign language as "Kristall."
As the wheel will be: fixed within the wheel crosswise, since they extend in every direction, their faces toward the four cardinal directions; therefore, the wheel must be capable of rotating toward the four cardinal directions.
Radak
The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like the color of beryl. Beryl is a precious stone mentioned among the stones of the breastplate, “tarshish,” “shoham,” and “yashfeh (jasper).” Likewise, it is stated in the third vision, “like the color of beryl,” and its eyes were “like the color of techelet (blue).” And he explained that “their workmanship” refers to the resemblance to the beryl stone, for he used two terms: “their appearance” and “their workmanship.” He said that their appearance was “like the color of beryl,” and their workmanship was “like beryl,” meaning that they receive craftsmanship and action like it.
Metzudat David
The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like the color of beryl. For the beryl stone has a fine hue, resembling the blue dye, and it is also pure and bright, to the extent that one can see through it from one side to the other. Therefore, it states: "The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was as the color of beryl," and also "their workmanship" was like the workmanship of beryl, for they were pure and bright, so that one could see through them, just as one sees through a beryl stone.
To all four of them. To the four wheels:
And their appearance and their action. Their appearance, the form of their faces, and their action was as the manner, etc., meaning: like the appearance and action of the wheel made within the wheel, one from east to west and the other from north to south, which then enables it to roll in every direction without turning back and returning; so too was the appearance of the wheels and their action.
Metzudat Zion
Tarshish: The name of a precious stone.
Malbim
“The appearance of the wheels” — Regarding the wheels he did not use the term “likeness” (demut), as he did regarding the living creatures and what is above them. For the living creatures are not corporeal, and he did not see them with the sight of his eyes but rather they merely appeared to him thus in his vision; but the wheels are corporeal, perceived by the sight of the eye, not merely in the likeness [produced] by the imaginative faculty alone. He states that the appearance of the gelilim (rims/cylinders) — and likewise their action — is like the color of tarshish, which is a precious stone whose appearance is like the appearance of techelet (sky-blue); for the thin air in which the stars revolve appears to the eye like the appearance of techelet. And it says in the Song [of Songs 5:14], “His hands are rods of gold set with beryl (tarshish)” — [meaning] that the gelilim, which are the [celestial] spheres, are filled with the ethereal air that appears like tarshish. (And it says [Daniel 10:6], “and his body was like tarshish” — for when the angel reveals himself to be seen by the eye of the prophet, he appears clothed in the thin air called tarshish, after its appearance; and they said, “techelet resembles the sea” — meaning the sea of tarshish, and the sea resembles the firmament, etc.) “And their appearance and their action was as a wheel within a wheel” — for a wheel fixed within a wheel rolls to every side; so too the spherical motion is in every direction. For in the daily motion all the spheres move from east to west, and in the fixed proper motion of each star, each one moves in its appointed time from west to east. And this motion does not run along the equator, but rather they incline in their orbits to the north and to the south, each star with an inclination specific to it, going six months from north to south and six months from south to north. The sun goes from Capricorn to Cancer and from Cancer back to Capricorn, and this oblique path is close to 47 degrees. And the moon — its head-node (rosh tli) and its tail[-node] are more than five degrees distant from the ecliptic line. And likewise every star has its own head-node and tail-node; thus it is found that they all move in every direction, as if a wheel were fixed within a wheel.
When they went, they went toward their four sides; they turned not when they went.
verse value 2279
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "toward·four" (עַל־אַרְבַּ֥עַת, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "toward·four" (עַל־אַרְבַּ֥עַת), "their·sides" (רִבְעֵיהֶ֖ן). The root הלך appears 3 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 213x in Ezekiel); "in·their·going" (root הלך, 66x in Ezekiel); "toward·four" (root ארבע, 59x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'went', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: עַל־אַרְבַּ֥עַת [toward·four] (773) + רִבְעֵיהֶ֖ן [their·sides] (337) + בְּלֶכְתָּ֣ם [in·their·going] (492) + יֵלֵ֑כוּ [went] (66) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + יִסַּ֖בּוּ [they·will·be·turned] (78) + בְּלֶכְתָּֽן [in·their·going] (502) = 2279.
Rashi
“Upon its four quarters, etc.” – On account of the work of the wheels, it was necessary to alter the wording, to state that the wheels do not prevent them [from being included], for they too are made for this purpose.
Metzudat David
“On their four quarters.” This explains the preceding verse, to say that their action was such that, according to their four sides, when they desired to go, they would go and not turn aside in their going, since they rolled in every direction.
Malbim
“On their four quarters, when they go, they shall go” – for each day they travel from east to west and exert their influence on the four quarters of the day, for every six hours a wind arises from a different direction, as our Sages of blessed memory stated: “Four winds blow every day,” and as Rashi of blessed memory wrote in Berakhot (page 3b). And in every half-year they move in their orbits from south to north and from north to south, and they complete their annual circuit around the yearly sphere from west to east. They exert the influences associated with the four seasons, and the cold and heat [are distributed] in the four directions of the world. Likewise, every star exerts its influence according to its nature upon its four quarters. They do not turn aside in their going, for their motion encompasses every direction.
As for their rings, they were high and they were dreadful; and they four had their rings full of eyes round about.
verse value 2393
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "to·them" (לָהֶ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·four·of·them" (לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 75: to·them, to·them. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·their·convex·surfaces" (וְגַ֨בֵּיהֶ֔ן), "and·their·convex·surfaces" (וְגַבֹּתָ֗ם), "full" (מְלֵאֹ֥ת). The root גב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·them" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel); "around" (root סביב, 112x in Ezekiel); "and·fear" (root ראה, 74x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root גב ("and·their·convex·surfaces") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root גבה ("and·height") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְגַ֨בֵּיהֶ֔ן [and·their·convex·surfaces] (76) + וְגֹ֥בַהּ [and·height] (16) + לָהֶ֖ם [to·them] (75) + וְיִרְאָ֣ה [and·fear] (222) + לָהֶ֑ם [to·them] (75) + וְגַבֹּתָ֗ם [and·their·convex·surfaces] (451) + מְלֵאֹ֥ת [full] (471) + עֵינַ֛יִם [eye] (180) + סָבִ֖יב [around] (74) + לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן [to·four·of·them] (753) = 2393.
Rashi
And their backs. And they have a "gav":
"And they had height, and they were fearsome." They are terrifying to behold, and some explain "and show them" as "standing in awe."
And their rims. This is what is called in the foreign language "Girshortzili."
“Full of eyes all around” – to see in every direction, for they do not turn as they walk.
Radak
And "ugav-yahem" (and their backs). The word "ugav-yahem" is separated by its cantillation mark, and its meaning is as I explained regarding the word "ufan-yahem" (and their faces), which is not joined to the word following it. He says "ugav-yahem" just as they were on the back of every wheel, except that they had height, so that due to their great height, they were awesome. For that which is distinguished in its quantity is called wondrous and awesome, such as "from a awesome people to an awesome land," or in its quality, such as "the awesome ice." And "gavot-yahem" (their heights) is like "ugav-yahem," except that the former is in the masculine plural form and the latter in the feminine plural form, and because of this duplication, the word changed [form].
Metzudat David
And their rims. This means that they had a rim befitting them according to their appearance, for they were in the form of the wheels of the chariots. And it says regarding the high partitions that rise above the wheels, upon which the rider sits there between these partitions.
"And it was high for them." The partitions were very tall, and from their height, they felt awe, for the thing which is exceedingly high instills awe in the eyes of its beholders due to the extreme degree of its height. Similarly, it is stated regarding "the terrible ice", that it instills awe because of the extreme degree of its brilliance and whiteness.
"And their partitions." Those partitions were filled with many alternating colors:
“Around the four of them.” Those partitions surrounded the four wheels, like the way of chariots.
Metzudat Zion
And their heights. The word is in the form of "high" (gavahot), and similarly, "and their heights."
"eyes." Many shades, and it is from the language of "like Tarshish":
Malbim
And regarding their backs: they have backs, namely the fixed stars that stand upon them, and they are innumerable, and their distance is beyond measure. They stand above the spheres and wheels of the wandering stars. And their height: the stars and their wheels are exceedingly high, without measure. All the more so is the height of the fixed stars that twinkle along the Milky Way, all of which stand in the heights of the world, at a height without limit. And their fear: here it depicts, if the attractive force within them draws the smaller stars toward the larger ones, and this is the cause of the circular rotation according to the theory of modern astronomy. It depicts it as if each one fears its companion, so that the smaller one fears being separated from the larger one and is drawn after it; or according to the opinion of our Sages of blessed memory, that they fear the word of the Lord, which established a decree that shall not be transgressed, so that they are drawn toward the central point, where their Creator placed it for them as the center of their motion around it. And their backs were full of eyes: He explained that their back is full of countless fixed stars and many suns that shine like eyes, at an infinite distance from every side and direction. And even though each star influences that which is below it, and through it the Lord watches with His searching eyes, they are the eyes of the Lord, open upon all of existence in His constant governance.
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went hard by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the bottom, the wheels were lifted up.
verse value 3094
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 55 letters. Verse gematria: 3094 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "from·above" (מֵעַ֣ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·wheels" (הָאוֹפַנִּ֖ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 429: the·living creatures, the·living creatures. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·in·being-lifted-up·of" (וּבְהִנָּשֵׂ֤א). The root הלך appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·above" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "the·land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "and·in·being-lifted-up·of" (root נשא, 76x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root נשא ("and·in·being-lifted-up·of") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'beside·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּבְלֶ֙כֶת֙ [and·in·going·of] (458) + הַחַיּ֔וֹת [the·living creatures] (429) + יֵלְכ֥וּ [went] (66) + הָאוֹפַנִּ֖ים [the·wheels] (192) + אֶצְלָ֑ם [beside·them] (161) + וּבְהִנָּשֵׂ֤א [and·in·being-lifted-up·of] (364) + הַחַיּוֹת֙ [the·living creatures] (429) + מֵעַ֣ל [from·above] (140) + הָאָ֔רֶץ [the·land] (296) + יִנָּשְׂא֖וּ [they·will·be·lifted] (367) + הָאוֹפַנִּֽים [the·wheels] (192) = 3094.
Rashi
“From the earth.” From the floor of the firmament. And Targum Jonathan [reads] *me’al* as accented on the final syllable, [meaning] “to the height of the heavens,” namely, when they are lifted from below to above.
Radak
"And when you walk." The Targum: "And when the creatures go," etc.
"Concerning that which shall be there, the Spirit." The desire, as we have explained; and he added further and said, "There the Spirit to go," meaning the Spirit of the wheels.
Metzudat David
"And when the living creatures went." At the time the living creatures went, the wheels also went alongside them; and at the time the living creatures lifted themselves up from the earth to ascend upward, the wheels too were lifted up with them.
Malbim
And concerning the walking of the living creatures: After having explained the nature of the wheels, [the text] now describes the connection of the wheel with the living creature, how the living creatures will move the wheels. And there are three types [of movement]: two natural motions, which are: A. The natural motion by which they revolve every day from east to west; this is the swiftest motion, by which they will proceed inwardly every day and day around their daily circuit. B. The natural motion by which each one, at its specific time, revolves its own circuit from west to east; some complete their revolution in a month, some in a year, and some in thirty years. And in this motion there are pauses, where it will appear as though it stands still and ceases in the midst of its path, as it is stated: “Sometimes it comes in length, and sometimes it comes in shortness.” C. What will occur with these two types of motions is the providential motion, by which the Holy One, blessed be He, changes the order of the natural arrangement, between the necessary daily motion and the specific temporal motion, and will lead them according to the Divine will (such as “Sun, stand still at Gibeon,” or “the Holy One, blessed be He, took two stars from Kimah”), or the suspension of the power of the star and what is obligated by it, and the like. And all of these will be through the living creatures, which are those that move the system in each of the three aforementioned manners. First, it speaks of the daily motion, in which standing still and cessation will not occur. And in it there are the two aforementioned modes: either they will proceed according to the natural order, or according to the providential will, and all of this through the living creatures. And this is what is meant by “And the living creatures went,” which refers to the natural daily motion, which is through the living creatures; by their going, the wheels will go with them. And “when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth” – this depicts the time when they are lifted up from the order of the natural arrangement to providential guidance (for it has already been explained in verse 7 that the motion according to the natural order is called “going,” and the providential motion is called “flying” and “lifting up”). Then the wheels will be lifted up, and they will ascend from the natural order to providential guidance.
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, as the spirit was to go thither, so they went; and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
verse value 4386
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 68 letters. Verse gematria: 4386 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "to" (עַ֣ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·wheels" (וְהָאוֹפַנִּ֗ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 480: to·go, to·go. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "was·there" (יִֽהְיֶה־שָּׁ֨ם). The root רוח appears 3 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "was·there" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "to" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root עמה ("to·their·opposite") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root כי ("for") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·go', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 7 words.
Rashi
The wind: The will of the Holy One, blessed be He.
"Thither the spirit goeth". It is not necessary to say to them, "Go to this side," for the Spirit of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the living creatures, and the spirit of the living creatures is in the Ophanim.
Radak
to go. With a segol and an etnachta; so too, “and Samuel turned to go.”
Metzudat David
“Concerning that which...” — to the place where the Divine Will of God, blessed be He, who rides upon it, is to go, the living creatures will go; for there, too, is the will of the living creatures to go.
And the wheels: When the living creatures are lifted up, then the wheels are also lifted up opposite the living creatures, and on a level with them.
"For the spirit of the living creature." The will of every living creature is fixed in the wheels; therefore, they go wherever the living creatures go.
Metzudat Zion
"Opposite them." That is to say, equal to them. And similarly, "opposite the hangings of the court" (Exodus 38:18):
"the beast": This means any beast, or if he stated the general term:
Malbim
“Concerning that which [is said],” he came to explain the matters that he stated, namely that when the living creatures go, the wheels will go; his meaning is that they will go to wherever the spirit is present to move them, for then they will go toward the spirit fixed by nature, because there the spirit is present to move them, for there the spirit has already been fixed, which the Creator inscribed in them at the beginning, from ancient times, a decree that shall not pass. And in contrast to what is stated, “And when the living creatures are lifted up, the wheels are lifted up,” he explains that this is because the spirit of the living creature is in the wheels, meaning that the spirit of the living creature was in them as a soul is to a body, for at times it will elevate the body from its natural decrees to a voluntary governance, according to the power of dominion that has risen within it to move the body according to its choosing and understanding will.
When those went, these went, and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
verse value 3290
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֛י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·when·they·were·lifted·up" (וּֽבְהִנָּשְׂאָ֞ם, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·when·they·stood" (וּבְעׇמְדָ֖ם), "and·when·they·were·lifted·up" (וּֽבְהִנָּשְׂאָ֞ם). The root הלך appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·above" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "the·land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "for" (root כי, 114x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root עמד ("and·when·they·stood") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·will·stand', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 10 words. Full calculation: בְּלֶכְתָּ֣ם [when·they·went] (492) + יֵלֵ֔כוּ [they·went] (66) + וּבְעׇמְדָ֖ם [and·when·they·stood] (162) + יַעֲמֹ֑דוּ [they·will·stand] (130) + וּֽבְהִנָּשְׂאָ֞ם [and·when·they·were·lifted·up] (404) + מֵעַ֣ל [from·above] (140) + הָאָ֗רֶץ [the·land] (296) + יִנָּשְׂא֤וּ [they·will·be·lifted] (367) + הָאֽוֹפַנִּים֙ [the·wheels] (192) + לְעֻמָּתָ֔ם [to·their·opposite] (580) + כִּ֛י [for] (30) + ר֥וּחַ [spirit·of] (214) + הַחַיָּ֖ה [the·beast] (28) + בָּאוֹפַנִּֽים [in·the·wheels] (189) = 3290.
Rashi
"When they go forth." The living creatures:
They shall go. The wheels:
Metzudat David
"When they go." At the time that the living creatures go, the wheels also go, etc. And the matter is repeated to strengthen the statement, to say that it will never change.
Malbim
"In their going forth" — this refers to the second, intrinsic motion, namely the revolution of the celestial bodies from west to east across the north and south. In this revolution, there are sometimes also pauses and cessations, as mentioned above. Consequently, three modes can be conceived here: A. When they proceed according to the natural order; this is what is meant by "in their going forth, they shall go." B. During the cessation and delay in their course, which is termed "standing"; this is what is meant by "in their standing, they shall stand." C. When they are elevated above the natural order in accordance with the will of Divine Providence, which can be conceived as an elevation; this is what is meant by "and in their being lifted up above the earth." At that time, the wheels too will be lifted up opposite them, for even in this course, although it is an intrinsic motion and not a necessary one, the spirit of the living creature is in the wheels: they are governed by the Living Creatures, just as the body is governed by the soul.
And over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, like the colour of the terrible ice, stretched forth over their heads above.
verse value 3146
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 50 letters. Verse gematria: 3146 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "the·beast" (הַחַיָּה֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "over·their heads" (עַל־רָאשֵׁיהֶ֖ם, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "over·heads" (עַל־רָאשֵׁ֤י), "firmament" (רָקִ֔יעַ), "frost" (הַקֶּ֣רַח). The root ראש appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·eye·of" (root עין, 73x in Ezekiel); "over·heads" (root ראש, 39x in Ezekiel); "the·beast" (root חי, 39x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root ראש ("over·heads") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root רקיע ("firmament") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'feared', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּדְמ֞וּת [and·likeness] (456) + עַל־רָאשֵׁ֤י [over·heads] (611) + הַחַיָּה֙ [the·beast] (28) + רָקִ֔יעַ [firmament] (380) + כְּעֵ֖ין [as·eye·of] (150) + הַקֶּ֣רַח [frost] (313) + הַנּוֹרָ֑א [feared] (262) + נָט֥וּי [leaning] (75) + עַל־רָאשֵׁיהֶ֖ם [over·their heads] (656) + מִלְמָֽעְלָה [on·top] (215) = 3146.
Rashi
“The terrible frost.” The Targum: “hard ice.” In French: *glace forte*.
Radak
And the likeness, the awesome [ice]. The interpretation of "awesome" is in its whiteness and in its brilliance.
Metzudat David
"And the likeness, etc." — This means that the likeness of the spread-out expanse over the heads of the living creatures was like the color of the awesome ice; that is to say, ice that instills awe in those who see it, due to the intensity of its brilliance and its whiteness.
“Stretched out.” And it was stretched out and extended over their heads from above.
Metzudat Zion
Raqia. The Targum translates it as "stretching out and spreading," like the verse "Who stretchest out the earth" (Psalms 137):
"Ha-kerakh." This is the ice that is frozen and hardened upon the waters in the days of cold. And likewise: "He cast out his ice" (Psalms 147:17).
Malbim
And the likeness of a firmament was over the heads of the living creatures. Until now, you have seen in the world of the angels and in the world of the Ophanim (Wheels), and the abundance and connection that the angels, who are the movers of the Ophanim, have with the Ophanim. Now, gaze upon the vision of how the living creatures will receive the abundance from the world above them, which is the world of the Throne, which stands upon the world of the living creatures, and which depicts a firmament over the heads of the living creatures. For the firmament is the partition separated between the upper and the lower, just as in our land there is a firmament above it, which is the place of the ascent of vapors, up to which it belongs to the earth, and from the firmament and upward begins the boundary of the heavens, and no living being can exist there, as it is stated, “And God called the firmament ‘Heavens’” (Genesis 1:8). So too, in every world and world, there is a veil separating between the upper and the lower, which is the firmament of that world, and it stands as an intermediary between the two worlds. And through that path, the rains of bounty and the abundance of desire from above will descend. And above this firmament begins the heavens of the world beneath it. And he saw the likeness of the firmament that was over the heads of the living creatures, and he depicted it as resembling a terrible ice, just as in the lower firmament which is over the earth, the moist, airy vapors will gather (both those rising from below according to the view of the naturalists, and those descending from above from the upper waters according to the view of our Sages of blessed memory), and there they will condense and solidify into the formation of mist and cloud, and sometimes they will freeze and harden and become ice. So too, he depicts that the divine abundance descending from the world of the Throne, where it is very spiritual, will condense and freeze in this firmament and partition, and it will become like ice, in which flowing waters return to be a solid, hard thing, and a coarse thing in comparison to the previous state. So too, the abundance will condense and freeze according to the measure of that world, until the living creatures are able to receive it. However, it is a very terrible ice, exalted above the physical ice known to us, for the awe and fear that will reach them from the dew of lights flowing from above is depicted as ice, for the dread freezes the blood and the natural heat and casts forth ice like crumbs. And all of this is a parable and rhetoric to explain to the ear the hardening of the abundance in its descent according to its fineness when it is in its place. Therefore, he said, “And the likeness of a firmament,” meaning that it is not a firmament in actuality, but rather it is perceived in his imagination as such. And this firmament is stretched over their heads from above, so that the heads of the living creatures will receive the abundance through that firmament and will bestow it upon that which is below them.
And under the firmament were their wings conformable the one to the other; this one of them had two which covered, and that one of them had two which covered, their bodies.
verse value 7372
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "wife" (אִשָּׁ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·her·sister" (אֶל־אֲחוֹתָ֑הּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 750: two, two. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "firmament" (הָרָקִ֔יעַ), "straight" (יְשָׁר֔וֹת), "and·to·man" (וּלְאִ֗ישׁ). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·man" (root איש, 84x in Ezekiel); "to·them" (root הנה, 56x in Ezekiel); "two" (root שנים, 37x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·her·sister', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 10 words.
Rashi
Straight. Aligned:
Radak
And beneath, to a man. To each and every one:
Metzudat David
"And beneath the firmament, etc." This means that their wings, which were straight and aligned so as to be joined one to another, were beneath the firmament; to each one, etc.
"And to a man, etc." – This means that the face had two wings covering them, and the face had, etc. This was like this, one form for them, and he returns to explain that those wings covered their bodies.
Metzudat Zion
“Straightness.” From the language of “straight and level.”
Malbim
“And beneath the firmament their wings were straight.” Now he explains how they receive the divine emanation through the firmament from the upper world, namely that they receive the emanation through the wings, for the wings allude to the elevation of a bird toward the upper world. Therefore, their wings do not lie to the side like the wings of birds, but stand straight upward toward beneath the firmament, to receive the emanation from there through their wings, which were made for flying. Now, regarding the pairs that were in the wings: one wing indicated the reception of the emanation from above, and one indicated its bestowal below, for the wings were the channels for the flow of the emanation. He explained that the wings were interwoven, one with its sister; the bestower and the receiver faced one another, just as they did with the two cherubim when Israel was doing His will, as our Sages of blessed memory taught, where it is stated, “their faces were toward one another. Now, as to the phrase, each had two wings covering them:” And likewise, for this reason, each of the living creatures had two wings covering their bodies. The wings that were made for covering were two, for the covering, which indicated concealment, was also paired, because in their matter there were two aspects of apprehension: how they receive the emanation from the world of the Throne, and how they bring it down below. In this there were two concealments: to cover the emanation as it descends from above, and from the living creatures below. They covered all of this with the two wings. Therefore, two wings were required, for each concealed a different matter.
And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult like the noise of a host; when they stood, they let down their wings.
verse value 4210
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 71 letters. The shortest word is "water" (מַ֨יִם, 3 letters) and the longest is "like·voice·of·Almighty" (כְּקוֹל־שַׁדַּי֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 156: like·voice·of, like·voice·of, when·they·stood. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "like·voice·of·Almighty" (כְּקוֹל־שַׁדַּי֙), "rushing" (הֲמֻלָּ֖ה), "encampment" (מַחֲנֶ֑ה). The root קול appears 5 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "when·they·went" (root הלך, 66x in Ezekiel); "and·I·heard" (root שמע, 52x in Ezekiel); "many" (root רב, 52x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root שמע ("and·I·heard") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root קול ("voice") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'encampment', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 3 words.
Rashi
"As the voice of many waters." One might say that this refers to a low voice; therefore the verse states, "As the voice of the Almighty," as explicitly stated in the written text: "The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord shatters the cedars" (Psalms 29:4).
"The sound of tumult, like the sound of a camp. The sound of their recitation is like that of those who give thanks and bless before their Master, like the sound of the encampment of the angels of the Highest."
“While they were standing, their wings drooped.” [This means] to emit a sound. And the Targum [renders it]: “In their places, they silenced their wings before the utterance of the Voice of the Omnipresent issuing from above their heads, to announce to the prophets His mission,” as it continues and concludes, “And there was a voice…” etc. And another interpretation is: “While they were standing,” [they were] praising [God] on behalf of the righteous, so that the righteous might praise first.
Radak
“And I heard, as the voice of the Almighty.” The explanation is: strong and mighty. And similarly, “As destruction from the Almighty shall it come” (Isaiah 13:6). And “Shaddai” is required [in the text], or its explanation refers to God, blessed be He, who is called Shaddai. And so it said in the third vision: “As the voice of God Shaddai when He spoke,” meaning when He spoke, as He spoke at Mount Sinai, of which it is stated: “A great voice” (Exodus 19:19). And there it was heard only up to the outer courtyard, which is the boundary of the Temple. And so at Mount Sinai, even though the voice was great, it was not heard outside the camp of Israel. And so too with every voice: prophecy is not heard except by those to whom the voice is specifically designated.
"The voice of tumult": Its meaning is like that of "milah" (a word), except that this indicates a strong word/utterance heard from many speakers, like the sound of a camp.
Metzudat David
“The sound of their wings.” The sound of the trembling of their wings.
"As the voice of many waters." It was like the voice of many rushing waters, and like the voice of the Almighty when He spoke at Sinai, as it is stated there: "And He spoke all these words... a great voice" (Deuteronomy 5:22).
"When they went." This means that I heard that voice at the time of their departure.
"The sound of tumult." The sound of the tumult of their roar was like the sound of a camp of a multitude of people:
“While they were standing.” At the time they stood in their place, they relaxed their wings; that is to say, they did not then stir their wings to make a sound.
Metzudat Zion
Tumult. The matter of a tumult and uproar; and likewise, “at the sound of tumult” (Jeremiah 11:).
Would droop. From the expression of relaxation and calming:
Malbim
"And I heard the sound of their wings": Now he relates how he heard the sound of their command, for they command the wheels, for they do not move the wheels by the meeting of one body with another, or by an attractive force or a repulsive force, as the astronomers investigate, but only by a voice and an intellectual, spiritual decree. And he attained three matters thereby:
A. "When they fly with their wings": As I have already explained (in verse 7), that those flying with their wings indicate the time when they are not guided according to the orders of nature and the celestial spheres, but rather by miraculous guidance according to the Divine Will. And this is what it says that he heard the sound of the wings lifting the flight above the order of the celestial spheres. And this voice and command is like the Voice of Shaddai, for then the command issues from the Lord who subdues the celestial spheres through His particular providence (for which reason He is called by the Name Shaddai). And it is like the Voice that was given upon the many waters at the time of Creation, when the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters, which is the Creation, for at that time the orders of the celestial spheres did not yet exist.
B. "When they walk": At the time when the living creatures walk and do not fly with their wings. This is at the time when they are guided according to the order of the celestial spheres. And the meaning of "(And I heard the voice) when they walk" (and therefore the word "when they walk" is written with a small zakef) is: Then I heard the sound of tumult like the sound of a camp. The sound of the tumult and speech was like the sound of a camp, for the term "camp" does not come except at the time when they are arranged in the order of the celestial spheres, like an army, each man under his banner. That is to say, that then the orders of the celestial spheres, which are arranged like an organized camp, operate. And the tumult and speech are according to the sound of the camp, that is to say, according to the order of the celestial spheres. (The voice is a simple sound, and the tumult is much speech and utterances, for on one side they hear only one voice, the Voice of the Lord of providence, and on the other side they hear the voice of many speakers, which are the laws of nature and their orders.)
C. "When they stand still": As I have already explained (in verses 19 and 21), that in their walking, the stars walk from west to east, they find stoppages and delays in their path, appearing as if they stand in the middle of their way and rest from their motion. Now the philosophers attribute this to the attractive force of other stars which they encounter in their path, and which stop their speed, which revolves due to the attractive force of the sun. And the prophet says that even this comes through the living creatures and the Will of the Lord, for when the straight wings of the living creatures relax, which receive the power from the world of the Throne that is above them, and their hand relaxes at that time to move the wheel, for they do not move the wheel except through the power they receive from above, from the firmament that is above their heads, through the wings that are stretched straight to the firmament to receive from there power and strength. And this is what it says that when they stand still, the cause of this is because then their wings relax and they do not receive power from above, and therefore they stood still, and the wheels stood still with them, for when they stand still, they [the wheels] stand still (as stated above in verse 21).
For, when there was a voice above the firmament that was over their heads, as they stood, they let down their wings.
verse value 2975
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "above" (מֵעַ֕ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·there·was·a·voice" (וַיְהִי־ק֕וֹל, 7 letters). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "and·there·was·a·voice" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "above" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'over·their heads', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִי־ק֕וֹל [and·there·was·a·voice] (167) + מֵעַ֕ל [above] (140) + לָרָקִ֖יעַ [firmament] (410) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + עַל־רֹאשָׁ֑ם [over·their heads] (641) + בְּעׇמְדָ֖ם [when·they·stood] (156) + תְּרַפֶּ֥ינָה [they·let·down] (745) + כַנְפֵיהֶֽן [their·wings] (215) = 2975.
Rashi
"And there was a voice from above the firmament." The Targum: "At the time that it was fitting before Him to cause His word to be heard by His prophets, a voice was heard from above the firmament, from between the cherubim, from beneath the firmament that was above their heads."
Their wings drooped. From the fear of the utterance.
Radak
"And there was a voice from above the firmament." Jonathan's Targum translates this verse thus: "And at the time when it was fitting, etc."
Metzudat David
"And there was a voice..." refers back to what was stated in "when they stood," in order to explain when they stood and did not cause a tremor. It says that when the voice was emanating from above the firmament that was over their heads—that is to say, when the Omnipresent was speaking to the prophets—and when they stood at that time, then their wings would relax.
Malbim
"And there was a voice" — Now the text relates that there is yet a fourth matter, at the time when the Lord will guide His world directly, not through the intermediary of the Living Creatures, but rather the Lord Himself prepared His throne in the heavens, and He will direct the voice of His speech upon the heavens and the Wheels. At that time, the Living Creatures will have no power to do anything, for then He will act through the Seraphim of the World of the Throne, as Isaiah saw, or else not through any intermediary at all, as was the case at the time of the Exodus from Egypt and in the generation of the Wilderness. And this is what it says: "And there was a voice from above the firmament that was over their heads." And at the time that the voice issued (not from the Living Creatures), but rather from above them, from the Throne or from the Upper Emanation, then, while they stood, they would weaken their wings. That is to say, they ceased from acting, and their wings would not receive the emanation from above.
And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above.
verse value 4672
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "throne" (הַכִּסֵּ֔א) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "stone·sapphire" (אֶבֶן־סַפִּ֖יר, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 450: likeness, likeness, likeness. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·from·above" (וּמִמַּ֗עַל), "stone·sapphire" (אֶבֶן־סַפִּ֖יר), "throne" (הַכִּסֵּ֔א). The root דמות appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "and·upon" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "man" (root אדם, 41x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root ספיר ("stone·sapphire") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root כסא ("throne") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'throne', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Radak
"And above it." The likeness, as the appearance of a man. Jonathan did not translate it.
Metzudat David
“Like the appearance.” This means: I saw something shining like a sapphire, and it was like the form of a throne, and upon the form of the throne I saw a form like the appearance of a man seated on the throne above. This is an allusion to the Blessed Holy One. And the phrase “form like the appearance” is used to indicate that He has no form whatsoever; yet they spoke in terms of “form” to accommodate the ear, explaining that he saw the Divine Presence moving from the Temple like a king seated on a throne upon the chariot.
Malbim
And from above the firmament that is over their heads: after he attained the firmament, which is the curtain and the screen separating the World of the Throne from the World of the Living Creatures, and he gazed into the World of the Throne that is above the firmament, and he saw as the appearance of a sapphire stone, the form of a throne. This means: the form of a throne like the appearance of a sapphire stone. Not a throne in actuality, but only a semblance of a throne, as it appeared in his vision. He saw the form of a throne designated for the King to sit upon, to judge with righteousness and to conduct the governance of His kingship, for from there proceeds the governance of the King of the universe and His judgments. And the throne was made of sapphire stone, which is clear in its appearance, so much so that it is like a mirror and like the mirrors of the assembling women, in which the images standing opposite them are seen. Thus, the matters of divinity that are in the World of the Sefirot above will be revealed in a reflected light in the polished and sapphire-like mirror of the throne. And when he looked into the mirror, he saw that upon the throne was a form like the appearance of a man above it, from above. It is like one who looks into a mirror and sees the sun in it; he does not look at the body of the sun itself, but at the sun as it appears in the mirror. So too, he gazed into the mirror of the sapphire stone and saw in it that from above the throne, high above its height, there appeared a form like the appearance of a man. This is the emanation of the Sefirot, in which the glory and majesty clothed themselves, and donned light as a garment. They are the root of the governance that He established to conduct His world. The prophets, in the greatness of their power, likened the form to its Creator, as our Sages of blessed memory said in the Midrash: "He likened Him to the form of a man," as we explained this matter at length in another place (and I hinted at some of it in the commentary *HaCheresh VeHaMasger*, printed at the end of the book *Shirei HaNefesh*), how the Lord arranged and ordered the bonds of the governance of existence, and how the Great Man is related and compared to the small man, whose soul is emanated from the corner of the foundation, above the World of the Throne, and the root of his soul is above, with the King, as it is said, "They sit with Him in His work," and as our Sages of blessed memory said, and regarding Him it is said, "Let Us make man in Our image." And all this he specified and said: "the form like the appearance of a man," meaning it is only a semblance. For Scripture renders it comprehensible to the ear, depicting His intellectual governance by means of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, and by the manifestation of the attributes such as kindness, judgment, and mercy — all in the beauty of man. And all this he did not see above in the World of Emanation itself, but only saw it in the mirror. This is what is meant by "like the appearance of a man." So much so that the imaginative faculty, through which the prophetic influx passes, depicted and inscribed in the mirror the image of the man connected to the prophet's soul in all his powers and attributes, and how his soul governs his small chariot. And it depicted that so too is the governance of the Lord over His great chariot, for the great world and the small world are arranged corresponding to each other. And the Lord, from this aspect that He is the soul of the worlds and their guide, from this aspect Ezekiel saw Him riding upon the Aravot in a chariot. This governance has a correspondence with the human soul and its governance within its body. And from the aspect that He is the soul of the Great Man, which is the world arranged in all its joints, orders, and arrangements like the adornment of a man, he saw in the mirror a simile and parable of a man, according to how the soul governs its body, its chariot, and its small world through its powers.
And I saw as the colour of electrum, as the appearance of fire round about enclosing it, from the appearance of his loins and upward; and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him.
verse value 5047
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 82 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֖וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "as·sight·of·fire" (כְּמַרְאֵה־אֵ֤שׁ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 567: as·sight·of·fire, as·sight·of·fire. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "a shining substance" (חַשְׁמַ֗ל), "house·to·it" (בֵּֽית־לָהּ֙), "sight" (וּמִמַּרְאֵ֤ה). The root מראה appears 4 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "house·to·it" (root בית, 159x in Ezekiel); "around" (root סביב, 112x in Ezekiel); "and·I·saw" (root ראה, 74x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root בית ("house·to·it") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root מתן ("his·loins") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·upward', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 8 words.
Rashi
"And I saw a semblance of chashmal (amber)." They did not grant permission to scrutinize this verse.
Beit Lah. From the front, it was like the appearance of fire:
Radak
And I saw. A house for it. From within, for it. And Jonathan’s Targum translated the verse thus: “And I saw a form like lightning, like the appearance of fire, etc., like a pillar.” And in another version I found: “It is not possible to gaze at it, and to see it.”
Metzudat David
"And I saw as it were the appearance of chashmal." This means that when I looked to behold the vision of the Man seated on the throne, I saw it as having the hue of chashmal, which is the pure and clean substance from the fire that the eye can only partially perceive; and so too, one cannot fully grasp the Divine, blessed be He. And chashmal is a compound word: chash, meaning "to be silent," and mal, from the word millul, meaning "speech" — indicating that one ought to be silent in speech regarding it.
“House around it.” This means that the chashmal was like a house surrounding it, and the appearance of the house was like the appearance of fire.
From the appearance, etc. So it is: from the appearance of His loins and upward, it was like the appearance of chashmal, and there was a house around it like the appearance of fire.
"And from the appearance, etc." But from the appearance of his loins downward, I saw an appearance like the appearance of fire, and around Him was a radiance and a rising.
Malbim
"And I saw as it were chashmal" — Heaven forbid to accept the opinion of Abarbanel that the *chashmal* (electricity/lightning) indicates the First Cause. For besides the fact that this contradicts the opinion of the Kabbalists, who state that the *chashmal* is in the World of Formation (*Yetzirah*), and contradicts the opinion of our Sages of blessed memory — that they are fiery living creatures that speak, or [by another view] that they are sometimes silent and sometimes speak, it also contradicts the verse which states, "And from within it as it were the appearance of *chashmal*." Only the *chashmal* are the living creatures, which are the camp of the Divine Presence, where the voice of a faint whisper is heard. *Chashmal*, as stated above, are those who receive the abundance from above and bestow it upon the living creatures, which are the movers of the wheels.
Now, in this vision, he saw the *chashmal* as the appearance of fire all around it, from the appearance of His loins and upward. It is explained that from the appearance of His loins and upward, he did not see the *chashmal* itself, but rather the house that was all around it, which appeared to him as the appearance of fire. This is unlike what is stated regarding "from the appearance of His loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness all around it," which implies that there he saw the body of the *chashmal*, because he did not mention "from the house all around." And it also implies that he first attained [understanding] from the appearance of His loins and upward, and afterward attained [understanding] downward. This is the reverse of the order, for the order of attainment is from the revealed to the concealed from him, and from the light to the heavy. The upper part is certainly concealed and internal relative to the lower part. However, in the vision he saw in the sixth year (below, section 8), he said the opposite: "And I looked, and behold, a form like the appearance of fire, from the appearance of His loins and downward was fire, and from His loins and upward like the appearance of brilliance, as it were *chashmal*." There, he attained in order from below to above. From the appearance of His loins and upward, he did not see the house all around, nor did he see fire there, only brilliance as it were *chashmal*. And it is explained that in this vision, he did not attain the entire interior of the *chashmal*, only from the appearance of His loins and downward. But from the appearance of His loins and upward, he did not attain [its essence], only the house that was all around it, in which it is clothed, not its very essence. Therefore, he arranged the vision from above to below, for it is easier to attain the garment than to attain the interior. But in the second vision, he attained the entire interior of the *chashmal*, even upward, and therefore he attained from below to above, for it is easier to attain from below.
Therefore, he said there that from the appearance of His loins and upward he saw as the appearance of brilliance, not fire. For from His loins and upward indicates the abundance that it receives from the World of the Throne above, and there it received as the appearance of brilliance, not consuming fire, for there is no burning above. Only from the appearance of His loins and downward, which alludes to the abundance that descends to the lower beings, he saw as the appearance of consuming fire, for the matter of the attainment was in the Attribute of Judgment, and he saw the burning that would issue from the living creatures to the wheels to burn the Temple of the Lord. But here, since he did not attain the interior of the abundance descending from above, only the garment and the house in which it is clothed, he attained that the house which was all around it was also as the appearance of fire and ready to burn, and likewise from the appearance of His loins and downward. Only he attained that there was brightness all around it, for the ultimate purpose of Judgment was to illuminate and to show mercy, as stated above.
(And it is known that in the World of Formation, there is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And therefore, he attained from His loins and downward fire, only that there was brightness all around it, that evil [is directed] for a good purpose. And from the appearance of His loins and upward [there was] brilliance, and all is good, for only its feet descend to death. And since the heretics erred in this and said, "From the middle and downward, they are impure," our Sages of blessed memory warned regarding the inquiry into the *chashmal*. And there is the story of the infant who understood the *chashmal*, etc., and he concludes, "I am an infant who does not walk on the path of the earth." And from there, Acher cut down the saplings and erred regarding *Metatron*, [claiming] that Metatron is in the World of Formation. And the two *tets* [in Metatron's abbreviated name] are the good in the Tree of Knowledge, and the pomegranate is the peel and the evil. And Rabbi Meir, who learned Torah from Acher, found the interior of the pomegranate and ate it, for they are the good *tets*, and its husk, the pomegranate['s rind], he threw away, for in his Torah he found the garments of light, which is the stripping of the serpent's skin, and he rectified his master with fire, having brought him out of his grave. And the *Ma'aseh Merkavah*).
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Hashem. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.
verse value 4768
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 87 letters. The shortest word is "so" (כֵּ֣ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "glory·of·Hashem" (כְּבוֹד־יְהֹוָ֑ה, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 246: sight, sight, speaking. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "bow" (הַקֶּ֡שֶׁת), "brightness" (הַנֹּ֙גַהּ֙). The root מראה appears 3 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "it·will·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "upon·my·face" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root קשת ("bow") in Ezekiel. First appearance of the root יום ("in·day·of") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'glory·of·Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 6 words.
Rashi
“And I fell on my face.” And I prostrated myself:
"And I heard a voice speaking." And what was the speech:
Radak
As the appearance of the rainbow. And I fell upon my face. And I saw all the vision mentioned, from its beginning to its end:
"And I fell on my face." This indicates that my heart was astonished at the vision.
“And I heard a voice speaking.” And while I was falling on my face, I heard a voice speaking to me. This was the angel who spoke with him. And our Sages of blessed memory said that on the day of the Giving of the Torah, Israel saw the Chariot just as Ezekiel saw it, to the extent that they said, “The smallest of their women is as great as Ezekiel son of Buzi.” And they said that they saw the face of an ox opposite their camp; therefore they made the form of a calf. And furthermore, they said that these faces were on the four banners: on the banner of Judah, the face of a lion, as it is written, “A lion’s whelp, Judah”; and on the banner of Reuben, the face of a man, because it is said of him, “He found mandrakes in the field,” and they have the form of a man; and on the banner of Ephraim, the face of an ox, as it is said of him, “His firstborn ox, majesty is his”; and on the banner of Dan, the face of an eagle, as it is said, “Let Dan be a serpent by the way,” and it is said, “A viper and a fiery flying serpent.”
Metzudat David
As the appearance. Just as the appearance of the rainbow, etc., so was the appearance of the radiance that surrounded it.
This is the vision. This vision that I saw is a vision of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord, for I saw Him departing from the Temple like a king sitting on a chariot and journeying.
"And I saw." And when I saw all this, I fell on my face to prostrate myself before the Lord, and then I heard a voice speaking, which is the one stated in the subsequent biblical verse: "And He said to me, 'Son of man...'"
Malbim
As for the appearance of the rainbow, he explained at the end of his words that the radiance which he attained, which is the light returning from the upper light, the concealed light that spreads upon the Chariot, resembles in its matters the appearance of the rainbow that appears in the cloud on a rainy day. Just as the light, which is one in its essence, appears divided when it spreads upon the cloud in seven colors, so too the light that is unique in its root appears divided when it breaks forth upon the governance of the lower realms in the seven known colors, which sparkle in the light of the Sefirot with seven illuminating lights. And just as the light of the rainbow has no existence in the cloud itself, but rather is impressed upon it through the spreading of the sunlight, which grasps the clouds and returns backward, appearing like the vision of the rainbow; so too, when the upper light spreads upon the Living Creatures, which are like thick clouds relative to it, the light is revealed to be seen as he saw it in the vision, as a returning light. And just as the vision of the rainbow does not come into being if the light passes without obstruction, but only when it meets the thick cloud; so too, when the divine light, which is an intellectual light to which no color or form can be attributed, spreads upon the soul of the prophet, which is situated in thickness and cloud, namely the faculty of imagination, from which it returns as a returning light to be impressed upon the intellectual faculty, the light is impressed through the imaginative faculty with these visions whose forms he saw in the appearance, like a rainbow impressed in the cloud on a rainy day, which is the radiance returning from the essential light. This is the definition of the term "radiance" (nogah): it is not essential light, but rather returning light. And this is what it says, "Such was the appearance of the radiance all around," which is the appearance of the form of the Glory of the Lord; it is not the appearance as it is in its essence, but rather the appearance of the form, as the imagination imagined it at the time of the vision, at the time the light was impressed upon it and returned to the intellectual faculty. Therefore, "I saw and fell on my face": his senses and his faculties were nullified, and the imaginative faculty remained isolated to behold and to influence the intellectual faculty. From this aspect, the prophets saw visions and likenesses, as the Guide of the Perplexed states in many places. And then, "I heard a voice speaking": the prophetic utterance arrived.
Rashi
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim