Ezekiel 1:18

Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Ezekiel records a visionary account of the wheels accompanying the living creatures, noting their structure and movement. The description occurs during a prophetic encounter where the wheels follow the creatures in any direction without pivoting.

The words — The Hebrew גֹבַהּ (Goah) means height, joined with יִרְאָה (yir.'Ah) meaning fear, to render the rims as high and awesome. The phrase מְלֵאֹת עֵינַ֛יִם (me.le.'Ot 'ei.Na.yim) states they were full of eyes, with סָבִ֖יב (sa.Viv) specifying this coverage extended all around.

The thread — The motif of surfaces covered in eyes reappears in Ezekiel 10:12 regarding the creatures and their wheels. John later applies the same imagery to the four living creatures surrounding the throne in Revelation 4:8.

Why it lands — The text states that the rims were elevated, inspiring awe, and entirely covered with eyes. A reader must acknowledge the described reality of unceasing vigilance and elevated structure before drawing any inferences about divine oversight.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְגַ֨בֵּיהֶ֔ןve./Ga.bei./Henand/ rims/ their וְגֹ֥בַהּve./Goahand/ heightלָהֶ֖םla./Hem[belonged] to/ themוְיִרְאָ֣הve./yir.'Ahand/ fearלָהֶ֑םla./Hem[belonged] to/ themוְגַבֹּתָ֗םve./ga.bo.Ta/mand/ rims/ their מְלֵאֹ֥תme.le.'Ot[were] full of עֵינַ֛יִם'ei.Na.yimeyes סָבִ֖יבsa.Vivall around לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן׃le./'ar.ba'.Ta/nto/ [the] four of/ them

King James Version

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 10:12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels.
Revelation 4:6 And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.
Revelation 4:8 And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
Job 37:22 Out of the north He comes in golden splendor; awesome majesty surrounds Him.
Psalms 77:16 The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken.
Psalms 97:2 Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Zechariah 4:10 For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”