Bible Strands
Ezekiel 1:6
but each had four faces and four wings.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezekiel records a visionary encounter with four living creatures during his ministry to the exiles in Babylon. The description immediately follows his observation that the creatures possessed a human form.
The words — The Hebrew פָנִים (fa.Nim) translates to faces, and כְּנָפַ֖יִם (ke.na.Fa.yim) translates to wings. The phrase לְאֶחָת (le./'e.Chat) specifies that each set of four features belonged to a single creature.
The thread — This four-faced, four-winged description reappears in Ezekiel 10:14 regarding cherubim and parallels the winged cherubim specifications in Exodus 25:20 and 1 Kings 6:24.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note the precise anatomical symmetry before interpreting its function. It establishes a fixed visual structure that grounds the subsequent description of divine movement and throne-chariot mechanics.
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
King James Version
And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 10:14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
- Exodus 25:20 And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
- 1 Kings 6:24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits.
- Isaiah 6:2 Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
- Ezekiel 1:8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings,
- Ezekiel 1:15 When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
- Ezekiel 10:10 As for their appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel.
- Ezekiel 10:21 Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
- Revelation 4:7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.