Bible Strands
Ezekiel 10:8
(The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.)
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Ezekiel addresses the exiled community while recounting his vision of the divine throne-chariot, recording this detail immediately after a cherub hands fire to a man in linen and just before the vision of the accompanying wheels.
The words — The phrase תַּבְנִית יַד־אָדָם (ṭavnîṯ yad-ʾādām) translates literally to "form of a human hand," and תַּחַת (taḥat) places that structure specifically "under" their wings.
The thread — This visual detail reappears in Ezekiel 1:8 and Ezekiel 10:21, while the motif of a hand taking a glowing coal from an altar surfaces in Isaiah 6:6.
Why it lands — The text asserts that the cherubim possess human-like hands positioned beneath their wings, requiring the reader to accept the vision's precise anatomical description without adding speculative mechanics about concealment or visibility.
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 there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 1:8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings,
- Ezekiel 10:21 Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
- Isaiah 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.