Ezekiel 3:13

It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator reports the auditory details of Ezekiel's visionary transport after the Spirit lifts him up. The moment follows the Spirit's prompting to hear a great rumbling and the proclamation of the LORD's glory in His dwelling place.

The words — מַשִּׁיקוֹת (ma.shi.kOt) translates literally as "touching closely" or "brushing against," describing the physical contact of the wings. אִשָּׁ֣ה אֶל־ אֲחוֹתָ֔הּ ('i.Shah 'el- 'a.cho.Tah) renders "each to its sister," indicating the synchronized, reciprocal motion of the living creatures.

The thread — The wing and wheel sounds reappear in Ezekiel 1:24, where they resemble many waters and the voice of the Almighty, and in Ezekiel 10:5 and 10:16, which connect the cherubim's wing sounds to the movement of the wheels and the voice of God Almighty.

Why it lands — The text records the mechanical and auditory reality of divine movement before Ezekiel's compelled departure. It requires the reader to accept that the prophet's subsequent bitterness and submission are triggered by a sovereign force that operates independently of human consent.

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

וְק֣וֹל׀ve./Koland/ [the] sound of כַּנְפֵ֣יkan.Fei[the] wings of הַחַיּ֗וֹתha./chai.Yotthe/ living creatures מַשִּׁיקוֹת֙ma.shi.kOttouching closely אִשָּׁ֣ה'i.Shaheach אֶל־'el-<to>אֲחוֹתָ֔הּ'a.cho.Ta/hsister/ its וְק֥וֹלve./Koland/ [the] sound of הָאוֹפַנִּ֖יםha./'o.fa.Nimthe/ wheels לְעֻמָּתָ֑םle./'u.ma.Ta/m<to>/ close by/ them וְק֖וֹלve./Koland/ a sound of רַ֥עַשׁRa.'ashrumbling גָּדֽוֹל׃ga.Dolgreat

King James Version

I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 1:24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
Ezekiel 10:16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side.
Ezekiel 10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
2 Samuel 5:24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
Ezekiel 1:15 When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.