Living creatures (Bible)
The living creatures, living beings, or hayyot (
According to Jewish and Christian traditions, there are four living creatures, although their description varies by source. The symbolic depiction of the four living creatures in religious art, especially Christian art, is called a tetramorph.
Ezekiel's four living creatures
Ezekiel's vision of the four living creatures in Ezekiel 1 are identified as cherubim in Ezekiel 10. Each of Ezekiel's cherubim have four faces, that of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.
Revelation's four living beings
In the New Testament book of Revelation 4:6–8, four living beings (Greek: ζῷον, zōion)[1] are seen in John's vision. These appear as a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle, much as in Ezekiel but in a different order. They have six wings, whereas Ezekiel's four living creatures are described as having four.[1] In verse 6, they are said to have "eyes all over, front and back", suggesting that they are alert and knowledgeable, that nothing escapes their notice.[1] The description parallels the wheels that are beside the living creatures in Ezekiel 1:18; 10:12, which are said to be "full of eyes all around". The Hebrew word for "wheel" (galgal) was also used in later Jewish literature to indicate a member of the angelic orders and is also defined by the Strong's Concordance to the King James Version of biblical scriptures as "A Whirlwind", "Heaven", or "a rolling thing".(1 Enoch 71:7; 3 Enoch 1:8; 7:1; 25:5–6, etc.). In this passage in Revelation, the four beasts surround "The One" on the red throne (which is of ruby and sardius).
Comparing the living creatures in Ezekiel with Revelation's is a prominent apocalyptic study in Western Christianity.[2] An example is the 18th century works of Jonathan Edwards' recorded interpretation of 1722/23.
Religious views
In Judaism, the living beings are considered
In
See also
- Anemoi – Group of Greek gods
- Eye of Horus – Ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health
- Four Dwarves (Norse mythology)– Four dwarfs who hold up the sky in Nordic mythology
- Four Heavenly Kings – Buddhist gods
- Four Holy Beasts – Four sacred animals in Chinese mythology
- Four sons of Horus – Ancient Egyptian gods
- Four Stags (Norse mythology) – Four stags in the Poetic Edda
- Four Symbols – Mythological creatures in Chinese constellations
- Four temperaments – Proto-psychological theory
- Guardians of the directions – Deities of the eight directions in Hinduism and Buddhism
- Lokapala – Guardians or kings of the cardinal directions
- Royal stars – Persian definition in astronomy
- Tetramorph – Symbolic arrangement of four differing elements
Quotes
Notes
- ^ a b c Mounce (1997), pp. 123–125.
- ^ Pate (2009), p. 19.
- ^ a b Davidson (1967), p. 137.
- ^ Noach 261–265, Zohar.
- ^ Stafford (1979), p. 72.
- ^ Senior, Collins & Getty (2011), p. 1162, fn. 1:5.
- ^ Kovacs & Rowland (2004), p. 66.
- ^ Woodman (2008), p. 128.
- ^ Barber (2005), p. 86.
- ^ Stevenson (2001), p. 470.
- ^ Koester (2014), p. 353.
References
- ISBN 9781931018265.
- Davidson, Gustav (1967). A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels. New York: Free Press.
- De Conick, April D. (2006). Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism. ISBN 9781589832572.
- Duguid, Iain M. (2011). Ezekiel: The NIV Application Commentary. ISBN 9780310866107.
- ISBN 9780664227661.
- Koester, Craig R. (2014). Revelation. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
- Kovacs, Judith; ISBN 9781405143219.
- Kreider, Glenn (2004). Jonathan Edwards' Interpretation of Revelation 4:1–8:1. ISBN 9780761826705.
- Mounce, Robert H. (1997). The Book of Revelation (rev. ed.). Grand Rapids, Michigan: W. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0802825370.
- Pate, C. Marvin (2009). Reading Revelation: A Comparison of Four Interpretive Translations of the Apocalypse. Kregel Academic. ISBN 9780825433672.
- Senior, Donald; ISBN 9780195297751.
- ISBN 9780830829248.
- Stafford, Barbara Maria (1979). Symbol and Myth: Humbert de Superville's Essay on Absolute Signs in Art. University of Delaware. ISBN 978-0874131208.
- ISBN 9789042908819.
- Woodman, Simon P. (2008). The Book of Revelation. Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. ISBN 9780334041047.
External links
