Cherubim

Cherubim appear both at the boundary of Eden and in the sanctuary’s design, linking guarded access to divine presence with the ordered worship of Israel. The text describes them most fully as gold figures whose outspread wings screen the Ark-cover, their faces turned toward one another and toward the cover.

Guardians at Eden

After God sends the man out of the Garden of Eden, He places Cherubim at its eastern side, together with a flaming sword turning in every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life. Their first appearance gives them a boundary-keeping role: the way back to the life-giving tree is no longer open to humanity.

Figures Above the Ark

The sanctuary instructions specify two Cherubim made of beaten gold, one at each end of the Ark-cover. They are to be fashioned as one piece with the cover, their wings spread upward to screen it and their faces turned toward each other and toward the cover. God says that He will meet Moses and speak from above the cover, from between the two figures; their position thus marks the place of divine communication within the sanctuary.

The construction account presents the design as completed by Bezalel: he makes the Ark and its pure-gold cover, then forms the two Cherubim at its ends in beaten gold. Their wings extend over the cover, and their faces are directed toward it. The description confirms the planned arrangement in the finished object, making the figures part of the sanctuary’s central furnishing rather than freestanding decoration.

The Veil and Sacred Boundaries

Cherubim also appear in the sanctuary’s woven work. The veil is made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, with Cherubim worked into it; the Tabernacle curtains likewise bear Cherubim in the design. Their recurrence joins the guarded threshold of Eden to the carefully bounded sacred space of the sanctuary: in both settings they signal a limit around access, while at the Ark-cover their placement also identifies the point from which God addresses Moses.