Exodus 25:18

Two cherubims] 'Cherubim' is the Heb. plural of 'cherub.' The exact form of these cherubim is doubtful. Some suppose they were winged bulls such as are represented on Assyrian monuments as guardian spirits at the doors of temples or houses: cp. Genesis 3:24. Others take them to be of human form. They figure very often in Hebrew sacred art. They were introduced into the pattern of the curtain which screened off the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:31). In Jewish thought the cherubim occupy the highest rank among the angels of heaven, and are the bearers or upholders of the throne of Jehovah, who is accordingly said to sit upon or between the cherubim (2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 18:10; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1). In Ezekiel 10 the cherubim are identified with the four living creatures of Exodus 1 (see Ezekiel 10:20 and cp. Revelation 4:6). The figures of the cherubim upon the mercy seat were of course small; those in Solomon's temple were of colossal dimensions (2 Chronicles 3:10).