Before reading this radical new translation of Ezekiel 1:1-28, please read P1: Introduction.
(1)And it came to pass [that] in the thirtieth year, on the fourth, in the fifth of the month, while I [was] in the midst of the exiles beside the Kabaru Canal, the heavens were opened and I saw apparitions of the celestial. [(2)In the fifth of the month—that is, the year (the fifth) of the exile of the king, Joiachin—(3)the word of YHWH trulya came to Ezekiel, son of Buzi the priest, in the land of Chaldea beside the Kabaru Canal, and the grip of YHWH came upon him there.]
(4)And I looked, and there—a tempest wind coming from the north, a great cloud, and fire flashing intermittently, with a bright light around the cloud and from the midst of the fire like the sight of the ḥašmal from within the flame;b (5)and from the midst of the fire, the likeness of four living beings. And such [were] their appearances: the likeness of a person belonged to them (6)with four faces to each being and four wings to each one of their appearances. (7)And the appearances’ feet [were] a stretched out foot and sole (their feet [were] like the sole of the foot of an ox) and they were sparkling like the sight of shiny bronze. (8)And a hand of itc—a person—from beneath the appearances’ wings [was] on their four sides.
Now, the appearances’ faces and their wings—concerning the four of them—(9)their wings were touching, one to another. The appearances would not change direction. As the beings were moving, the appearances would move, each one, toward the side [of one] of its faces.d (10)Now, the likeness of the appearances’ faces [were] the faces of a person, the faces of a lion to the right of the four human faces, the faces of a bovine out of the left of the four beings, and the faces of a bird of prey to the four beings (11)and the appearances’ faces. And their wings were spread out upward toward each other. Two were touching each other while two were covering the beings’ bodies. (12)So the appearances would move, each one, toward the side [of one] of its faces—toward where it would be. They would move [as] the winde would move. They would not change direction as the beings were moving. (13)Now, the likeness of the living beings—their appearances [were] like burning coals of fire (as an appearance of the torches, [so] that appearance was moving about between the living beings). And the fire had bright light [to it]. And from the fire, lightning was coming forth. (14)And the living beings were going forthf and returning like the likeness of the scattering.g
(15)And I saw the living beings, and there—one wheel [was] on the earth beside [each of] the living beings, belonging to the four surfaces of each one.h (16)The appearance of the wheels and their actions [were] like the sight of topaz with one likeness to the four surfaces. And the wheels’ appearances and their actions [were] like when the wheel would be in the midst of the wheel. (17)Beside the beings’ four sides, as they were moving, the wheels would move [also] without changing direction as the beings were moving. (18)And the living beings’ elevationi and height belonged to the wheels. And a fear belonged to them. And their rims were full of eyes round about for the four of them. (19)And as the livingj was moving, the wheels would move beside the appearances. And as the living beings were raising themselves up from the earth, the wheels would raise themselves [also]. (20)Over whatever the spirit [was] to move, they would move there–[where] the spirit [was] to move, [in order] to be there–and the wheels would raise themselves with them because the spirit of the livingk [was] within the wheels. (21)As the appearances were moving, the wheels would move, and as the appearances were remaining [still], the wheels would remain [still], and when they raised themselves up from the earth, the wheels would raise themselves up with them because the spirit of the living [was] within the wheels.
(22)Now, the likeness over the heads of the living [was] a firmament like the sight of the feared crystal, spread out over the appearances’ heads upward. (23)And below the firmament, the appearances’ wings were stretched out, one to another, for each had two [wings] covering this side and each had two [wings] covering that side of their bodies. (24)And I heard the sound of the appearances’ wings as they were moving. [It was] like the noise of abundant water (like the voice of Shaddai); the sound of the crowd (like the noise of an army). When they were remaining [still], they would hang down their wings. (25)And a sound occurred from above the firmament which [was] over the appearances’ top as they were remaining [still]{, they would hang down their wings}.l (26)And from over the firmament which [was] over the appearances’ top [was] the likeness of a chair like the appearance of an azure-stone. And upward over the likeness of the chair [was] a shape like the appearance of a person thereon.
(27)And I saw [that] like the sight of ḥašmal, like the appearance of fire, [was] the house belonging to herm round about. From the appearance of the house’sn structureo and upward and from the appearance of the house’s structure and downward, I saw an appearance like fire with a bright light to it round about. (28)Like the appearance of the bow that would occur among the clouds in a day of the rain, so [was] the appearance of the bright light round about.
Such [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of YHWH. And I saw, and I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.
aOr certainly.
Infinitive absolute, paronomastically used to intensify the force of the finite verb of the same root that follows. This serves to authenticate the reality of the vision report and therefore also its divine authority.
b עין in construct form with noun of unknown meaning, which has simply been transliterated (see also v. 27). The fire here is not the one previously mentioned, but is part of an extended simile involving the transliterated object. It has therefore been differentiated as flame.
cOr And his/its hand
following the Kethib (וְיָדֹו). Qere is וִידֵי.
dIn a direction the appearance was already facing via its four faces.
eOr spirit/breath.
Translated in agreement with the meaning of a tempest wind in v. 4.
fConjectural emendation. It is assumed here that יצא was intended, but the first radical was accidentally lengthened from י to ר.
gNominalization of בזק, a verb from Syriac and Jewish Aramaic of the Babylonian tradition that means to scatter.
See HALOT. Scattering makes far more sense of the motion involved in the verse than a conjectural emendation that lengthens ז to ר, giving us lightning
again. Lightning
in v.13 lacks a definite article, which is present here, making an error of an original ברק unlikely. Instead, there seems to be a wordplay in which the motion of the living beings as they scatter to and fro is being paralleled by the grammatical structure to the motion of the lightning coming forth from the fire.
hOr its four surfaces.
The third masculine singular pronominal suffix is translated each one
to clarify that we are speaking of one wheel beside one side of each of the four appearances. There are only four wheels, each on a different side or surface of every appearance (v. 17) so that two wheels are always able to move in one of two directions. This means each wheel also corresponds to a different face. Such an arrangement makes sense of the description like when the wheel would be in the midst of the wheel.
With one wheel on each side, when all four beings are moving in one direction, it would appear that two of its wheels—the two at the front and back of its movement—are in the middle of those wheels which are actually rotating.
iMost translate rims.
Since the text is dealing with feminine plural instead of masculine plural creatures, it should be matched to the living beings, not the wheels. Elevation
or back
would therefore make more sense (see HALOT). There is also a wordplay in which two similar words are being used, one after the other: גביה and גבה. It seems, therefore, that the two are also playing off one another in terms of meaning. Since the later means height,
I have paired it with a similar definition of the former, elevation,
to best represent this wordplay.
jOr living being.
Although this is plural, I have translated it as a collective singular in order to follow the number of the verb.
kOr living being.
Although this is singular, it is probably functioning as a collective for all the living beings as a unit. See note above.
l{, they would hang down their wings} – A scribal error. Verse 24 ended with When they were remaining [still], they would hang down their wings.
Verse 25 then described a new sound that is heard as they were remaining [still]
and accidentally incorporated the rest of the phrase from the previous verse.
mOr her house/the house of her.
בית appears in construct form with a maqqēp̄ linking it to a prepositional ל with a third feminine singular pronominal suffix. I have studiously avoided translating gender specific language as neuter if context does not already provide the appropriate identity or as though gender were irrelevant. In this case, the feminine referent is not immediately apparent. For these reasons, I have preferred her
to it.
The possible identifications of her
and house
are explained in P3: The Climax.
nOr its.
The third masculine singular pronominal suffix is probably referring syntactically to the house, which is also masculine singular. This occurs twice in the verse.
oWhen speaking of a person or animal, this word has a meaning like loins, hips, hind-section, or back. When speaking of an object, it has a meaning like back, rope, cord, or form. See HALOT. Since syntax links this with the house, I am identifying it as the house’s form or back—e.g., structure.
This occurs twice in the verse.
Proceed to P3: The Climax for an explanation and defense of v. 27.