Preface
The exploration of the Hebrew words baruk (blessed) and kerub (cherub) unveils a profound spiritual and symbolic connection rooted in their shared gematria value of 228 and their nature as an anagrammatic mirror. This note delves into the intricate relationship between these terms, revealing how their letter reversal reflects a deeper interplay between divine blessing and heavenly guardianship. Through scriptural references, gematria insights, and prophetic symbolism, the text illustrates how the kerubim—as guardians of the Ark of the Covenant and the throne of Yahuah—embody and protect the covenantal blessing (baruk) that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Yahusha, the Messiah. The analysis connects the sapphire tablets, the colors of the Tabernacle, and the imagery of the kerubim to weave a tapestry of divine revelation, culminating in the unified witness of Torah and atonement in the person of Yahusha. This preface introduces a study that invites readers to see the harmony of heaven and earth, law and grace, in the intricate patterns of Scripture.
🍃The Berekah and the Cherubim:
1️⃣ברוך (“baruk/baruk” = blessed)
Gematria: ב(2)+ר(200)+ו(6)+ך(20) = 228
2️⃣כרוב (“kerub/cherub”)
Gematria: כ(20)+ר(200)+ו(6)+ב(2) = 228
They’re an anagram (same letters, different order), so they match in standard gematria.
ברוך vs כרוב is not a palindrome (same letters forward and backward), but a letter mirror (sometimes called an anagram reversal)
♾️Note: Palindrome: reads the same in both directions (e.g., אבא).
🔢Meaning Relationship
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ברך → to bless, kneel, or extend benefit.
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כרב → to draw near (verb form), or in the form כרוב “cherub” — a heavenly being close to the throne.
As part of the noun כרוב (cherub) — plural כרבים — e.g.:
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Genesis 3:24 – “…and He stationed the כרבים and the flaming sword…”
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Exodus 25:18 – “You shall make two כרבים of gold…”
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Ezekiel 10 (many times) – vision of the cherubim.
ברך (barak = bless/kneel), appears hundreds of times (e.g., Genesis 1:22, Genesis 12:2, Numbers 6:24).
🪞Letter mirror: same letters rearranged in exact reverse order.
Reverse: ך–ו–ר–ב (kaf sofit – uau – resh – bet).
In normal script this becomes כרוב when you replace the final kaf (ך) with its non-final form (כ).
Both spellings use the exact same letters, just flipped.
Gematria stays identical (228) because order doesn’t change total value.
The meaning flip is symbolic — “blessed” ↔ “cherub/guardian.”
In Hebrew, ך is just the final form of כ — they are the same letter (kaf), only the shape changes when it’s at the end of a word.
Original (ברוך)
1️⃣ ב — position 1
2️⃣ ר — position 2
3️⃣ ו — position 3
4️⃣ ך — position 4 (final kaf)
Reverse order
1️⃣ ך → becomes כ (normal kaf form)
2️⃣ ו — now in position 2 instead of 3
3️⃣ ר — now in position 3 instead of 2
4️⃣ ב — now in position 4 instead of 1
When we reverse the order, kaf is no longer at the end — so we must write it in its normal form כ. When the first and last letter flips, the middle letters also flip.
That’s part of why this is a full letter reversal (mirror), not just swapping the first and last letters.
Yahuah is described as dwelling between the cherubim (Psalms 80:1, 99:1) and riding upon a cherub (Psalm 18:10), signifying His divine authority and mobility. The cherubim’s wings and wheels (Ezekiel 1, 10) symbolize the spread of His word, likened to the “voice of the Almighty” (Ezekiel 1:24, 10:5). The cherubim, seraphim, and living creatures are not merely angelic beings but prophetic representations of Yahusha’s divine roles. Their imagery (e.g., four faces, wheels within wheels) reflects the gospel’s reach to the “four ends of the earth” and the spiritual transition from earthly to heavenly Yerushalayim.
📖Psa 18:10 And He rode upon a keruḇ, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.
👁️🗨️Twofold witness — Torah establishes that a matter is confirmed by two witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). The two kerubim bear witness to the covenant and the blessing (ברוך) that flows from Yahuah.
✉️Sender and Receiver — Their posture, facing each other and looking toward the mercy seat, hints at a unity between heaven’s source and earth’s recipient — the blessing originates in Yahuah and returns to Him fulfilled.
🥅Messianic fulfillment — In Yahusha, the “firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15) and the “firstborn from the dead” (Revelation 1:5), the One who sends and the One who receives are the same Person. He is both the guardian of the promise and the One who delivers it.
🧿Guardianship until fulfillment — Like the kerubim guarding the way to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24), the heavenly blessing was preserved in covenant history — often bypassing the natural firstborn (Yishmael, Esau, Reuben, Manasseh) to rest on the chosen line — until it reached its intended goal in Messiah.
This posture is deeply symbolic:
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Bowing = submission to the atonement — These heavenly beings in imagery “cover” themselves and lower their gaze before Yahuah’s presence, which dwells between them (Exodus 25:22).
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Focus on the blood — On Yom Kippur, the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sin offering on the mercy seat between the kerubim (Leviticus 16:14–15). They are positioned as witnesses to the atonement — not to the ark’s contents, but to the blood that covers the law within.
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Guardianship with humility — Though they “guard” the throne, their stance shows they themselves are not the source of mercy — they point to it and submit to it.
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Pattern of heaven’s throne room — In Revelation 4–5, the living creatures (a higher-order parallel to the kerubim) bow before the Lamb, who stands at the center of the throne. The Ark’s mercy seat is an earthly pattern of that heavenly reality.
Normal reading (as in Psalm 118:26, Matthew 23:39):
ברוך (Baruk) = blessed
הבא (ha-ba) = the one coming
בשם יהוה (b’shem Yahuah) = in the Name of Yahuah
— This is the people’s declaration when the Messiah arrives in Yahuah’s authority.
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Reverse thought-flow — If you mentally flip the relationship:
Yahuah → in His Name → comes → in blessing
— This reveals that the source of the coming one’s blessing is not external — He is Yahuah coming in blessing Himself.
Prophetic implication —
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Yahusha isn’t just a messenger who is blessed because of the Name — He is Yahuah manifest, the sender and the blessing embodied.
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The phrase in reverse affirms the thought: the Baruk originates at the throne, flows in the coming One, and returns to the throne — sender and receiver are one.
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Connection to the kerubim — This reversal mirrors the twofold witness of the kerubim over the mercy seat:
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One represents the sending of blessing from Yahuah.
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The other represents the receiving of that blessing in the earth.
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In Yahusha, both roles merge — the one coming in the Name is the One whose Name it is.
2 = witness
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22 = the whole Hebrew alphabet (from Aleph to Tav) — complete Word of Elohim
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228 can be seen as 2 → 22 → 8:
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Double witness of the full Word, leading to 8 (new creation, resurrection, eternal covenant).
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This fits the kerubim over the ark: two witnesses guarding the complete Word (Torah in the ark), bringing new covenant life.
If baruk = 228 and the kerubim are the guardians of the baruk from the throne, then when you say Baruk haba b’shem Yahuah, you are literally proclaiming:
“The throne’s blessing — guarded from before creation — is now coming in the Name of Yahuah.”
Which in reversal thought-flow means:
“Yahuah Himself is coming, in His own Name, bringing the blessing He has eternally guarded.”
🧬The two fold witness seen:
The keystone pair:
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ברוך (baruk) = 228
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כרוב (keruv) = 228
✨ Two Words = 114 each (Standard Gematria):
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🦶 עמד (ʿamad) = 114 — “to stand, take one’s stand.”
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Rev 10:1 → Messenger with feet like pillars of fire.
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Two feet = twofold witness → 114 × 2 = 228.
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📜 חוק (cḥoq) = 114 — “statute, decree, ordinance.”
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Torah’s statutes/ordinances sum up the covenant framework.
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Fits the idea of the 10 Words (Commands) being summed into 2 Great Commands (love Yahuah + love neighbor).
Two commands summing the Torah and Prophets = twofold witness → 114 × 2 = 228.
“Choq” = fixed, established boundaries → like the covenant’s everlasting decree.
📖Ps 119:5 — “Oh that my ways were steadfast in keeping Your statutes (chuqim).”
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עמד (114) (amad) ↔ the blessing stands—fixed and established before the throne.
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חוק (114) (choq) ↔ the blessing flows by statute/decree—the covenantal order Yahuah set.
🔩 Fitting it to the 10 → 2 commands theme
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Yahusha summed the 10 words into 2 commands (Matt 22:37–40, quoting Torah):
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Love Yahuah with all (Deut 6:5).
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Love your neighbor (Lev 19:18).
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These 2 aren’t new laws but choq — engraved statutes summarizing all.
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Ps 119 links choqim repeatedly to eternal, unchanging commands (not arbitrary rulings).
✨The Prophetic view:
2 feet + 2 commands → four “pillars” of witness
↔ 114 × 4 = 456 (equivalently 228 × 2 = 456).
228 = the “blessing–cherub” unit (since ברוך and כרוב each = 228).
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456 = 228 + 228 = the double of that unit → sender + receiver, heaven + earth, cherubim as a twofold witness confirming the one blessing flowing both ways.
בכור (bekhor, “firstborn” H1060) = ב(2)+כ(20)+ו(6)+ר(200) = 228.
So 456 can also be seen as a “double-firstborn” witness—heaven’s guarded firstborn blessing (228) joined to its earthly reception (228), and that's why the Mashiyach lineage was guarded by the firstborn election by grace and not by birth order.
The firstborn blessing (בכור = 228) was often transferred away from the natural firstborn and given to a younger son. This fits the “double witness / cherubim / standing” theme beautifully. Let’s list the key ones:
🌿 Habel/Abel (הבל) — received Yahuah’s favor, while Qayin (the firstborn) was rejected (Gen 4:4–5).
🌿 Shem — honored above Yapheth and Ham, though genealogy order lets us know Yapheth was older (Gen 10:21 -Yapeth the elder).
🌿 Yitshaq— the covenant line chosen, while Yishmael, Abraham’s firstborn, was set aside (Gen 17:18–21).
🌿 Yaaqob — received both birthright and blessing, though Esau was the elder (Gen 25:23; Gen 27).
🌿 Yoseph — not firstborn of Yaaqob, but his sons Ephraim and Manasseh show the pattern: Ephraim (younger) was blessed above Manasseh (older) (Gen 48:19).
🌿 Moses — younger than Aaron, yet chosen as deliverer and prophet (Exo 7:1).
🌿 David — the youngest of Yishai's sons, anointed king over all his elder brothers (1 Sam 16:11–13).
🌿 Solomon — not David’s firstborn, but chosen to inherit the throne and build the Temple (1 Chron 28:5–6).
Symbolically, 456 then pictures:
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Two feet (Rev 10:1) + two great commands → a fourfold witness (Deut 19:15 principle expanded) that stands (עמד=114) in the statute (חוק=114).
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The two cherubim (228 + 228) overshadowing the mercy seat, confirming that the baruk guarded at the throne is the baruk given to the people in the Firstborn.
🔑 Pattern: The 228 = בכור = firstborn blessing is a cherubim-guarded transfer. It passes not by flesh-order but by election of Yahuah (Rom 9:10–13). The younger son receiving the firstborn’s portion is the prophetic sign of:
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Grace over nature
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Spirit over flesh
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New covenant over old
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Second Adam (Messiah) over first Adam
🔢 Numbers and Meaning
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228 = בכור = firstborn (Bekhor)
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456 = double portion of the firstborn
This immediately reminds us of 📖 Deut 21:17:
“He shall acknowledge the son of the unloved as the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.”
So 456 represents the full inheritance of the firstborn blessing, doubled.
🏗️In structure:
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456 = 12 × 38 → twelve tribes receiving the inheritance.
12 in scripture = tribes of YasharEL / fullness of Elohim’s people.
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38 can be seen as a symbolic number in its own right:
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YasharEL wandered 38 years after Kadesh Barnea until entering the land (Deut 2:14).
456 = 12 × 38
= the 12 tribes completing their 38-year waiting
= the people of Yahuah finally receiving their inheritance.
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So 38 is tied to waiting for inheritance and then entering into promise.
So in prophetic symbolism:
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228 = firstborn blessing
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456 = double portion
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456 as 12 × 38 = all 12 tribes receiving the long-awaited double portion inheritance through Messiah.
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456 = 19 × 24 → symbolic of priestly divisions (24) and heavenly cycles.
Heavenly worship cycles (24 elders in Rev 4) were embedded in the physical Torah priestly divisions. 24 elders show the fulfillment or transition from physical priesthood to spiritual priesthood in Mashiyach.
🌟 Symbolism of 19
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Lunisolar cycle 🌙☀️ → The Hebrew calendar reconciles solar and lunar years using a 19-year Metonic cycle.
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Every 19 years the sun and moon return to (almost) the same positions.
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This means 19 represents the harmonization of heaven and earth’s cycles.
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Faith / Waiting for promise ⏳
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Abraham waited 25 years from promise (Gen 12) to Yitshaq’s birth (Gen 21). When Yitshaq was born, Abraham was 100, Sarah 90 → she laughed at 89, one year before → 19 years after leaving Haran (age 75).
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So 19 connects with the season of waiting until fulfillment.
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Messianic connection ✨
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In Hebrew gematria, חוה (Chauah, Eve) = 19 → “mother of all living” (Gen 3:20).
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Thus 19 ties to life, renewal, new creation.
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🔑 Meaning of 456 = 19 × 24
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24 = priestly courses, heavenly worship cycles.
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19 = harmonization of heavenly and earthly time / new creation.
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Together:
→ Priestly service aligned with heavenly cycles to bring forth new life.
→ The redeemed order of worship in heaven and earth, fulfilled in Messiah.
💡 Summarizing 456:
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228 = firstborn standing (2 witnesses, 2 commands).
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456 = double portion inheritance, structured as:
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12 × 38 = the tribes receiving their long-awaited inheritance.
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19 × 24 = priesthood aligned with heaven’s cycles → new creation order.
1. The differences in the two descriptions
📖 Ezekiel 1:10 And the likeness of their faces: the face of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, and each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.
– the four faces are:
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Man
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Lion
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Ox
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Eagle
📖 Ezekiel 10:14 And each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a keruḇ, and the second face the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
– the four faces are:
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Kerub
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Man
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Lion
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Eagle
Notice: In chapter 10, the Ox face is replaced with the Kerub face.
2. The mystery: Ox = Kerub?
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In 1 Kings 7:29, 36, Solomon’s temple decorations show kerubim and oxen together in the same artistic panels.
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In Numbers 7:3–8, the ox is the animal used to pull the carts that carry the tabernacle’s structure — a servant role.
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In 1 Chronicles 28:18, kerubim are linked to the throne/chariot of Yahuah.
From these links, many Hebraic commentators conclude:
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The kerub face in Ezekiel 10 is essentially the Ox face in Ezekiel 1.
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The word “kerub” here may be functioning like a title for the same being when emphasizing its role in Yahuah’s throne service.
3. Prophetic thread
If we trace further:
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Revelation 4:7 shows the same four faces as Ezekiel 1, including “calf” instead of “ox.”
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This ties the vision to both the priestly service (ox/calf sacrifice) and the kingly throne (kerub guardians).
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In Messiah’s life, these faces foreshadow the fourfold Basharah:
🦁 Lion (Matthew) — King
🐂 Ox/Kerub (Mark) — Servant/Sacrifice
👤 Man (Luke) — Son of Man
🦅 Eagle (John) — Judge from above
The mystery, then, is not a contradiction but a revelation:
The “ox” in Ezekiel 1 is the earthly symbol of service and sacrifice,
while the “kerub” in Ezekiel 10 is the heavenly designation of that same face as a throne guardian.
They are the same face, viewed from two different realms — one earthly, one heavenly.
In Hebrew, שור (shur) can mean ox/bull, but in its root sense it means to gaze, look, watch attentively (H7789).
That’s why you see it used in verses like:
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Numbers 23:9 – “From the top of the rocks I see (ashurenu), from the hills I behold him...”
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Isaiah 17:7 – “In that day a man will look (yashur) to his Maker...”
So when שור shur H7789 is used as “ox” in the physical sense, the underlying root still carries this watching / observing idea.
That ties beautifully to the kerubim role:
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Kerubim “watch over” the way to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24).
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They “cover” and “guard” the pattern of the throne/ark (Exodus 25:18–20 — wings overshadowing the mercy seat).
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They are watchers in the sense of guardians of Yahuah’s presence and the heavenly pattern.
So, in Ezekiel:
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Ox face (shur) = Servant strength and watchfulness
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Kerub face = Heavenly watcher/guardian of Yahuah’s pattern
→ Two names, one function, seen from different angles. That also makes the switch in Ezekiel 10 even more purposeful:
In chapter 1, Ezekiel describes the face functionally (ox = strong servant who watches).
In chapter 10, he names it by office (kerub = guardian in Yahuah’s throne service).
Hebrews 9:4 says the Ark contained:
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the golden pot of manna,
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Aaron’s rod that budded,
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and the tablets of the covenant.
Original placement (Wilderness period):
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Exodus 16:33–34 – The jar of manna was placed “before Yahuah” as a testimony (likely in or beside the Ark).
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Numbers 17:10 – Aaron’s rod was also put “before the testimony” (again, in or near the Ark).
So in the early Tabernacle stage, these items were indeed associated with the Ark, either inside or before it.
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Later (Solomon’s Temple):
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By the time the Ark was brought into the Temple (1 Kings 8:9), only the tablets remained inside.
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The manna jar and rod may have been lost
1. Aaron's rod that budded:-
Almond = shaqed (שקד) in Hebrew, from root shaqad (שקד) = “to watch, to be vigilant.”
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The almond is the first tree to blossom in YasharEL, symbolizing watchfulness and life out of barrenness.
📖Jeremiah 1:11–12 uses this wordplay:
“I see a rod of an almond tree (shaqed)… I am watching (shoqed) over My word to perform it.”
So, the almond blossoms = priesthood is Yahuah’s vigilant choice, a living priesthood that watches over His Word.
🔹 Rod → Resurrection & Fruitfulness
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A rod = dead wood.
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Aaron’s rod = dead wood that suddenly bore life (buds, blossoms, fruit).
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This is a picture of resurrection life confirming divine authority.
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Messiah fulfills this as the Rod from Yishai's stem (Isa 11:1), dead yet alive, chosen High Priest forever.
2. The Manna in Torah
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Exodus 16:4, 15 – Yahuah gave YasharEL “bread from heaven.”
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Exodus 16:33–34 – One omer of manna was laid up in a golden pot before Yahuah as a testimony.
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Deuteronomy 8:3 – Manna taught YasharEL “that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahuah.”
Bread from heaven → Living Bread
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📖 John 6:31–35 – “Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness… but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall never hunger.”
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The golden pot of manna was a prophetic picture of Messiah as the heavenly sustenance.
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Hidden manna → Resurrection life
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📖 John 6:49–51 – “Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven… if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”
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The manna was food that sustained, but Yahusha as true manna gives eternal life.
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Hidden manna in the Ark → Yahusha in the believer
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📖 Revelation 2:17 – “To the one who overcomes I will give the hidden manna.”
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The hidden manna = intimate fellowship with Messiah, the eternal Bread of Life, hidden in the heart as the Ark held it hidden within.
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Golden pot → His divine nature
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Gold = divinity, perfection.
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Manna in the golden pot = humanity of Yahusha (bread) housed in divinity (gold).
📖 1. The Heavenly Context of Sapphire
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Exodus 24:10 – At Sinai, the elders “saw the Elohim of YasharEL, and under His feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heavens for clearness.”
📖Exodus 24:10 “And they saw the Elohim of Yisra’el, and under His feet was like a work of sapphire stone (לבנה הספיר), and like the heavens for clarity.”
👉 The throne pavement was sapphire — the heavenly foundation of Torah.
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Ezekiel 1:26; 10:1 – Above the cherubim was “the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of sapphire stone.”
👉 Sapphire = throne, rulership, divine law.
2. Why sapphire?
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The word sapphire (sappir, ספיר) in ancient Hebrew often refers to a deep blue, translucent stone — possibly lapis lazuli in modern mineral terms.
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Its blue color would link visually to the heavens (“like the heavens for clarity” — Exo 24:10) and to the tekhelet blue thread in the tassels (Num 15:38–39) reminding YasharEL of Yahuah’s commandments.
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If the Torah’s foundation is “heavenly,” sapphire as the medium symbolizes that the law comes from heaven, not from earth.
ספר (saphar, Strong’s H5608) = to count, number, recount, write, record.
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Noun: ספר (sefer) = scroll/book.
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Noun: ספר (sofer) = scribe, recorder.
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📖 2. The First Tablets — Work of Elohim
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Exodus 32:15–16 – “The tablets were the work of Elohim, and the writing was the writing of Elohim, engraved on the tablets.”
👉 Not only the writing, but the stone itself was divine workmanship. -
Since the pavement of Yahuah’s throne was sapphire, the ancient understanding is that the first tablets were cut directly from that sapphire throne-stone.
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These contained the covenant in its purest form, carved by Yahuah Himself.
📖 3. The Golden Calf & Shattering of the First Tablets
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While Moshe was on the mountain, YasharEL sinned with the calf (Exodus 32).
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Moshe shattered the sapphire tablets (Ex 32:19), symbolizing the covenant broken through idolatry.
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Along with this came the loss of the firstborn priesthood → Levi chosen instead (Num 3:12–13).
📖 4. The Second Tablets — Cut by Moshe
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Exodus 34:1 – “Yahuah said to Moshe, Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.”
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Exodus 34:4 – “So Moshe cut two tablets of stone like the first ones.”
👉 This time the stone was prepared by man, not directly from the throne. -
Writing still from Yahuah, but on a human-provided surface.
🔹 Symbolism of First vs. Second Tablets
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First Tablets (Sapphire, cut by Elohim)
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Pure heavenly Torah.
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Written on sapphire, matching the throne pavement.
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Priesthood of the firstborn still in effect.
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Broken through sin (golden calf).
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Second Tablets (Sapphire, cut by Moshe)
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Still sapphire, but cut by human hands.
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Written again by Yahuah’s finger.
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Delivered under Levitical priesthood, after sin.
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Symbol of covenant preserved, but mediated through man’s weakness.
📖 5. Blue Cord & Sapphire Reminder
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Numbers 15:37–39 – Tassels with a cord of blue so YasharEL remembers the commandments.
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Blue = sapphire = Torah. Every tassel was a miniature reminder of the sapphire tablets.
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Isaiah 54:11 – “I will lay your foundations with sapphires.” Restoration promise = covenant rebuilt on same sapphire foundation.
📖 6. Fulfillment in Messiah
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First Tablets → Word engraved by Elohim directly = Messiah, the Word made flesh (John 1:14).
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Second Tablets → stone cut by man, writing by Elohim = Yahusha, both Son of Man and Son of Elohim, Torah inscribed on humanity.
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New Covenant = not written on stone but on the heart (Jer 31:33; 2 Cor 3:3), yet still sapphire foundation.
🍂Three colors of the Tabernacle
Everywhere in the sanctuary (Exo 26:1, Exo 28:5–6, Exo 39:1–2) we find:
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Blue (tekhelet) = Torah, heavenly sapphire law, throne pavement (Exo 24:10).
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Scarlet (shani / tolaʿ) = blood of atonement, life poured out (Lev 17:11).
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Purple (argaman) = the blending of both — the covenant completed in blood and righteousness.
Wine is purple, not scarlet.
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Purple = blue + scarlet.
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So His choice wasn’t arbitrary. The wine as His blood wasn’t just “atoning blood” — it was “atoning blood united with Torah.”
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In Him, righteousness (blue) and atonement (scarlet) converge into one finished covenant (purple).
📖Luk 22:20 Likewise the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the renewed covenant in My blood which is shed for you.
He joined together two realities:
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Covenant = Torah foundation (blue).
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Blood = atoning sacrifice (scarlet).
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Wine (purple) = the two joined, the law fulfilled and sealed in blood (Matt 5:17).
So, when the disciples drank the wine, they weren’t just remembering forgiveness — they were partaking in the finished covenant of grace: Torah + Atonement joined forever in Messiah.
🟣The beauty of purple
Purple has always symbolized royalty, but in the sanctuary it is specifically the fusion color:
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Blue → Elohim’s heavenly righteousness.
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Scarlet → Humanity’s life offered up.
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Purple → The King-Priest (Melchizedek order) who embodies both.
1. The Gospel accounts
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Matthew 27:28 – “And they stripped Him and put on Him a scarlet robe.”
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Mark 15:17 – “And they clothed Him with purple, and twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him.”
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John 19:2 – “And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they clothed Him with a purple robe.”
So: Matthew says scarlet, Mark & John say purple.
2. Historical explanation (surface-level)
Roman soldiers often used cheap military cloaks that could appear either scarlet (bright red wool) or purple (faded royal dye). Depending on lighting, age, or even perspective, the same garment might be described as either.
But that doesn’t explain why the Spirit inspired different Gospel writers to choose different colors. That’s where this insight comes in.
3. Prophetic explanation (the color mystery)
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Scarlet = blood of atonement, humanity’s sin-debt carried on Him.
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Purple = blue Torah (righteousness) + scarlet blood = fulfillment of covenant in Kingly-Priestly Messiah.
When His blood splattered the garment, what did it look like?
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To some, red (scarlet).
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To others, purple — because the mixture of blood + robe color + meaning pointed to His kingship and Torah-fulfillment.
So the Gospel witnesses each highlight a different facet:
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Matthew (scarlet): Yahusha as the sin-bearer and atoning sacrifice.
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Mark/John (purple): Yahusha as the King-Priest, the covenant fulfilled in blood.
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Both are true, and together they form the full picture.
4. Deeper prophetic connection
This robe imagery connects to 📖Isaiah 63:2–3:
“Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone...”
Wine = blood. Garments = stained purple-red.
Exactly the robe of Messiah at His trial and crucifixion.
And in 📖Revelation 19:13:
“He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of Elohim.”
Here the robe is permanently “wine-colored” (purple/red) — covenant fulfilled, Torah + blood joined.
5. The mystery resolved
The robe was both scarlet and purple, depending on what you were seeing based on the blood spattered all over His robe:
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Scarlet = His blood in atonement for sin.
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Purple = His kingship in fulfilling Torah.
The Gospel writers, like the bystanders at the stake, each described the same mystery from different angles — because Messiah’s robe of mockery became the robe of kingship and covenant.
🟦🟥🟪The Sapphire–Scarlet–Purple Thread
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Blue / Sapphire – Torah from the throne, perfect righteousness (Exo 24:10, sapphire pavement).
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Scarlet – Blood of atonement, sacrifice for sin (Lev 4:6, scarlet thread of purification).
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Purple – The fusion: Torah fulfilled by atoning blood, King-Priest Messiah (wine of the new covenant).
At His trial, the robe becomes the living fusion of these symbols:
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Scarlet – to some, He appeared as the sin-bearer.
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Purple – to others, He appeared as mocked royalty — yet truly the King fulfilling Torah.
The same robe, seen through different eyes → two witnesses of one mystery.
✨Prophetic Echoes
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Isaiah 63:2–3 – Garments stained red from treading the winepress → robe dipped in blood.
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Revelation 19:13 – He returns clothed in a robe dipped in blood, name: The Word of Elohim.
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The robe of mockery becomes the robe of eternal kingship.
📖 Breastplate Order (Exodus 28:17–20; 39:10–13)
The stones were set in four rows of three:
1️⃣ Row 1 – Odem (Ruby/Carnelian), Pitdah (Topaz), Bareqet (Emerald)
2️⃣ Row 2 – Nophek (Turquoise), Sappir (Sapphire), Yahalom (Diamond/Jasper)
3️⃣ Row 3 – Leshem, Shebo, Achlamah
4️⃣ Row 4 – Tarshish, Shoham, Yashpheh
So the sapphire is 2nd row, 2nd stone → the 5th overall. Number 5 stands for Torah and Grace.
📖Exo 26:32 “And you shall put it on the four columns of acacia wood overlaid with gold, their hooks of gold, upon four sockets of silver.
📖Exo 26:33 “And you shall hang the veil from the hooks, and shall bring the ark of the Witness there, behind the veil. And the veil shall make a separation for you between the Set-apart and the Most Set-apart Place.
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Exodus 25:10–22 describes the ark and mercy seat (כפרת kaporet) as overlaid and covered with pure gold, with kerubim beaten out of the same piece.
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Gold naturally reflects light — it doesn’t absorb it. In the Most Set-Apart Place, this meant the Shekinah glory shining between the kerubim would be amplified, filling the chamber with radiant light.
The veil of blue, purple, scarlet (Ex 26:31–33)
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The veil hung just before the ark, woven of sapphire-blue, scarlet, and the resulting purple.
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When Yahuah’s glory shone forth from above the mercy seat, the colors of the veil would have interacted with that golden reflection.
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Scarlet light (blood/atonement) + Blue light (Torah/sapphire stone) would mix, casting a purple hue — the covenant fulfilled.
Prophetic reflection
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The dazzling presence (Yahuah enthroned between the kerubim, 1 Sam 4:4; Ps 80:1) shining on pure gold, through the prism of the veil, visually declared:
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Blue: His unchanging Torah.
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Scarlet: The blood required for approach.
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Purple: The new covenant union — Torah fulfilled in atonement.
📖Psa 80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Yisra’ěl, Who leads Yosěph like a flock; Who dwells between the keruḇim, shine forth!
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This is why Yahusha’s robe appeared scarlet in one account (Matt 27:28) and purple in another (Mark 15:17). His blood mingled with the Torah-picture created by the veil and ark.
Theological depth Gold represents the incorruptible divine nature.
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The ark = Messiah (Word made flesh, containing Torah, priestly authority, and manna).
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The mercy seat = His atoning work, where blood was sprinkled.
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The kerubim = heavenly witnesses/guardians of the covenant pattern.
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The glory light = Yahuah’s own presence affirming the covenant.
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Thus the purple glow from ark and kerubim is literally the visual proclamation of Yahusha as the New Covenant — law and blood united.
✨ So , when the Shekinah glory shone, the ark and kerubim would have been bathed in purple light — the very same color Messiah embodied in His passion.
1. Ezekiel’s Vision of Sapphire
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Ezekiel 1:26 – “Above the expanse… was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone.”
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Ezekiel 10:1 – Again the throne above the kerubim is seen “like a sapphire stone.”
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Ezekiel’s vision is saturated with sapphire imagery — the very heavenly pavement of Sinai (Ex 24:10), the foundation of Torah.
2. Kerubim and Blue Radiance
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Ezekiel 1:7 describes the kerubim with “sparkling like the appearance of burnished bronze,” but their overall impression is joined to the sapphire throne above them.
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Their wings and movement reflect and refract the glory light coming from the throne, just as the golden kerubim in the Temple reflected the Shekinah onto the veil.
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Since the veil itself carried blue woven in, the reflected light Ezekiel saw would take on blue hues.
3. Why Blue?
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Blue = Torah, heavenly foundation, sapphire tablets.
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The kerubim are guardians of Torah and the covenant pattern (Gen 3:24; Ex 25:20).
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Their radiance being blue in Ezekiel fits this function — they are like living sapphires reflecting the sapphire throne.
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Just as the ark kerubim would have been bathed in purple light (blue + scarlet reflected in gold) within the Most Set-Apart Place, Ezekiel in the heavens sees them dominated by the sapphire-blue of the throne above.
4. Prophetic Mystery
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On earth, the kerubim in the Tabernacle reflected purple covenant light — law + blood.
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In heaven, Ezekiel beholds them directly under the sapphire throne, so they radiate blue — the unfiltered law and throne foundation.
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When Yahusha came in the flesh, He wore the purple robe — the earthly manifestation of that union (Torah + blood).
Kerubim are made of reflective gold (Ex 25:18–20).
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They sit directly under the sapphire throne (Ex 24:10; Ez 10:1).
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Yahuah’s glory shines forth between them (Ps 80:1).
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Thus, kerubim appear blue in Ezekiel’s vision because they are reflecting the sapphire radiance of Yahuah’s throne/foundation.
1. The word “polished” (קלל qalal)
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Ezekiel 1:7 – “Their feet sparkled like the colour of burnished bronze.”
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Root qalal = “light, swift, polished” but also “to curse” (Gen 12:3, Balaam in Num 22:6).
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So the text holds a double-edge: the kerubim shine like polished copper/bronze, but also stand as executors of covenant curses/judgments.
2. “Bronze” = נחשׁת (nechosheth)
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Translated often as bronze/brass, but the ancient word is closer to copper — sometimes alloyed with gold.
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Root link: נחש (nachash) = serpent.
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This connects nechosheth not only to metal, but to serpent imagery.
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Thus, the “burnished copper” under the kerubim is not just shiny metal — it is the judgment imagery of the brazen serpent (Num 21:8–9, later destroyed by Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18:4).
3. “Sparkle” = נצץ (natsats)
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Translated “sparkle,” but also means “to bloom, to blossom, to sprout.”
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So their feet didn’t just shine, they looked like sparks bursting / blossoms unfolding.
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That’s priestly language — like Aaron’s rod that blossomed almonds (Num 17:8), confirming priesthood.
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In the kerubim, it’s as though judgment (copper serpent / curse) and life (blossoming / spark of resurrection) are both being expressed.
4. Ezekiel’s Symbolism
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The kerubim’s feet of burnished nechosheth = they stand upon judgment and curse.
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The sparkle/blossom = out of that judgment comes life and priestly authority.
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They are guardians of the covenant pattern — both its blessings and its curses (Lev 26; Deut 28).
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Just as the brazen serpent both represented curse (sin lifted up) and healing (those who looked lived), so the keruvim carry both dimensions.
1. Garden of Eden – guarding the way back
Genesis 3:24 – “He drove out the man; and He placed kerubim at the east of the garden of Eden… to guard the way to the tree of life.”
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The first inheritance Adam lost was access to the Tree of Life.
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The kerubim guard that inheritance — showing their role is tied to the firstborn destiny of man (dominion, sonship).
2. At Sinai – firstborn called to priesthood
📖Exodus 19:5–6 – “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a set-apart nation.”
📖Exodus 19:22 – “And let the priests who come near Yahuah set themselves apart…”
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Before Levi was chosen, the firstborn of YasharEL were to serve as priests.
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The kerubim over the Ark (the covenant centerpiece) are the heavenly reflection of this reality: they watch over the covenant tablets, which were first entrusted to a nation of firstborn sons.
3. Loss of firstborn priesthood → Levitical substitution
📖Numbers 3:12–13 – “Behold, I have taken the Levites… instead of all the firstborn that open the womb among the children of YasharEL.”
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Because of the golden calf sin, the firstborn priesthood was forfeited.
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Levi stepped in as substitution.
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But the kerubim still symbolically guard the original firstborn inheritance — the pure sapphire covenant given before Levi’s replacement.
4. Ark of the Covenant – the guarded inheritance
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Inside the Ark:
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Sapphire tablets (Torah = inheritance of sons).
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Manna (daily provision = firstborn’s double portion).
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Aaron’s rod that budded (priesthood inheritance).
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The kerubim cover all these, signifying guardianship of the covenantal firstborn blessing.
5. Ezekiel’s Kerubim – reflecting sapphire throne
📖Ezekiel 10:1 – “Above the kerubim… a throne like sapphire stone.”
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Ezekiel sees them bathed in sapphire light, the very foundation of the tablets.
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This shows they are still guarding the Torah-inheritance of the sons, pointing forward to Messiah the Firstborn (Col 1:15–18).
6. Fulfillment in Messiah
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Yahusha is the Firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15).
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He is also the Firstborn from the dead (Rev 1:5).
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The kerubim’s imagery (curse-bearing copper, blossoming sparks, sapphire reflection) finds its fulfillment in Him:
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He bore the curse (Gal 3:13).
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He is the blossoming rod (resurrection life).
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He is the Sapphire Word/Torah made flesh (John 1:14).
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Thus the kerubim ultimately guard the Firstborn Blessing until Messiah claims it back for YasharEL.
