14 You were the anointed cherub who covers: and I set you, (so that) you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Thou art - Better," Thou" wert. "the anointed cherub that covereth" In the temple the cherubim and all holy things were consecrated and anointed with oil (Exodus 30:26 ff). The prince of Tyre was also anointed as a sovereign priest - covering or protecting the minor states, like the cherubim with outstretched wings covering the mercy-Seat.
Thou wast upon the holy mountain - As the cherub was in the temple on the holy mountain, so the prince of Tyre was presiding over the island-city, rising like a mountain from the deep.
Stones of fire - i. e., bright and shining. Decked with bright jewels, the prince walked among jewels in gorgeous splendor.
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth - The irony is continued; and here he is likened to the Cherub that guarded the gates of Paradise, and kept the way of the tree of life; or to one of the cherubs whose wings, spread out, covered the mercy-seat.
Thou mast upon the holy mountain of God - The irony is still continued; and now he is compared to Hoses, and afterwards to one of the chief angels, who has walked up and down among the stones of fire; that is, thy floors have been paved with precious stones, that shone and sparkled like fire.
Lucan, describing the splendor of the apartments of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, speaks in nearly a similar language: -
Nec summis crustata domus, sectisque nitebat
Marmoribus, stabatque sibi non segnis achates,
Purpureusque lapis, totusque effusus in aula
Calcabatur onyx;
Pharsal. lib. x.
Rich as some fane by slavish zealots reared,
For the proud banquet stood the hall prepared:
Thick golden plates the latent beams infold,
And the high roof was fretted o'er with gold.
Of solid marble all the walls were made,
And onyx e'en the meaner floor inlaid;
While porphyry and agate round the court
In massy columns rose, a proud support.
Of solid ebony each post was wrought,
From swarthy Meroe profusely brought.
With ivory was the entrance crusted o'er,
And polished tortoise hid each shining door;
While on the cloudy spots enchased was seen
The trusty emerald's never-fading green.
Within the royal beds and couches shone,
Beamy and bright with many a costly stone,
The glowing purple rich.
Rowe.
Thou [art] (e) the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee (f) [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the (g) stones of fire.
(e) He means the royal state of Tyre, which for the excellency and glory of it he compares to the cherubim which covered the Ark, and by "anointed" he signifies the same.
(f) I did you this honour to make you one of the builders of my temple, which was when Hiram sent to Solomon things necessary for the work.
(g) That is, among my people Israel, which shined as precious stones.
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth,.... In allusion to the cherubim over the mercy seat, which covered it with their wings; and which, as the ark of the testimony and all the vessels of the tabernacle were anointed, were so likewise; in all probability the king of Tyre is called a "cherub" because of his wisdom and power; "anointed", because of his royal dignity; and "that covereth", because of his office, which was to protect his people; all which he either was, or ought to be, or was in his own opinion so: antichrist makes great boasts of his wisdom, power, and authority, as a teacher, pastor, or bishop, the cherubim being symbolical of the ministers of the word; and of his being anointed by men, that he may be the cover and shield of the church; and of his being the Lord's anointed, and the vicar of Christ, and head and protector of the church, as he calls himself (s). The Targum understands all this of regal power, and renders it,
"thou art a king anointed for a kingdom:''
and I have set thee so; from whom all kings have their sceptres, crowns, and kingdoms; and by whom they reign; and who can put them down as well as set them up at his pleasure. It may be rendered, "I have given thee" (t); or suffered thee to be so, as the word "give" is often used; it is by divine permission that antichrist has taken such power to himself, and in judgment to them over whom he rules, who are given up to believe a lie; yea, God "put", or, as it is in the original text, "gave" it into the hearts of the kings to agree and give their kingdom to the beast, Revelation 17:17,
thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; not on Sinai, nor on Zion; on neither of which was the king of Tyre; nor was this literally true of him; for to say, as Kimchi does to illustrate it, that Hiram king of Tyre assisted Solomon with materials to build the temple, is very foreign; but this is true of the antitype of the king of Tyre, antichrist; who has set his foot on God's holy mountain the church; here he first appeared and stood, as before observed on the preceding verse:
thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire; which some understand of the precious stones with which the king of Tyre was adorned, which glittered like fire; though rather they design the people of God, those living lively stones of which the spiritual house is built; who, for their clear light, and burning zeal and love, may be said to be as stones of fire; and among these the bishop of Rome, or the antichristian king of Tyre, first walked: so Kimchi interprets them of the Israelites, who were a holy people; and Jarchi of the kings of Israel, who were as the ministering angels; the seraphim perhaps he means, so called from their burning and flaming love. The Targum is,
"and over the holy people thou hast thought to rule.''
(s) Vid. Gurtler. Voc. Typic. Prophet. Explicat. p. 238. (t) "et dedi te", Montanus.
anointed cherub--GESENIUS translates from an Aramaic root, "extended cherub." English Version, from a Hebrew root, is better. "The cherub consecrated to the Lord by the anointing oil" [FAIRBAIRN].
covereth--The imagery employed by Ezekiel as a priest is from the Jewish temple, wherein the cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat, as the king of Tyre, a demi-god in his own esteem, extended his protection over the interests of Tyre. The cherub--an ideal compound of the highest kinds of animal existence and the type of redeemed man in his ultimate state of perfection--is made the image of the king of Tyre, as if the beau ideal of humanity. The pretensions of Antichrist are the ulterior reference, of whom the king of Tyre is a type. Compare "As God . . . in the temple of God" (2-Thessalonians 2:4).
I have set thee--not thou set thyself (Proverbs 8:16; Romans 13:1).
upon the holy mountain of God--Zion, following up the image.
in . . . midst of . . . stones of fire--In ambitious imagination he stood in the place of God, "under whose feet was, as it were, a pavement of sapphire," while His glory was like "devouring fire" (Exodus 24:10, Exodus 24:17).
Cherub - For thy wisdom, power, and excellency, like a cherub, or angel; for the sacredness of thy person, and office, as the anointed of God; for the exercise of thy power, as a shield, as a protector of the weak. And I - I, whom thou forgetest have made thee so. Thou wast - Thou wast advanced to kingly dignity, (which David calls a mountain, Psalm 30:7,) a sacred office, and of divine institution. In the midst - Surrounded with stones, that sparkle like fire.
*More commentary available at chapter level.