Yehezkiel 1:5

1:5 In the fire ¹  were what looked like ²  four living beings. ³  In their appearance they had human form, ⁴ 

Yehezkiel 14:1

Well-Deserved Judgment

14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me.

Yehezkiel 27:19

27:19 and casks of wine ⁵  from Izal ⁶  they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise.

Yehezkiel 27:23

27:23 Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients.

Yehezkiel 48:5

48:5 Next to the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west, Ephraim will have one portion.

[1:5]  ¹ tc Heb “from its midst” (מִתּוֹכָהּ, mitokhah). The LXX reads ἐν τῷ μέσῳ (en tw mesw, “in the midst of it”). The LXX also reads ἐν for מִתּוֹךְ (mitokh) in v. 4. The translator of the LXX of Ezekiel either read בְּתוֹךְ (bÿtokh, “within”) in his Hebrew exemplar or could not imagine how מִתּוֹךְ could make sense and so chose to use ἐν. The Hebrew would be understood by adding “from its midst emerged the forms of four living beings.”

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “form, figure, appearance.”

[1:5]  ³ tn The Hebrew term is feminine plural yet thirty-three of the forty-five pronominal suffixes and verbal references which refer to the living beings in the chapter are masculine plural. The grammatical vacillation between masculine and feminine plurals suggests the difficulty Ezekiel had in penning these words as he was overcome by the vision of God. In ancient Near Eastern sculpture very similar images of part-human, part-animal creatures serve as throne and sky bearers. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:26-31. Ezekiel’s vision is an example of contextualization, where God accommodates his self-revelation to cultural expectations and norms.

[1:5]  ⁴ sn They had human form may mean they stood erect.

[27:19]  ⁵ tc The MT leaves v. 18 as an incomplete sentence and begins v. 19 with “and Dan and Javan (Ionia) from Uzal.” The LXX mentions “wine.” The translation follows an emendation assuming some confusions of vav and yod. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:82.

[27:19]  ⁶ sn According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:82), Izal was located between Haran and the Tigris and was famous for its wine.