Concept in Definition ABC

In the tradition Biblical, a cherub is a type of angel who is very close to God, participating in the praise and adoration of him. Following the description that is given of them in the sacred texts, the cherubs would be beings of great beauty similar in appearance to the men, but with four faces and calf feet, counting on four wings, two to fly and two to cover their Body.

Usually, in the world of art, they have been represented as kids or babies, although the truth is that they can also be young and old.

Among the best known cherubs would be his Leader, Kerubiel, and the fallen angel, Luzbel.

In the Old Testament, the role of the cherubim is never made explicit, so they have been assigned various functions, among them the most common is that of guardians of the Garden of Eden. However, in the New Testament it is possible to intuit that the cherubs would be in charge of transporting the Ark of the Covenant.

Cherubs in Judaism and Islam

While cherubs are almost uniquely associated with the

religion Christian, there are also references to these beings in the other two great religions: Judaic and Islamic.

Various Branches of Judaism, Including Rabbinic traditional, believe in the existence of angels, including cherubs among them. However, there is some controversy as to what angels really are and how the passages in the Bible in which they are mentioned should be interpreted.

For example, in Kabbalah there is a strong faith in the existence of cherubs, granting them, along with other angels, certain musical roles. While on the opposite side, the philosophical writings of Maimonides could be placed, which endows the Bible with a interpretation neo-Aristotelian, interpreting in this way that angels are nothing but mere metaphorical allusions to various phenomena of nature.

On the other hand, in some Islamic traditions the cherubs are in charge of transporting the throne of Allah, although the truth is is that there is no explicit reference to these beings in the Qur'an or the various hadiths (narratives about the life of Muhammad).

Some legends regarding the cherubim in this culture describe them as being so luminous that a single one of them could illuminate the entire surface of the Earth. For the 17th century philosopher Fakhr Al-Din Al-Turaihi, the archangel Gabriel would be the head of the cherubs.

Photos: iStock - mkistryn

Themes in Cherub