View source for Religion:Living creatures (Bible)

{{Short description|Class of heavenly beings}}
[[Image:Ezekiel's vision.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|Ezekiel's "chariot vision", by Matthaeus Merian (1593–1650)]]
[[File:Ezekiel's Wheel John Kratovo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Ezekiel's Wheel]]
[[File:Augsburger Wunderzeichenbuch — Folio 15? „Vision des Hesekiel“.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Ezekiel's encounter with the Merkabah and the Living Creatures]]
The '''living creatures''', '''living beings''', or '''''hayyot''''' ([[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]] חַיּוֹת ''ḥayyōṯ'') are a class of [[Unsolved:Heaven|heaven]]ly beings in Jewish mythology. They are described in the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly chariot in the first and tenth chapters of the Book of Ezekiel. References to the sacred creatures recur in texts of Second Temple Judaism, in rabbinical ''merkabah'' ("chariot") literature, in the [[Religion:Book of Revelation|Book of Revelation]] in the Christian [[Religion:New Testament|New Testament]], and in the Zohar.

According to [[Religion:Judaism|Jewish]] and [[Religion:Christianity|Christian]] traditions, there are four living creatures, although their description varies by source. The symbolic depiction of the four living creatures in religious art, especially Christian art, is called a [[Unsolved:Tetramorph|tetramorph]].

==Ezekiel's four living creatures==
Ezekiel's vision of the four living creatures in Ezekiel 1 are identified as [[Cherub|cherub]]im in Ezekiel 10. Each of Ezekiel's cherubim have four faces, that of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.

==Revelation's four living beings==
In the New Testament book of {{bibleverse|Revelation|4:6–8|KJV}}, four living beings (Greek: ζῷον, ''zōion''){{sfnp|Mounce|1997|pp=123–125}} are seen in John's vision. These appear as a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle, much as in Ezekiel but in a different order. They have six wings, whereas Ezekiel's four living creatures are described as having four.{{sfnp|Mounce|1997|pp=123–125}} In verse 6, they are said to have "eyes all over, front and back", suggesting that they are alert and knowledgeable, that nothing escapes their notice.{{sfnp|Mounce|1997|pp=123–125}} The description parallels ''the wheels'' that are beside the living creatures in Ezekiel 1:18; 10:12, which are said to be "full of eyes all around". The [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for "wheel" (galgal) was also used in later Jewish literature to indicate a member of the angelic orders and is also defined by the Strong's Concordance to the King James Version of biblical scriptures as "A Whirlwind", "Heaven", or "a rolling thing".(1 Enoch 71:7; 3 Enoch 1:8; 7:1; 25:5–6, etc.). In this passage in Revelation, the four beasts surround "The One" on the red throne (which is of ruby and sardius).

Comparing the living creatures in Ezekiel with [[Religion:Book of Revelation|Revelation]]'s is a prominent [[Unsolved:Apocalypticism|apocalyptic study]] in [[Religion:Western Christianity|Western Christianity]].{{sfnp|Pate|2009|p=19}} An example is the 18th century works of [[Biography:Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]]' recorded interpretation of 1722/23.

==Religious views==
In Judaism, the living beings are considered [[Unsolved:Angel|angel]]s of fire, who hold up the [[Religion:Throne of God|throne of God]].{{sfnp|Davidson|1967|p=
[https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofange00davi#page/136/mode/2up 137]}} According to the Zohar, they hold up the [[Astronomy:Firmament|firmament]] itself.{{sfnp|Davidson|1967|p=[https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofange00davi#page/136/mode/2up 137]}}<ref>[https://www.zohar.com/zohar/Noach/chapters/34 Noach 261–265], ''Zohar''.</ref> They are ranked first in [[Biography:Maimonides|Maimonides]]' Jewish angelic hierarchy. They have also been correlated with four archangels: "Michael is the 'lion-headed', [[Unsolved:Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]] the "human-headed", Uriel the "ox-headed", and [[Biography:Gabriel|Gabriel]] the "eagle-headed".{{sfnp|Stafford|1979|p=72}}

In [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]], the four living creatures are Cherubim.{{sfnp|Senior|Collins|Getty|2011|p=1162, fn. 1:5}} A prominent early interpretation, variously modified by different interpreters, has been to equate the four creatures with the [[Religion:Four Evangelists|Four Evangelists]]. Throughout church history, the most common interpretation (first laid out by Victorinus), but not the original or the only, is that the lion represents Mark, the calf Luke, the man Matthew, and the eagle John. Irenaeus was the first to make the association with the evangelists, but the interpretation laid out by Victorinus and adopted by [[Biography:Jerome|Jerome]], Gregory the Great, and the Book of Kells became dominant.{{sfnp|Kovacs|Rowland|2004|p=66}} Its influence has been on art and sculpture{{sfnp|Woodman|2008|p=128}} and is still prevalent in Catholicism{{sfnp|Barber|2005|p=86}} and Anglicanism.{{sfnp|Stevenson|2001|p=470}} A view held by many modern commentators is that the four living creatures of Revelation are agents of God and heavenly representatives of the created order, who call every living thing to worship the Creator.{{sfnp|Koester|2014|p=353}}

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Religion:Anemoi}}
* {{annotated link|Biology:Eye of Horus}}
* {{annotated link|Religion:Four Heavenly Kings}}
* {{annotated link|Religion:Four sons of Horus}}
* {{annotated link|Unsolved:Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór|Four Stags (Norse mythology)}}
* {{annotated link|Astronomy:Four Symbols}}
* {{annotated link|Religion:Lokapala}}
* {{annotated link|Astronomy:Royal stars}}
* {{annotated link|Unsolved:Tetramorph}}

==Quotes==
{{reflist|group=quote}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Barber |first=Michael |title=Coming Soon: Unlocking the Book of Revelation and Applying Its Lessons Today |year=2005 |publisher=Emmaus Road Publishing |isbn=9781931018265 |}}
* {{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Gustav |title=A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels |year=1967 |publisher=Free Press |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofange00davi |}}
* {{cite book |last=De Conick |first=April D. |title=Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism |year=2006 |publisher=[[Organization:Society of Biblical Literature|Society of Biblical Literature]] |isbn=9781589832572}}
* {{cite book |last=Duguid |first=Iain M. |title=Ezekiel: The NIV Application Commentary |year=2011 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=9780310866107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0vLRihnP_EC&q=God%27s+throne-bearers}}
* {{cite book |last=Eichrodt |first=Walther |title=Ezekiel: A Commentary |year=2003 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=9780664227661 |}}
* {{cite book |last1=Koester |first1=Craig R. |title=Revelation |date=2014 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, Connecticut}}
* {{cite book |first1=Judith |last1=Kovacs |first2=Christopher |last2=Rowland |title=Revelation: The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ |year=2004 |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Company:Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell publishing]] |isbn=9781405143219 |}}
* {{cite book |last=Kreider |first=Glenn |title=Jonathan Edwards' Interpretation of Revelation 4:1–8:1 |year=2004 |publisher=[[Organization:University Press of America|University Press of America]] |isbn=9780761826705}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mounce |first1=Robert H. |title=The Book of Revelation |date=1997 |publisher=W. B. Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |isbn=0802825370 |edition=rev.}}
* {{cite book |last=Pate |first=C. Marvin |title=Reading Revelation: A Comparison of Four Interpretive Translations of the Apocalypse |year=2009 |publisher=Kregel Academic |isbn=9780825433672}}
* {{cite book |first1=Donald |last1=Senior |first2=John J. |last2=Collins |first3=Mary Ann |last3=Getty |title=Catholic Study Bible-NABRE |year=2011 |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780195297751 |}}
* {{cite book |last=Smalley |first=Stephen S. |title=The Revelation to John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse |year=2012 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=9780830829248 |}}
*{{cite book |last=Stafford |first=Barbara Maria |year=1979 |title=Symbol and Myth: Humbert de Superville's Essay on Absolute Signs in Art |publisher=University of Delaware |isbn=978-0874131208}}
* {{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Kenneth |title=Biblica |volume=34: ''Animal Rites: The Four Living Creatures in Patristic Exegesis and Liturgy'' |year=2001 |publisher=[[Company:Peeters Publishers|Peeters Publishers]] |isbn=9789042908819 |}}
* {{cite book |last=Woodman |first=Simon P. |title=The Book of Revelation |year=2008 |publisher=Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd |isbn=9780334041047}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1521-angelology Jewish Encyclopedia: Angelology]



[[Category:Book of Revelation]]

{{Sourceattribution|Living creatures (Bible)}}