Abraham Beholds the Divine Throne and the Living Creatures

While Abraham was still reciting the song, the fire on the surface rose up on high. He heard a voice like the roaring of the sea. The fire would not stop. And as it climbed, ascending into the height, Abraham saw what lay beneath it.

A throne of fire.

Around the throne, all-seeing ones reciting the celestial song. Beneath the throne, four fiery living creatures singing, each one identical in form, each one with four faces: a lion, a man, an ox, and an eagle (Ezekiel 1:10). Four heads upon their bodies, sixteen faces in total. Each creature had six wings. With the wings from their shoulders they covered their faces. With the wings from their loins they covered their feet. The middle pair they spread wide for flying straight forward (Isaiah 6:2).

When the living creatures finished singing, they looked at one another and began to threaten one another. A strange and terrifying detail. Even the highest angels were consumed by rivalry in service, each claiming precedence, each turning upon its neighbor with menace.

Iaoel saw the threat. He left Abraham's side and ran to the creatures. He turned each living creature's face away from the one directly confronting it, so that they could not see each other's threatening expressions. Then he taught them the song of peace that has its origin in the Eternal One.

Abraham stood alone and looked beyond the living creatures. Behind them he saw a chariot with fiery wheels, each wheel full of eyes all around (Ezekiel 1:18). Over the wheels was a throne covered with fire, encircled by fire, surrounded by an indescribable fire that enveloped a fiery host.

And from within it all, Abraham heard a holy voice. It sounded like the voice of a man.

The vision of God's throne of glory, the Merkabah, the central mystery of the heavenly world. The same vision that would later consume the mystics who dared to ascend, that drove some mad and others to silence. Abraham was the first to see it. He stood in the fire and did not burn.

And6 while I still recited the song, the mouth of the fire which was on the surface rose up on high. And I heard a voice like the roaring of the sea; nor did it cease on account of7 the rich abundance7 of the fire.8 And as the fire raised itself up, ascending into the height, I saw under the fire a throne of fire,9 and, round about it

Render became. S omits. Cf. Rev. xxii. 5, xxi. 23, Is. lx. 19 f . [ Th e t h e m e i s expanded in the Synagogue Liturgy in connexion with the Benediction over light which precedes the recitation of th e Shem a: “ Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who formest light an d c r ea t es t darkn ess. . . . Yea, eternal ligh t (Heb. ’ôr ’ôl~m) in the treasury of life; for He spake, and out of darkness there was light.”] The bracketed clause is attested by A K; S omits. Abraham prays th at the sacrifice m ay be accepted, and as a r esult of this that the secrets of the future may be disclosed by revelation. The prayer seems to be a personal addition to the song of praise on the part of A brah am. The structu r e of the whole with its opening invocation, made up of clauses describing the divine attributes and transcendence, and f o l l o w e d b y a prayer, is similar to that of 4 Ezra viii. 20 ff. (cf. especially verses 20-27), which is also poetical in form. Here it is to be noticed that the “song” proper appears to be a mi d r ashic developmen t of th e divine attributes and character as deduced from the various names of God (El Shaddai, Elohim, Jahveh, Sabaoth). 7 S omits. So A K; S is corrupt here. i.e. ? the voice was still audible even through the crackling of th e fire. Cf. 2 En och xx. 3. The vision of God’s th rone of glory was the central p o i nt of the mystical experience.

all-seeing ones, 1 reciting the song, and under the throne four fiery living creatures singing, and their appearance was one, each one of them with four faces.2 And3 such was the appearance of their countenances, of a lion, of a man, of an o x, of an eagle:4 four heads [were upon their bodies]5 [so that the four creatures had sixteen faces];6and each had six wings; 7 from their shoulders, [and their sides] 8 and their loins. And with the (two) wings from their shoulders they covered their faces, and with the (two) wings which (sprang) from their loins they covered their feet, while the (two) middle wings they spread out for flying straightforward.9 And when they had ended the singing, they looked at one another and threatened one another.10 And it came to pass when the angel who w as with me saw that they were threatening each other, he left me and went running to them and turned the countenance of each living creature from the countenance immediately confronting him, in order that they might not see their countenances threatening each other.11 And he taught them the song of peace which 1 2 hath its origin [in the Eternal One].12 And as I stood alone and looked, I saw behind the living creatures a chariot with fiery wheels, each wheel full of eyes round about;13 and over the wheels was a throne;14 which I saw, and this was covered w ith fire, and fire encircled it round about,15 and lo! an indescribable fire environed a fiery host. And I heard its holy voice like the voice of a man.16

“The watchfulness of many eyes” (2 Enoch xx. 1), cf. Ezek. i. 18, x. 12: t h e “Ophannim” (“Wheels”) are so described, and are regarded as an order of heavenly beings (like th e Cherubim). But h e r e the Cherubim are probably meant. 3 Cf. Ezek. i. 5, 6. S K omit. 5 Cf. Ezek. i. 10 (Rev. iv. 7). S omits. The bracketed clause is attested by A K; S omits. It looks like a scribal gloss. So Rev. iv. 8 (based on Is. vi. 2); in Ezek . i. 6 th e four “living creatures” have each four wings. Here S reads three (i. e. ? three pairs of wings). 9 S omits. Cf. Is. vi. 2, Ezek. i. 11, 12. The underlying idea of this stran ge representation seems to be that of emulation and rivalry (in service). This may be illus t rat ed fr om t h e Midrash Tauhuma on Gen. ii. 4 (ed. Buber, p. 10), where in a comment on the verse Domin ion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places (Job xxv. 2) it is said: “ Dom inion, i. e. Michael, and fear, i. e. Gabriel; who maketh peace in his high places, even the celes ti al s (h~-‘elyônîm) need peace. The constellations rise: Taurus says, “I am first, and I see what is before him”; the Gemini say, “I am first, and I see what is before him”; and so every single one says, “I am first” (corrected text). It is to be noted that in the mystical Hebrew literature concerned with the theme of the Divine Chariot and Th ron e (Merkaba) the angels who guard the Chariot are r epr esen ted as fierce and warlike in aspect—flames dart for t h fr om t h eir eyes, and th ey are armed with fiery weapons (cf. Jellinek, Beth ha-Midrash iii. 94 f.). See furth er A dditional N ote II (p. 87). The relative position of th e celestial beings about the div in e throne is th us described in th e Liturgy: “The hayyoth [‘livin g creatures’] sing: the Ch erubim glorify: the Serap h i m ex ul t , and the Arelim bless. The face of every hayy a, Ophan, and Ch erub is set toward the Seraphim, and thus confronting each the other, they utter praise and say, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place” (S er vice of the Synagogue, Festival Prayers (New Year), p. 87 (ed. Davis)). Lit. which is in itself [of the Eternal One]: S omits th e bracketed words. 14 Cf. Ezek. i. 15, 18, x. 9, 12. Cf. Ezek. i. 26. Cf. Ezek. i. 27. Cf. Ezek. i. 28 (end) combined with i. 26.

God discloses to Abraham the Powers of Heaven (Chapter XIX.).