Representatives of God’s power in creation and judicial government. They were placed at Eden to keep the tree of life after the fall of man. Gen 3:24. They were depicted in needlework and in carving both in the tabernacle and the temple, and two of them with wings were represented as overshadowing the mercy-seat. Exo 25:18-22; Exo 26:1; Exo 26:31; Exo 37:7-9; 1Ki 6:23-35; 1Ki 8:6-7. In the visions of Ezekiel cherubim were seen in connection with the wheels, representing the glory and course of God’s government in active judgement of Israel. They are called ’living creatures’ in Ezekiel 1, with the faces of a man (intelligence), of a lion (strength), of an ox (plodding endurance), and of an eagle (swiftness): see also Ezekiel 10: where they are called ’cherubims,’ and cf. Rev 4:6-9, etc., where in the A.V. the four living creatures are unhappily called ’beasts.’
The winged bulls which were placed at the entrances of the Assyrian palaces were probably traditions of the cherubim. In the Accadian language they were termed kirubu, and were thought to preserve the places from the entrance of evil spirits.
A type of angel usually involved in sacred work before God. They are generally described as winged creatures with feet and hands. The word(s) occurs over 90 times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament at Heb 9:5, "And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail." Apparently, there are different kinds of Cherubim. Two golden Cherubim are on the Mercy Seat (Exo 25:18). They were put in Eden "to guard the way of the tree of life," (Gen 3:24). An interested description of them is given in Eze 1:5-11; Eze 1:13-14.