a fitting conclusion to the main narrative, in which it probably followed immediately on v.19.—24. He drove out the man and made [him] dwell on the east of . . . [and stationed] the Cherubim, etc.] This is the reading of G (v.i.), and it gives a more natural construction than MT, which omits the words in brackets. On either view the assumption is that the first abode of mankind was east of the garden. There is no reason to suppose that the v. represents a different tradition as to the site of Eden from 28 or 210ff.. It is not said in 28 that it was in the extreme east, or in 210 that it was in the extreme north; nor is it here implied that it was further west than Palestine. The account of the early migration of the race in 112 is quite consistent with the supposition that mankind entered the Euphrates valley from a region still further east.—the Cherubim and the revolving sword-flame] Lit. 'the flame of the whirling sword.' It has usually been assumed that the sword was in the hand of one of the cherubim; but probably it was an independent symbol, and a representation of the lightning. Some light may be thrown on it by an inscription of Tiglath-pileser I. (KIB, i. 36 f.), where the king says that when he destroyed the fortress of Ḫunusa he made 'a lightning of bronze.' The emblem appears to be otherwise unknown, but the allusion suggests a parallel to the 'flaming sword' of this passage.
The Cherubim.—See the notes of Di. Gu. Dri.; KAT3, 529 f., 631 ff.;
Che. in EB, 741 ff.; Je. ATLO2, 218; Haupt, SBAT, Numbers, 46;
Polychrome Bible, 181 f.; Furtwängler, in Roscher's Lex. art. Gryps.—The
derivation of the word is uncertain. The old theory of a connexion
with (
Greek characters) (Greif, griffin, etc.) is not devoid of plausibility, but
lacks proof. The often quoted statement of Lenormant (Orig. i. 118),
that kirubu occurs on an amulet in the de Clercq collection as a name
into a historic tense.—(Hebrew characters)] GS om.—24. G (Greek characters).
= (Hebrew characters) Ball rightly adopts
this text, inserting (Hebrew characters) after (Hebrew characters), against J's usage. There is no need
to supply any pron. obj. whatever: see 219 187 3818, 1 Sa. 1913 etc.
For the first three words S has simply (Syriac characters), and for (Hebrew characters) (Syriac characters)
(with the cherubim, etc., as obj.).—(Hebrew characters)] Hithpa. in the sense of
'revolve,' Ju. 713, Jb. 3712; in Jb. 3814 it means 'be transformed.'
