Ezekiel 10:3

3 Now the cherubim [were] standing on [the] south of the temple {when the man went}, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard.

Ezekiel 10:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 10:3

Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house
According to the Targum, it was the south side of the house; and so Jarchi interprets it opposite to the north, where the gross idolatries were committed, ( Ezekiel 8:3 Ezekiel 8:5 Ezekiel 8:14 ) ; standing at the greatest distance from them, and bearing their testimony against them: when the man went in;
they stood as it were in a levee, through which the man passed, waiting upon him; paying a respect to him; assenting to what he did; and approving of it: this circumstance is mentioned, because they were not always in this position, only at this time; nor did they continue so; we afterwards hear of their motion: and the cloud filled the inner court;
the court of the priests, not as a token of God's presence, as at the dedication of the temple; but rather of judicial blindness and darkness, which the people of the Jews were left unto.

Ezekiel 10:3 In-Context

1 And I looked, and look! On the expanse that [was] above the head of the cherubim [something] like a stone of sapphire, [and] like [the] appearance of [the] shape of a throne it appeared above them.

2 And he spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, "Go {in among the wheel area under the cherubim} and fill the hollow of your hands [with] coals of fire from among the cherubim, and toss [them] on the city." And he went [right] before my eyes.

3 Now the cherubim [were] standing on [the] south of the temple {when the man went}, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard.

4 And the glory of Yahweh rose up from on the cherub toward the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh.

5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard {as far as} the outer courtyard; [it was] like the voice of God Shaddai {when he speaks}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "And"
• [b]. Literally "at his coming the man"