Ezechiël 1:6

6 En elkeen had vier aangezichten; insgelijks had elkeen van hen vier vleugelen.

Ezechiël 1:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 1:6

And or but everyone had four faces
Which are described, (See Gill on Ezekiel 1:10). The Targum multiplies the faces in a strange monstrous manner, paraphrasing the words thus,

``each had four faces, and there were four faces to everyone "of them", and every creature had sixteen faces; the number of the faces of the four creatures was sixty and four;''
and everyone had four wings;
the seraphim in ( Isaiah 6:2 ) ; and the four beasts or living creatures in ( Revelation 4:8 ) ; had six wings; and so it seems that these had also, from ( Ezekiel 1:11 Ezekiel 1:23 ) ; as will be seen there; nor is this any contradiction to the account here given, since it is not said they had only four wings. The Targum gives the same monstrous account of their wings as of their faces, saying,
``each had four wings, and there were four wings for everyone of them, sixteen wings to every face, and sixty four to every creature; and the number of the wings of the four living creatures were two hundred and fifty six.''
Jarchi is of the same opinion, and confirms it in his note on the text, which is this,
``"four faces to one"; that is, to the face of a man only were four faces, and so, to the lion, to the eagle, and to the ox, lo, sixteen to a living creature, and so to every living creature; and four wings to everyone of the faces, lo, sixty and four wings to a living creatures and which, according to the Targum of Jonathan, amounts to two hundred and fifty six wings;''
what these wings signified, (See Gill on Ezekiel 1:11);

Ezechiël 1:6 In-Context

4 Toen zag ik, en ziet, een stormwind kwam van het noorden af, een grote wolk, en een vuur daarin vervangen, en een glans was rondom die wolk; en uit het midden daarvan was als de verf van Hasmal, uit het midden des vuurs.
5 En uit het midden daarvan kwam de gelijkenis van vier dieren; en dit was hun gedaante: zij hadden de gelijkenis van een mens;
6 En elkeen had vier aangezichten; insgelijks had elkeen van hen vier vleugelen.
7 En hun voeten waren rechte voeten, en hun voetplanten waren gelijk de voetplanten van een kalf, en glinsterden gelijk de verf van glad koper.
8 En mensenhanden waren onder hun vleugelen, aan hun vier zijden; en die vier hadden hun aangezichten en hun vleugelen.
The Dutch Staten Vertaling translation is in the public domain.