Four כרובים

Crystal-clear sea and four beings. See also Sh^әm·ot′  25.18-22; Y^әsha·yâh′ u 6.2; Y^әkhëz·qeil′  1 & 10.

The four beings are the Biblical כרובים, plural of כרוב. According to Josephus (Ant. III, VI, 5) , כרובים are flying things, but their form isn't like that of any of the creatures that man has seen, though Mosh′ ëh said he had seen such things near the Kis·ei′  of Ël·oh·im′ . See also Y^әkhëz·qeil′  1 and Y^әsha·yâh′ u 6. Since they are not like other creatures in their appearance, the semblance of them as such is idolatry. Again quoting Josephus (Ant. VIII, III, 3) in his time… nobody can tell, or even conjecture, what was the shape of these כרובים."

When these texts were written, what was the basis for defining something as living? Molecular structure? Ability to process food? Ability to reproduce independently? Most likely, if it moved on its own, seemingly of its own accord, ancient observers would have exclaimed, "It's alive!" The resulting description would be of an unidentified living being—exactly what we find in these descriptions. If these ancient men had somehow been enabled to see an ordinary cargo aircraft of today with a high-wing configuration, the description in the vernacular of their day might be striking: having a face with eyes (the windshield panels) and a nose (radar nose-bulb), eyes all around (passenger windows along the sides), beings inside of it resembling men, some with long hair like women (helmets, with oxygen and communications hoses); wings covering its face (overhead wing configuration), other wings (the tail stabilizers) covering its feet (wheels), and two other wings (the props of a VTOL or rotorcraft) with which it flies. The sun glinting off of the rotorblades might be described as having golden crowns.

The description of the four beings sounds remarkably like an ancient observer describing four different types of aircraft—each in terms of a sphinx.

The ancient observer might also describe tanks as chariots, or like brass-armored horses prepared for battle, except spitting fire and smoke out of its revolving scorpion-like tail (turret cannon), which has a snake-like head at the end (flash suppressor). A flame-thrower, andor napalm, might be described simply as "issuing fire and sulfur."

While these ideas are speculative, they are certainly no more fanciful than many popular and long-held imaginings of earlier generations which smack of "dragon and beasties" fairytales.

Certainly there are more clues to the Creator in His creation than in the mythological imaginings of men. Neither does it seem likely that the Creator of order would employ contradiction to the laws of that order (physics, mathematics, etc.) to carry out the purposes for which this order was designed in the first place. The Creator of perfect order is not the employer of chaos and instability. A self-contradicting Creator cannot be Perfect or Immutable as the Bible describes.

The four sphinxes—the first with the face of a lion, the second with the face of a human, the third with the face of a calf and the fourth with the face of a hawk—must be analyzed in concert with the parallel passages describing Mër·kâv·ot′  in Y^әkhëz·qeil′  and horses / Mër·kâv·ot′  in Z^әkhar·yâh′  1 and 6.

The horses or Mër·kâv·ot′  in Z^әkhar·yâh′  1 and 6 are described as sorrel, roan (chestnut or red roan), black, white, and dapple-gray (glaucous) speckled or "salt & pepper" horses.

The symbolism of these horses corresponds to the forms described in this passage. Since there is some confusion between the Masoretic Hebrew original and the LXX Greek, particularly in Z^әkhar·yâh′  1, some explanation is in order before constructing postulations on renderings that are still in question.

The most complete picture is found in Z^әkhar·yâh′  6.3-7:

MT (Masoretic [Hebrew] Text)	LXX Greek	English Translation
אדמים	πυρροι	sorrel, roan, clay-red, red
שחרים	μελανες	black
לבנים	λευκοι	white
ברדים אמצים	ποικιλοι ψαροι	speckled dapple, salt & pepper, glaucous

In Z^әkhar·yâh′  1.8, while sorrel, roan is specified twice in the Masoretic Hebrew (once for the One riding the sorrel, roan and then again for the sorrel, roan group) , the LXX Greek uses πυρροι only once, a reasonably obvious scribal error in translation.

The scribes then split the phrase ποικιλοι ψαροι (speckled-dapple), into one group of ποικιλοι (dapple-gray) and a second group of ψαροι (speckled or piebald). This rendering is no longer accurate for the Masoretic Hebrew original. Further, the group of black horses is not mentioned in this passage.

The (non) parallel renderings are:

MT	English Translation	LXX	English Translation
אדם	sorrel, roan, clay-red, red	πυρροι	sorrel, roan, clay-red, red
אדמים	sorrels, roans, reds	ψαροι	dapple-gray, glaucous
שרקים	reddish or glaucous (uncertain)	ποικιλοι	speckled, piebald
לבנים	white	λευκοι	white

The LXX Greek clearly doesn't translate the original Hebrew.
With the aforementioned corrections, the parallel emerges valid:

MT	English Translation	LXX	English Translation
אדם	sorrel, roan, clay-red, red	πυρροι	sorrel, roan, clay-red, red
אדמים	sorrels, roans, reds	πυρροι	sorrel, roan, clay-red, red
שרקים	reddish or glaucous (uncertain)	ποικιλοι ψαροι	speckled-dapple, glaucous
לבנים	white	λευκοι	white

Compare the speckled-dapple with the horse of Unv. 6.7-8.

Red—sorrel or roan—is generally symbolic of דם, shedding of דם and expiation through דם. Tal·mud′  mentions this specifically with regard to Z^әkhar·yâh′  1 and 6 (Ma·sëk′ ët Sunedrion 93a).

Compare דם, blood, with אדם and אדום.

Black usually symbolizes iniquity, white – purity, and glaucous / dapple (speckled) symbolizes degeneration, decay, putrefaction, and death.

Similarly, a lion (especially as typified by Babylon, explicitly stated in The Unveiling) symbolizes strength and bloodshed; a human symbolizes a state of iniquity or human weakness, frailty, and shortcoming. A calf symbolizes the innocent sacrifice that brings purity (lamb is also often used). The vulture, eagle, or Daiyot-hawk (The N^әtzârim Reconstruction of Hebrew Matityâhu (NHM) note 24.28.3) symbolizes the opportunistic bird (i.e. force) of prey that feeds on degeneration and death (ergo is associated with degeneration and death).

The following parallels are then evident:

Zәkhar·yâh′	Symbolism	The Unveiling 4.6-7	The Unveiling 6
sorrel, roan, clay-red, red	Bloodshed	Lion	sorrel, roan, clay-red, red
black	Evil	Human	black
white	Purity	Calf	white
speckled dapple-gray	Death	Hawk	dapple-gray, (glaucous)

Z^әkhar·yâh′  6 suggests symbolically that the mal·âkh·im′  (symbolized by their horses) of these k^әruv·im′  (Unv. 4.8) go in different directions. This symbolism might suggest additionally the specific sphere of investigative and supervisory responsibility of each of the four k^әruv·im′ , respectively. Cf. Sh^әm·ot′  25.18-22; Y^әsha·yâh′ u 6.2; Y^әkhëz·qeil′  1 & 10.