Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 28:14
Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
14. Thou art the anointed ] The word “thou” is pointed here anomalously as Num 11:15; Deu 5:24. It may more naturally be read with or beside. The terms rendered “anointed” and “that covereth” are wanting in LXX. (also in Eze 28:16). No meaning can be attached to anointed cherub, probably: cherub with spreading wings. The other phrase “that covereth” is used to describe the cherubim over the mercy-seat whose wings covered it and (at least in the temple of Solomon) extended from wall to wall of the most holy place (Exo 25:20; Exo 37:9; 1Ch 28:18). In these passages LXX. renders the word rightly “overshadowing.”
I have set thee ] I set thee.
holy mountain of God ] Different representations of the abode of God were current; it was sometimes spoken of as a mountain and sometimes as a garden. The mountain here is the same as the garden of Eze 28:13, cf. Eze 28:16. It is the abode of God, where the cherub was and where the prince was placed on the day when he was created. The allusion to the mount of assembly in Isa 14:13 is obscure. The combinations of Del. ( Parad.) and Jeremias ( Bab. Assyr. Vorstellungen vom Leben nach dem Tode) are controverted by Jensen, who makes it probable that Arlu, the “mountain of the countries,” is not a special mountain on the earth, but the earth itself conceived as a mountain, under which lay the primary ocean. Neither is there the slightest foundation for the supposition that the prophet compares the prince of Tyre to a Gryph guarding treasure upon the mountain of God.
hast walked up and down ] didst walk in the midst of (the) stones of fire. The “stones of fire” might be flashing precious stones (Assyr. aban ishti, precious stone, Frd. Del., Par. p. 118); more probably there is some reference to the phenomena attending the divine presence and manifestation, ch. Eze 1:13, Eze 10:6, cf. Isa 6:6; Psa 18:14. Among the Muhammedans the shooting stars are held to be thunderbolts hurled at the eavesdropping demons who pry into the divine secrets.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Eze 28:14-16
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God.
The religious claims of the British colonies
Let Britain recognise, not merely the elements of her greatness in her commercial relations, but the type of her majesty in a state, planted like itself in the midst of the seas, enthroned queen of the nations whom she overshadowed with her powers. Let her look at the character of her own crimes, and consider the peril of corresponding visitations; let her look to her obligations and her responsibilities; and, as the chief of these, hearken to the claims of her colonies.
I. The obligations arising from her position. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, etc. If this glowing and magnificent description was true of Tyre, it can lose nothing in its application to Britain. In arts and in arms, in commerce and in agriculture, in facility of local position and fertility of soil–secure from invasion, prolific in produce, rich in cultivation, replenished with merchandise, powerful in political relations, redundant in population–above all, unrivalled in religious advantages; all these secured by a civil constitution peculiar to herself, balancing the national interests, and destroying the elements of internal discord and division: what more can be enjoyed to give national prosperity and preeminence? But whence flows the tide of greatness? and to whom is Britain indebted for her supremacy? It is not self-produced; it cannot be self-sustained: I have set thee so. Not to know, not to feel, not to acknowledge this, is the source of national decay and ruin. We are exalted to sovereignty, and entrusted with dominion, that the parent state may be to her widely spread and numerous colonies the anointed cherub that covereth. She owes them political protection, to gather them under her wings, like the eagle: but she owes them also religious instruction; she should engage in a holy traffic, infinitely advantageous to them, and, for the wealth which they pour into her bosom, repay them with durable riches and righteousness.
II. The responsibility of her vast extent of territory. The statesman may contemplate this prodigious dependency upon the crown of his country with unmixed emotions of pride and exultation; I see in it, primarily, a corresponding magnitude of national responsibility. It were superfluous here to recount the names and localities of her dominions; but it is of importance to call to mind that the colonial territory of Britain has put under her responsibility not only so many more bodies, but so many more souls; that it is not over inert matter, but over spirit and life, that she rules; that a population vastly surpassing her own is of equal value with her own; that one immortal spirit of all these millions is of more worth than the material universe, and must remain indestructible, in happiness or misery, when the heavens are no more; and that the present all-fluctuating, transient, uncertain existence is the only period to fix its destiny irreversibly and forever. Her responsibility is heightened by the moral condition of that vast extent of territory over which she rules; and which, participating the depravity of fallen nature, common to all presents peculiarities of corruption or of destitution characteristic of the particular states in which they are respectively placed.
III. The reparation due from oppressors. Iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned. Ambition has been charged, and justly charged, with trampling upon the rights and liberties of mankind, turning the fruitful land into barrenness, beating down with unsparing force and cruelty whatever withstood its advance, outraging every principle, if expediency required its sacrifice, wasting human life remorselessly in furtherance of its plans, and deluging the earth with blood. What has Commerce to say, in answer to the accusation, should every one of these imputations be alleged against her? Have her crimes been fewer? Have the injuries inflicted upon society been less aggravated, and has the love of money been less powerful than the love of fame? Has the lust of dominion been more persevering and reckless than the cupidity of accumulation? Let the colonies of Britain, even Christian Britain, stand forth and give their testimony, in vindication of the sentiment of the text. It is true, much is without remedy: the early victims of oppression are out of the reach of the oppressor; even a nations repentance cannot recall a single departed spirit from its dreadful abode; but the children are in the place of the fathers. A debt of crime is incurred which the consecrated energies of the nation alone can repay; let the inheritors of the wrongs of their ancestors remove and redress all their grievances in the ample compensation which the parent state has it yet in her power to effect, in sending to them the glad tidings of salvation. The slave trade has been abolished in vain, and in vain are you now proclaiming liberty to the captive, if this great obligation be neglected. You have not given freedom to the slave thoroughly until you have given him the Gospel; heavier, invisible, infrangible chains remain when you have taken the yoke from his shoulders and struck the fetters from his limbs.
IV. The sentence pronounced against national guilt. I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God, etc. This judgment proceeds on two principles. The one is a personal degradation: I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God. It is national irreligion. The privileges of the Gospel have been neglected or despised; they shall be removed; they shall be insulted no longer; the prosperity that made them of no account shall be withdrawn also. The other principle on which judgment proceeds is relative, commercial, colonial, bears expressly upon the point discussed. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries, etc. Every part of this sentence is full of meaning. It is the soul that has been trifled with; it is the blood of souls that is required; it is the blood of the souls of poor innocents, who knew not what they did, abandoned to ignorance, to negligence, to misery. The negligence is palpable, multiplied; the consequences deplorable; yet insensibility and security fortify the guilty city, even in the midst of impending retribution; and they justify themselves under the scrutiny of that eye from which nothing can be concealed. The judgment threatened is just. Again, as in a glass, the crimes, the danger, and the duty of the country are alike apparent, and the religious claims of her colonies depicted. Jerusalem is not, because of these oppressions, combined with this other neglect of the souls of those depending upon her; and shall we altogether escape?
V. An irresistible appeal to her christian principles. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. This is the highest of all possible distinctions; the greatest of all possible blessings. And if it were but a presumptuous imagination in the heart of the king of Tyre, or a figure the strongest that could be imagined, of security and felicity, it is unquestionably a reality with us, a reality in respect to privilege; whether a reality in respect to principle, remains to be perceived, and will be determined by the hold which the appeal, So irresistible in its own nature, made to these principles in reference to these claims, shall have upon the conviction, the concurrence and the energies of the nation at large, and upon the hearts, consciences, and exertions of professors of religion in particular. For it is the work of the nation, and it is the work of the nation in her magnitude, and it has wherewithal to occupy all the labour and talent that can be brought to bear upon it. Here differences should be merged in the prominent object of general concernment, of universal utility, and faithful allegiance to our common Lord. Here, if ever, all envy and strife, all doubts and surmisings, all malice and evil speaking–at all times so unbecoming the Gospel of Christ, so unworthy Christian character, so hateful in themselves, so pernicious in their effects, so opposed to the spirit of our Master–should be laid aside; remembering, that during the time that is consumed in contention the work of God must stand still. Here there should be no emulation, but such as should call forth holy ardour and brotherly affections and stir up to love and to good works. (W. B. Collyer, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth] The irony is continued; and here he is likened to the CHERUB that guarded the gates of Paradise, and kept the way of the tree of life; or to one of the cherubs whose wings, spread out, covered the mercy-seat.
Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God] The irony is still continued; and now he is compared to Moses, and afterwards to one of the chief angels, who has walked up and down among the stones of fire; that is, thy floors have been paved with precious stones, that shone and sparkled like fire.
Lucan, describing the splendour of the apartments of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, speaks in nearly a similar language: –
Nec summis crustata domus, sectisque nitebat
Marmoribus, stabatque sibi non segnis achates,
Purpureusque lapis, totusque effusus in aula
Calcabatur onyx —
Pharsal. lib. x.
Rich as some fane by slavish zealots reared,
For the proud banquet stood the hall prepared:
Thick golden plates the latent beams infold,
And the high roof was fretted o’er with gold.
Of solid marble all the walls were made,
And onyx e’en the meaner floor inlaid;
While porphyry and agate round the court
In massy columns rose, a proud support.
Of solid ebony each post was wrought,
From swarthy Meroe profusely brought.
With ivory was the entrance crusted o’er,
And polished tortoise hid each shining door;
While on the cloudy spots enchased was seen
The trusty emerald’s never-fading green.
Within the royal beds and couches shone,
Beamy and bright with many a costly stone,
The glowing purple rich.
ROWE.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou art the anointed cherub: I would rather keep the order of the words in the Hebrew, which the French also keep, Thou art a cherub, anointed, a protector, or one who covereth for defence. For thy wisdom, power, and excellency, like a cherub or angel; for the sacredness of thy person and office, as the anointed of God; for the exercise of thy power and office, as a shield or a protector of the weak; thus thou art, or thinkest thyself to be, and pridest thyself herein.
I have set thee so; I, whom thou forgettest, I have made thee so, set thee above others; this should have been matter of thanks and humility, not of pride and atheism. Thus the sarcasm is continued, and he is upbraided for his insolence.
Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; or thus, in the holy mountain a god thou hast been; so it is an irony, and suits the rest; or else, in pursuance of our version, thou wast advanced to kingly dignity, (which David calls a mountain, Psa 30:7; Jer 51:25; Dan 2:35) a sacred office, and of Divine institution and consecration, and thou hast in pride exalted thyself above me, as well as above men.
Walked up and down, in proud and stately manner, surrounded every way in thy chambers and beds and clothes with stones that sparkle like fire, thy crown, thy throne, thy chariots, thy umbrellas or canopies, glistering and dazzling beholders; as if thus also thou wouldst contend with God, who is clothed with light.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. anointed cherubGESENIUStranslates from an Aramaic root, “extended cherub.”English Version, from a Hebrew root, is better. “Thecherub consecrated to the Lord by the anointing oil”[FAIRBAIRN].
coverethThe imageryemployed by Ezekiel as a priest is from the Jewish temple, whereinthe cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat, as the king of Tyre, ademi-god in his own esteem, extended his protection over theinterests of Tyre. The cheruban ideal compound of the highestkinds of animal existence and the type of redeemed man in hisultimate state of perfectionis made the image of the king of Tyre,as if the beau ideal of humanity. The pretensions of Antichrist arethe ulterior reference, of whom the king of Tyre is a type. Compare”As God . . . in the temple of God” (2Th2:4).
I have set theenotthou set thyself (Pro 8:16;Rom 13:1).
upon the holy mountain ofGodZion, following up the image.
in . . . midst of . . .stones of fireIn ambitious imagination he stood in the placeof God, “under whose feet was, as it were, a pavement ofsapphire,” while His glory was like “devouring fire”(Exo 24:10; Exo 24:17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth,…. In allusion to the cherubim over the mercy seat, which covered it with their wings; and which, as the ark of the testimony and all the vessels of the tabernacle were anointed, were so likewise; in all probability the king of Tyre is called a “cherub” because of his wisdom and power; “anointed”, because of his royal dignity; and “that covereth”, because of his office, which was to protect his people; all which he either was, or ought to be, or was in his own opinion so: antichrist makes great boasts of his wisdom, power, and authority, as a teacher, pastor, or bishop, the cherubim being symbolical of the ministers of the word; and of his being anointed by men, that he may be the cover and shield of the church; and of his being the Lord’s anointed, and the vicar of Christ, and head and protector of the church, as he calls himself s. The Targum understands all this of regal power, and renders it,
“thou art a king anointed for a kingdom:”
and I have set thee so; from whom all kings have their sceptres, crowns, and kingdoms; and by whom they reign; and who can put them down as well as set them up at his pleasure. It may be rendered, “I have given thee” t; or suffered thee to be so, as the word “give” is often used; it is by divine permission that antichrist has taken such power to himself, and in judgment to them over whom he rules, who are given up to believe a lie; yea, God “put”, or, as it is in the original text, “gave” it into the hearts of the kings to agree and give their kingdom to the beast, Re 17:17:
thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; not on Sinai, nor on Zion; on neither of which was the king of Tyre; nor was this literally true of him; for to say, as Kimchi does to illustrate it, that Hiram king of Tyre assisted Solomon with materials to build the temple, is very foreign; but this is true of the antitype of the king of Tyre, antichrist; who has set his foot on God’s holy mountain the church; here he first appeared and stood, as before observed on the preceding verse:
thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire; which some understand of the precious stones with which the king of Tyre was adorned, which glittered like fire; though rather they design the people of God, those living lively stones of which the spiritual house is built; who, for their clear light, and burning zeal and love, may be said to be as stones of fire; and among these the bishop of Rome, or the antichristian king of Tyre, first walked: so Kimchi interprets them of the Israelites, who were a holy people; and Jarchi of the kings of Israel, who were as the ministering angels; the seraphim perhaps he means, so called from their burning and flaming love. The Targum is,
“and over the holy people thou hast thought to rule.”
s Vid. Gurtler. Voc. Typic. Prophet. Explicat. p. 238. t “et dedi te”, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) Thou art the anointed cherub.The tense is not expressed in the Hebrew, and it is better to supply the same simple past as is used throughout the passage: thou wert. The imagery is taken from the Temple upon Mount Zion: not that the king of Tyre had at this time any special connection with this, but that these terms were natural to the prophet in this ironical description of him. The cherub that covereth the mercy-seat is spoken of as anointed, with reference to Exo. 30:26; Exo. 40:9.
Upon the holy mountain of God.The prophet still has his mind upon Mount Zion (comp. Isa. 11:9; Isa. 56:7), but yet the words are ironically spoken of Tyre as a venerated sanctuary, rising up from the sea.
Stones of fire.An obvious explanation of this expression, given by many writers, is that it refers to the brilliant sparkling jewels on the robes in which the king walked. But if this were the case, the expression would be a strange one, and the connection implies a deeper and a religious meaning. It is better, therefore, to understand the imagery as similar to that in Rev. 2:1, and to suppose the prophet to have had in mind such a passage as Exo. 24:10, where a paved work of sapphire stone appears as beneath the feet of God, while His glory is like a devouring fire. This would then be one of the ways in which the king of Tyre is ironically represented as assuming to himself God-like attributes.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. The anointed cherub The prince stood in Eden as divinely appointed guard and protector of the treasures of the garden, and as the highest possible form of life (Eze 1:10, and note Eze 10:1-16; Gen 3:24; Exo 25:20). Some scholars read, “the far covering cherub.” The Polychrome Bible, followed by Bertholet, reads (as LXX.), “with the cherub.”
The holy mountain The Tyrian Olympus, the throne of deity filled with treasures which all nations have thought of as close to the primeval home of the race. (See Isa 14:13-14; compare Warren’s Paradise Found.) The Tyrian ruler seems to stand on the navel of the world and to occupy the highest seat of the gods. There was no mountain in the Hebrew paradise, but Ezekiel, “in addressing himself to the heathen, speaks in a way which they can understand” (Orelli). Mount Zion and the sacred mountains in every religion were only symbolical of the universal “Mount of El,” so the altar of Ezekiel’s ideal temple was called by the Babylonian name, Aralu, “mountain of countries” (Eze 43:15-16), as a symbol in miniature of the terrestrial Arula, “Mount Zion” ( Jeremias, p. 122).
Stones of fire “Precious stones” Brown’s Hebrew and English Lexicon. These were supposed by the Babylonians and others to be in abundance on the Mount of the Gods. It must be remembered also that every jewel among the Egyptians, and presumably among the Babylonians, had a symbolic meaning. For example, the Egyptians called the sapphire and lapis lazuli Dorneken, “Preserving from danger,” and one burial inscription reads, “I kept myself far from quartz and always chose the emerald” (Brugsch, Steininschrift und Bibelwort, pp. 324, 329). Even these magical protecting jewels could not save the Tyrian prince.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 28:14-16. Thou art the anointed cherub, &c. Peters observes upon these verses, that the king of this proud city, who it seems affected divine honours, is compared to an anointed cherub, or one of the chiefs and rulers of the angelical host, thus remarkably described, as one that was perfect in his ways from the day that he was created, till iniquity was found in him. Eze 28:15 one who had his place of residence upon the holy mountain of God, and walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, or among the stars. But now to be cast down, &c. See Eze 28:16. Whoever compares this place in Ezekiel with the parallel place in Isa 14:12; Isa 14:32 where the downfal of the king of Babylon is foretold in the same prophetic language, will soon perceive that they throw a reciprocal light upon each other; and that the fall of angels is alluded to in both. The beauty and propriety of these allusions of the prophets will appear with greater lustre, when it is considered that the host of heaven were the objects of the heathen idolatry; both the visible and invisible host, as well angels, as the lights of heaven; for the superstition seems to have been originally the same, as the worship of the heavenly bodies terminated in the worship of those angels or intelligences who were believed to animate and conduct them: and hence we see a reason why the angels are called stars and morning stars in Scripture; as in Job 38:7 and so here the covering cherub is the same with Lucifer, son of the morning, in Isaiah. Thus, while the prophets describe the overthrow of an idolatrous prince or state by a fallen angel, or a falling star, they only make their gods to tumble with them. See Dissert. on Job, p. 374. Houbigant renders the 16th verse, From the multitude of thy merchandize, the midst of thee hath been filled with iniquity, and thou art become guilty. Therefore will I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will take thee, O cherub, and thy shadow away from the midst of the sparkling stones.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 28:14 Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Ver. 14. Thou art the anointed cherub. ] Or, Thou art a cherub ever since I anointed thee for protector. a As the cherubims cover the ark with their wing, so dost thou thy people; and therefore takest upon thee as if an earthly angel.
Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God.
In the midst of the stones of fire,
“ Saevum praelustri fulmen ab arce venit. ”
a Trem.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
art = west, as in the other verses here.
the anointed cherub that covereth. Cherub can be used only of a supernatural being, overshadowing and protecting “the world that then was” (2Pe 3:6), or the “garden” of Eze 28:13.
and I have set thee so, &c.: or, when I appointed thee. thou west.
the holy mountain, &c. See note on Eze 28:13, below; and compare Isa 14:12-14.
hast walked up and down = didst walk to and fro, &c.; referring to facts concerning which nothing further is revealed.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the anointed: Eze 28:16, Exo 25:17-20, Exo 30:26, Exo 40:9
and I: Exo 9:16, Psa 75:5-7, Isa 10:6, Isa 10:15, Isa 37:26, Isa 37:27, Dan 2:37, Dan 2:38, Dan 4:35, Dan 5:18-23, Joh 11:51, Rev 9:17
upon: Eze 28:2, Eze 28:16, Eze 20:40, Isa 14:12-15, 2Th 2:4
stones: Eze 28:13, Eze 28:17, Rev 18:16
Reciprocal: Exo 25:20 – covering Job 28:5 – fire Lam 2:1 – and cast Eze 28:18 – defiled Hos 14:1 – thou Rev 2:1 – walketh Rev 21:11 – her
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 28:14. This verse, like the preceding one, is figurative, portraying the favor of God that was bestowed on the king of Tyrus while he was worthy of it. We have evidence elsewhere in the Bible that God takes an interest in the affairs of earthly governments and their rulers. (See Daniel 4: 17; 5; 18, 21, 26.) The terms of this verse are also comparative and the mountain of God means the government of Tyrus was given to this king by the God who “rules in the kingdoms of men as stated in the passages cited in the preceding verse.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 28:14-15. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth The prophet here alludes to the cherubim in the temple of Solomon, which were a part of the ark, being made of beaten gold, and therefore were with it anointed, and were very large, and covered the mercy-seat with their wings. The prince of Tyrus is here compared to one of these, on account of the high power which he bore among men, and his covering or protecting his people by that power. St. Jerome translates the expression, The extended cherub that covereth: that is, whose wings are stretched out to cover, &c., reading , extended, instead of , anointed. And I have set thee so It was I myself that determined that thou shouldest be so great a king, and have a vast power to defend and protect thy people. But this prince, like too many of mankind, was insensible of the hand which raised him, and did not consider to whom he owed his power and glory. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God The image of the cherub is pursued. Such was thy eminent distinction, that thou wast, as it were, placed in the temple of God on his holy mountain. Or, thou wast placed in as secure a situation as if thou hadst been fixed on the holy mountain where the temple of God stands. Thou hast walked, &c., in the midst of the stones of fire Thou hast, as it were, been placed among the twelve precious stones on the breast-plate of the high-priest. Or this obscure sentence may signify that this princes palace and his attendants were very richly adorned with precious stones, which shone with a burning brightness, like fire. Lowth thinks the words allude to the high advancement of Satan in heaven before his fall, where he was placed in one of the highest orders of angels, such as were nearest in attending upon the Divine Majesty. Thou wast perfect in thy ways, till iniquity was found in thee An exact description of the evangelical purity in which the devil was created, and in which he continued till, being lifted up with pride, he fell from his first estate. Whoever compares this place in Ezekiel with the parallel place in Isa 14:12, &c., where the downfall of the king of Babylon is foretold in the same prophetic language, will soon perceive that they throw a reciprocal light upon each other, and that the fall of angels is alluded to in both. The beauty and propriety of these allusions of the prophets will appear with greater lustre when it is considered that the host of heaven were the objects of the heathen idolatry; both the visible and invisible host, as well the angels as the lights of heaven; for the superstition seems to have been originally the same, as the worship of the heavenly bodies terminated in the worship of those angels, or intelligences, who were believed to animate and conduct them: and hence we see a reason why the angels were called stars, and morning-stars, in Scripture: as in Job 38:7, and so here, the covering cherub is the same with Lucifer, the son of the morning, in Isaiah. Thus, while the prophets describe the overthrow of an idolatrous prince or state by a fallen angel, or a falling star, they only make their gods to tumble with them: see Dissertation on Job, p. 374.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
28:14 Thou [art] {e} the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee {f} [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the {g} stones of fire.
(e) He means the royal state of Tyre, which for the excellency and glory of it he compares to the cherubim which covered the Ark, and by “anointed” he signifies the same.
(f) I did you this honour to make you one of the builders of my temple, which was when Hiram sent to Solomon things necessary for the work.
(g) That is, among my people Israel, which shined as precious stones.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God had given the king a position as an anointed cherub who covers or guards. This description has suggested to many readers that the king in view may be more than a man. Perhaps the Lord was looking beyond the human king of Tyre to the spiritual ruler behind him, namely, Satan (cf. Dan 10:13; Mat 16:21-23). [Note: Cooper, p. 268; Feinberg, p. 161; Freeman, p. 306; Wiersbe, p. 216.] It is more probable that the human king was cherub-like in that God had allowed him to reign, and he exercised a guarding function over his city-state.
"It seems as if Tyre’s king was identifying himself with the patron deity of Tyre, Melkart, directly or symbolically, as the god’s guardian sphinx. The Phoenician male-sphinx (or cherub) was normally bejeweled and sometimes had the head of the priest-king (cf. Barnett, p. 13). The sphinx was considered to be all-wise. Such a description fits well the verses under discussion, for the king is called a guardian cherub (sphinx) and the many jewels listed in Eze 28:13 as his covering befit the many jewels that adorned the Phoenician sphinx (cherub). The passage would then be declaring that the king of Tyre had become as the guardian cherub for the god Melkart and was bejeweled with his riches as cherub-sphinx normally was." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 883. Here his reference is to R. D. Barnett, "Ezekiel and Tyre," in Eretz-Israel, vol. 9.]
This ruler had also been on the holy mountain of God, a title that appears exactly this way nowhere else in the Old Testament. This description suggests Jerusalem (cf. Psa 99:9; Isa 11:9; Isa 56:7; Isa 65:25), but a mountain in Scripture is also a figure for a kingdom (e.g. Psa 30:7; et al.). What other literal mountain might be in view is hard to imagine since there are no literal mountains that God had uniquely appointed close to Tyre. Perhaps Ezekiel meant that the king of Tyre had been walking in Jerusalem among fiery stones gathering spoils (cf. 26:1-6) shortly after Jerusalem’s destruction. Or perhaps he meant that the king of Tyre was in the domain of the pagan deities ("the mount of god" meaning "the seat of the gods") since he claimed to be a god and was perhaps a guardian cherub of Melkart.
"The lament God inspires Ezekiel to sing over the king of Tyre contains a series of metaphorical references to the story of the Garden of Eden and to the Mountain of God. The king is compared to a guardian angel at the mountain and, in a way, to Adam himself in the garden. The comparisons are not exact, but imagistic-overtones and general allusions rather than straight one-for-one correspondences to the garden story. The allusions to the mountain of God (e.g., Eze 28:14; Eze 28:16) reflect a poetic theme in the Old Testament in which the mountain represents God’s abode." [Note: Stuart, p. 273.]
Allen believed the mountain in view was Mt. Zaphon, in northern Syria, which, in Ugaritic mythology, was the abode of the gods. [Note: Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, p. 95.]
". . . it seems . . . likely that Ezekiel’s imagination wandered freely and drew on a wide variety of symbolical background all interwoven with his message of the fall of Tyre." [Note: Taylor, p. 197.]
Probably the kingdom of God is in view here. Evidently the meaning is that this ruler participated in God’s universal kingdom by ruling as king over Tyre, since all rulers occupy their thrones with the sovereign Lord’s permission (Rom 13:1). This ruler also walked among the stones of fire, or the brightly shining stones, just mentioned (Eze 28:13). That is, he lived in an environment that was glorious and blessed by God.
"The ritual of burning a god has been discovered on a bowl from Sidon and is recorded in the cult of Melkart at Tyre (cf. Barnett, pp. 9-10). Melkart’s resurrection was celebrated by a ’burning in effigy,’ from which he would then be revitalized through the fire and the smelling of the burnt offering. Again, in keeping with the Phoenician religious-cultural background with which the passage is so closely tied by the king’s claim of deity, perhaps the explanation of walking among the fiery stones is a reference to the king’s self-exaltation of himself even as the god Melkart-even to the extent of his claiming resurrection after burning by fire." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 884.]