Choir of Cherubim: Origin, Pseudo-Dionysius and Angels 9 to 16

Who are the Cherubim?

The Cherubim are, in the classical order, the second choir of angels. The word comes from the Hebrew kerub, plural kerubim. Its origin is debated; a frequent hypothesis links it to an Akkadian word, karibu, which designates one who prays or blesses, but it remains a hypothesis.

One image must be set aside at once: the little winged children of Renaissance art, which everyday language calls “cherubs”, are decorative putti. The cherubim of the Bible are something else: powerful beings, guardians, often composite, closer to the winged guardian spirits of the ancient Near East than to plump babies. In the list of 72 angels, this choir groups angels 9 to 16. For the origin of the system, read our introduction to the 72 angels.

The Cherubim in the Bible

The cherubim appear in several places:

• Genesis 3:24: after the expulsion of Adam and Eve, God posts cherubim and a flaming sword east of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.
• Exodus 25:18-22: two cherubim of beaten gold cover the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant with their wings; it is from there, the text says, that God speaks to Moses.
• 1 Kings 6:23-28: Solomon’s temple houses two cherubim of olive wood, ten cubits high (about four to five meters).
• Psalms 18:11 and 80:2: the Lord “rides upon a cherub” and sits “between the cherubim”.
• Ezekiel 1 and 10: the prophet sees four living creatures with four faces (man, lion, ox, eagle), beside wheels full of eyes; in chapter 10 he recognises them as cherubim.

In all these texts, the cherubim guard a threshold or carry a divine presence: they are guardians, not messengers.

The Cherubim according to Pseudo-Dionysius

In the “Celestial Hierarchy” attributed to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (around 500, chapter 7), the Cherubim are the second order of the first triad. The author explains their name through knowledge: he hears it as “fullness of knowledge” or “outpouring of wisdom”. They contemplate God and receive from him a light that they pass on to the next order.

This link between the cherubim and knowledge is a reading by Pseudo-Dionysius, which does not appear in the biblical texts. It nonetheless marked all the later tradition: Thomas Aquinas takes up the idea, and the expression “fullness of knowledge” became a commonplace for the cherubim.

The eight angels of the choir in the list of 72

In the list of 72 names of the Shem HaMephorash, the Cherubim group eight angels, from no. 9 to no. 16. Each reigns five days in the year and twenty minutes in the day, according to the most common calendar.

Dates follow the most common calendar (angel no. 1 reigns from March 21 to 25, then five days per angel); sources sometimes shift by a few days: see how to calculate your guardian angel.

Other readings and images

Several images and readings coexist:

• The four faces of Ezekiel were associated with the four evangelists by Irenaeus of Lyon (around 180), then by Jerome: the man, the lion, the ox and the eagle. The exact order varies between authors.
• Maimonides (12th century) counts ten ranks of angels, in which the kerubim come in ninth position: a hierarchy very different from that of Pseudo-Dionysius.
• Christian Kabbalah (Agrippa) places the kerubim under the sphere of foundation (Yesod) in the classical correspondence of the Tree of Life.
• Art: the two winged children at the bottom of Raphael’s Sistine Madonna (around 1512) are among the most reproduced “cherubs”. They are putti, as they are called in art history.

A symbolism for today

In today’s symbolism, the Cherubim evoke the guarding of a threshold and the knowledge that enlightens. To guard is not only to forbid: it is also to know whom to let in. For a person going through a moment of decision, the choir can serve as a reminder: find out before choosing, and give a name to what you are protecting.

Set any mockery aside: the everyday “cherub” (a chubby child) has little to do with the beings of the biblical text. The two images can coexist, provided one knows which is which.

A gentle practice

An exercise of “threshold to guard”, ten minutes:

1. Think of a nearby decision and state it in one sentence.
2. In two columns, write what you know and what you still do not know.
3. For each unknown, note a person or a source who could enlighten you.
4. Set a day to consult the first of these sources, and decide only afterwards.

This exercise belongs to personal reflection and does not replace medical advice, legal advice or psychological support.

What to keep in mind

The nine choirs are a construction of Christian theology, based on Pseudo-Dionysius (around 500), then on Gregory the Great and Thomas Aquinas. This scheme relies on lists of names from the New Testament; it is not an official teaching of the Church, which affirms the existence of angels (Catechism, § 328) without fixing a precise hierarchy.

The attribution of eight Kabbalistic angels to each choir is, for its part, an esoteric construction of the Renaissance, which the Catholic Church does not recognise: it retains only the three archangels named in Scripture, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Nothing shows that a specific angel corresponds to your date of birth, and no one can promise you protection or an event. Read these pages as a symbolic bestiary: for the images and the reflection they inspire.

See also the guide to the 72 angels and the guide to the archangels.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to Guide to the 72 guardian angels.