Cherubim

A cherub (/ˈtʃɛrəb/; also pl. cherubim; Hebrew: כְּרוּב‎‎ kərūv, pl. כְּרוּבִים‎, kərūvîm; Latin cherub, pl. cherubin, cherubim; Syriac ܟܪܘܒܐ) is one of the unearthly beings who directly attend to God according to Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles; their original duty having been the protection of the Garden of Eden. Angelic status is not attributed to cherubim in the Old Testament (at least not explicitly); only in later sources such as De Coelesti Hierarchia are they identified as a hierarchical rank of angels.

Different sources give conflicting information as to the physical appearance of cherubim. An early, traditional Jewish notion supposes that cherubim had youthful, human features (although some early midrashic literature conceives of the cherubim as non-corporeal). In the Book of Ezekiel and (at least some) Christian icons, the cherub is depicted as having a number of wing pairs, and four faces: that of a lion (representative of all wild animals), an ox (domestic animals), a human (humanity), and an eagle (birds). In Western Christian tradition, cherubim have become associated with the putto and the Greco-Roman deity Cupid/Eros, resulting in the misconception that cherubim are small and plump winged boys.