Book: On the Cherubim

Overview

Philo of Alexandria offers a philosophical and allegorical reading of the biblical cherubim, treating them not as literal winged creatures but as richly symbolic figures that reveal truths about God, the human soul, and the structure of the cosmos. Drawing chiefly on the imagery of Exodus and Ezekiel, Philo locates the cherubim at the intersection of worship, cosmology, and moral psychology. Their placement over the ark and in visions of the divine throne becomes an occasion for explication of how the invisible God is represented and how human beings can approach divine knowledge.
Philo frames the cherubim as part of the sacred architecture of revelation: visible signs that point beyond themselves. He insists that Scripture frequently employs material images to teach about immaterial realities, so the reader must learn to translate outward particulars into inward meanings. The cherubim function both as guardians of holy things and as pedagogical devices meant to awaken the philosophic soul.

Allegorical Method and Sources

Philo's method is characteristically Hellenistic and exegetical, fusing Jewish scriptural tradition with Platonic and Stoic philosophical presuppositions. He treats the Mosaic text as intentionally composed to instruct the morally and intellectually attentive reader. Exodus' directions for the tabernacle and the prophetic visions in Ezekiel supply Philo with the narrative material he allegorizes, while Greek philosophical vocabulary supplies the conceptual framework, intellect, logos, soul, and the hierarchy of being.
Philo reads Scripture with an eye for correspondences: every element of an image corresponds to an element of the inner life or cosmic order. He insists that literal-minded interpretations miss the spiritual instruction intended by God's providence. This method leads him to transform the cherubim from decorative motifs into key symbols that mediate between God and humans.

The Cherubim as Symbols of Divine Presence and Reason

Philo identifies the cherubim chiefly with divine mediation and with the rational principle that makes contact between the intelligible and sensible realms. Placed upon the mercy-seat and described as overshadowing the ark, the cherubim indicate the presence of the unseeable God while protecting the holiness that cannot be profaned by ordinary perception. The cherubim embody the Logos or divine reason, which both conceals and reveals God: it shields God's transcendence while enabling the soul's ascent to knowledge.
Beyond metaphysics, the cherubim correspond to faculties of the human soul. Philo interprets their number, posture, and mutual proximity as symbolic of inner harmony, the ordering of faculties, and the vigilance required to preserve moral purity. The guardianship motif reads as a warning that the divine mysteries must be approached with disciplined intellect and ethical readiness.

Ethical and Spiritual Purpose

For Philo the purpose of these symbols is practical as much as theoretical. By presenting the cherubim as models and guides, the text aims to shape character and lead the soul toward a contemplative life. The cherubim's role in protecting Eden and the ark becomes a motif for guarding the soul's highest goods against passions and ignorance. The reader is urged to cultivate reason, self-control, and reverence so that the inner sanctuary may become fit for divine presence.
Philo links ritual practice to inner purification, arguing that the tabernacle's imagery fosters an ascent from bodily concerns to spiritual insight. The cherubim thereby become icons of a moral pedagogy: they mark the boundary between profane appetite and sacred knowledge and instruct the soul in the disciplines needed to cross that boundary rightly.

Reception and Legacy

Philo's reading of the cherubim exemplifies his broader attempt to synthesize Jewish piety with Hellenistic philosophy, offering a paradigm that shaped later Jewish allegorists and attracted Christian exegetes. His emphasis on the Logos as mediator anticipated themes that would be formative in early Christian theology, while his psychological reading influenced medieval and patristic interpretations of biblical symbolism. The cherubim, in Philo's account, remain lasting figures for reflection on how images can both veil and point toward the divine.