Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 6:23

"And in the oracle he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high." — 1 Kings 6:23 (ASV)

Cherubim. — These were copied from the Tabernacle, but apparently with some differences, in addition to the necessary increase of size and the change of material from solid gold to olive-wood overlaid with gold. In Exodus 25:18-20 and Exodus 37:7-9, they are described as having their faces towards the mercy-seat, and covering the mercy-seat with their wings.

Here, from the careful description of the outstretched wings, ten cubits in width for each cherub, meeting in the middle of the house and touching the walls, it would seem that they must have been turned so as to face the entrance. The cherubim over the ark are described in only three places in the Old Testament: in the passages in Exodus, here, and in the parallel passage 2 Chronicles 3:10–13, and in those great visions of the priestly prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:4–25; Ezekiel 10:1–22) which have determined the imagery of the Apocalypse.

In no case is their form distinctly mentioned, unless by comparison of Ezekiel 10:14-15 with Ezekiel 1:10, it may be inferred to have been the form of a winged bull, from which the golden calves of the idolatry introduced into Israel in the time of Jeroboam would naturally be derived.

Josephus, indeed, in his description of the Temple (Antt. viii. c. 3, § 3), expressly says that “no one can tell, or even conjecture, of what shape the cherubim were.” The tradition, therefore, must have been lost in the Second Temple, where there was no ark. This is even stranger because in Exodus 26:1 the cherubim are said to have been represented in the embroidery of the curtains, and here (in 1 Kings 6:32; 1 Kings 6:35) to have been similarly carved on the walls.

But, whatever the cherubim were, it is certain that they were in no sense representations or emblems of Deity, like the winged figures of Assyria or Egypt, with which they have been often compared. They appear to symbolise the great physical forces of the universe, as guided by superhuman angelic intelligence to serve the supreme will of God.

Thus, when first mentioned in Scripture (Genesis 4:24), the cherubim are associated with the flaming sword, turning every way, to guard the tree of life; in Psalms 18:10, the Lord is said to ride upon the cherubim, and come flying upon the wings of the wind; in Ezekiel 1:10, the four living creatures, or cherubim, sustain the throne of God and bear it away upon their wings; and in Revelation 4:6-8 and Revelation 5:8-9, the same living creatures unite with the elders representing the Church of redeemed humanity, in worship of the Lord upon His throne.

The representation, therefore, of the cherubim in the Temple simply expresses the claim for Jehovah, the God of Israel, of such lordship over all creation as is hymned in the seraphic song of Isaiah 6:3. Possibly the change of attitude of the cherubim in the Temple denoted a change of idea, characteristic of Solomon and his age. The old attitude is clearly that of worship of God: the new, rather, of manifestation of His glory to man.