Ezekiel 1:15

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 1:15 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof.
Ezekiel 1:15 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 1

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
15Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Now as I beheld the living creatures, &c.] While he had the vision of them, and when he was considering their form and likeness, and what should be the meaning of them: behold, one wheel upon the earth; the Jewsf41 understand this of an angel, who stood upon the earth, and his head reached to the living creatures, and his name is Sandalphon; and so many expositors interpret the wheels of angels: but the more common interpretation of them is, that they design the visible world, and all things in it, which are movable and uncertain; though the true interpretation of them, as of the living creatures, is to be fetched from the vision in the fourth chapter of Revelation and as the four living…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“one wheel--The "dreadful height" of the wheel (Eze 1:18) indicates the gigantic, terrible energy of the complicated revolutions of God's providence, bringing about His purposes with unerring certainty. One wheel appeared traversely within another, so that the movement might be without turning, whithersoever the living creatures might advance (Eze 1:17). Thus each wheel was composed of two circles cutting one another at right angles, "one" only of which appeared to touch the ground ("upon the earth"), according to the direction the cherubim desired to move in. with his four faces--rather, "according to its four faces" or sides; as there was a side or direction to each of the four creatures,…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Translate it: “one wheel upon the earth by” each of “the liviing creatures” on his four sides (i. e. on the four sides of each of the living creatures). There was a wheel to “each” of the living creatures: it was set “by,” i. e. immediately “beneath” the feet of the living creature, and was constructed for direct motion in any of the four lines in which the creatures themselves moved. Their “work” or make, i. e. their construction, was “a wheel in the middle of a wheel;” the wheel was composed of two circumferences set at right angles to each other, like the equator and meridian upon a globe. A wheel so placed and constructed did its part alike on each side of the living creature beneath…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Living creatures - By each of the living creatures stood one wheel, so that they were four in number, according to the number of living creatures. Four faces - By this it appears, each wheel had its four faces. While he was contemplating the glory of the former vision, this other was presented to him: wherein the dispensations of providence are compared to the wheels of a machine, which all contribute to the regular motion of it. Providence orders, changes: sometimes one spoke of the wheel is uppermost, sometimes another. But the motion of the wheel on its own axle - tree, is still regular and steady. And the wheel is said to be by the living creatures, who attend to direct its motion. For…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“1:15 The living creatures were not the only cause for fear—in their midst, Ezekiel saw four wheels that were part of a divine war chariot. Chariots were among the most feared weapons of war in the ancient world.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“one: Eze 1:19-21, Eze 10:9, Eze 10:13-17; Dan 7:9 with: Eze 1:6; Rev 4:7 Ezekiel 1:16”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification