Isaiah 6:2

“Above it stood the seraphims, &c.] Not above the temple, nor above the throne, much less above him that sat upon it, but either “by him”, on the right hand and on the left, as Aben Ezra; or “near him”, as Kimchi and Ben Melech; or “before him”, as the Targum; or “round about him”, as the Septuagint; all which denote the ministering form in which they stood; by whom are meant, not the Son and Spirit, as some of the ancients thought, who imagined the Father to be the Person sitting on the throne; nor the two Testaments, as Jerom; nor angels, which is the common interpretation; but ministers of the Gospel, the same with the four beasts in (<660406>Revelation 4:6) and the four living creatures…”

“stood--not necessarily the posture of standing; rather, were in attendance on Him [MAURER], hovering on expanded wings. the--not in the Hebrew. seraphim--nowhere else applied to God's attendant angels; but to the fiery flying (not winged, but rapidly moving) serpents, which bit the Israelites (Num 21:6), called so from the poisonous inflammation caused by their bites. Seraph is to burn; implying the burning zeal, dazzling brightness (Kg2 2:11; Kg2 6:17; Eze 1:13; Mat 28:3) and serpent-like rapidity of the seraphim in God's service. Perhaps Satan's form as a serpent (nachash) in his appearance to man has some connection with his original form as a seraph of light. The head of the serpent was…”

“Above it - Either above the throne, or above him. The Septuagint renders it, ‘Round about him’ - κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ kuklō autou. The Chaldee, ‘The holy ministers stood on high in his presence.’ The seraphims - The verb שׂרף s'âraph, from which this word is derived, is uniformly translated “to burn,” and is used frequently; see “Taylor.” The noun שׂרף s'ârâph denotes, according to Bochart, the “chersydros,” a serpent that lives in lakes and moist places; but when those places are dried up, it becomes a land serpent, and then its bite is very fierce, and is attended with a most dreadful inflammation all over the body. Rabbi Solomon says, that ‘serpents are called seraphim because they burn…”

“Stood - As ministers attending upon their Lord. Seraphim - An order of holy angels, thus called from fire and burning, which this word properly signifies; to represent either their nature, which is bright and glorious, subtile, and pure; or their property, of fervent zeal for God's service and glory. Covered - Out of profound reverence. Isaiah 6:3”

“6:2 The mighty seraphim are heavenly beings not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture (but see also Rev 4:6-9; 15:8). The Hebrew term might suggest an association with fire. They covered their faces so as not to look on God.”

“stood: Kg1 22:19; Job 1:6; Dan 7:10; Zac 3:4; Luk 1:10; Rev 7:11 seraphims: Psa 104:4; Eze 1:4; Heb 1:7 wings: Exo 25:20, Exo 37:9; Kg1 6:24, Kg1 6:27, Kg1 8:7; Eze 1:6, Eze 1:9, Eze 1:24, Eze 10:21; Rev 4:8 covered his face: Gen 17:3; Exo 3:6; Kg1 19:13; Psa 89:7 his feet: Job 4:18, Job 15:15; Eze 1:11 did fly: Isa 6:6; Psa 18:10, Psa 103:20; Eze 10:16; Dan 9:21; Rev 8:13, Rev 14:6 Isaiah 6:3”

“"Above it stood seraphim: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly." We must not render לו ממּעל "near him;" for although על or מעל is applied to a person standing near or over against another who is sitting down ( Exo 18:13; Jer 36:21; compared Ch2 26:19, where the latter is used to signify "over against" the altar of incense), and is used in this sense to denote the attitude of spirits ( Job 1:16; Kg1 22:19; Zac 6:5), and even of men ( Zac 4:14), in relation to God when seated on His throne, in which case it cannot possibly be employed in the sense of "towering above;" yet לו ממּעל, the strongest expression for supra,…”