Genesis 3:24

Genesis 3:24

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

a. ASV: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

b. YLT: yea, he casteth out the man, and causeth to dwell at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flame of the sword which is turning itself round to guard the way of the tree of life.

c. Classic Amplified: So [God] drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the [c]cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life.

d. Septuagint: And he cast out Adam and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: And having driven out the man, He stationed at the east of the Garden of Eden the Cherubim and the flame of the ever-turning sward, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

1. “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims…”

a. [So he] drove out [Strong: 1644 gârash, gaw-rash'; a primitive root; to drive out from a possession; especially to expatriate or divorce:—cast up (out), divorced (woman), drive away (forth, out), expel, × surely put away, trouble, thrust out.]

b. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

c. [the] man [Strong: 120 ʼâdam, aw-dam'; from H119; ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):—× another, hypocrite, common sort, × low, man (mean, of low degree), person.]

d. [and he] placed [Strong: 7931 shâkan, shaw-kan'; a primitive root (apparently akin (by transmission) to H7901 through the idea of lodging; compare H5531, H7925); to reside or permanently stay (literally or figuratively):—abide, continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-er), have habitation, inhabit, lay, place, (cause to) remain, rest, set (up).]

e. [at the] east [Strong: 6924 qedem, keh'-dem; or קֵדְמָה qêdᵉmâh; from H6923; the front, of place (absolutely, the fore part, relatively the East) or time (antiquity); often used adverbially (before, anciently, eastward):—aforetime, ancient (time), before, east (end, part, side, -ward), eternal, × ever(-lasting), forward, old, past.]

f. [of the] garden [Strong: 1588   gan, gan; from H1598; a garden (as fenced):—garden.]

g. [of] Eden [Strong: 5731 ʻÊden, ay'-den; the same as H5730 (masculine); Eden, the region of Adam's home:—Eden.]

h. Cherubims [Strong: 3742 kᵉrûwb, ker-oob'; of uncertain derivation; a cherub or imaginary figure:—cherub, (plural) cherubims.]

2. “...and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

a. and [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

b. [a] flaming [Strong: 3858 lahaṭ, lah'-hat; from H3857; a blaze; also (from the idea of enwrapping) magic (as covert):—flaming, enchantment.]

c. sword [Strong: 2719 chereb, kheh'-reb; from H2717; drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement:—axe, dagger, knife, mattock, sword, tool.]

d. [which] turned every way [Strong: 2015  hâphak, haw-fak'; a primitive root; to turn about or over; by implication, to change, overturn, return, pervert:—× become, change, come, be converted, give, make (a bed), overthrow (-turn), perverse, retire, tumble, turn (again, aside, back, to the contrary, every way).]

e. [to] keep [Strong: 8104 shâmar, shaw-mar'; a primitive root; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.:—beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).]

f. [the] way [Strong: 1870 derek, deh'-rek; from H1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb:—along, away, because of, by, conversation, custom, (east-) ward, journey, manner, passenger, through, toward, (high-) (path-) way(-side), whither(-soever).]

g. [of the] tree [Strong: 6086 ʻêts, ates; from H6095; a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks):— carpenter, gallows, helve, pine, plank, staff, stalk, stick, stock, timber, tree, wood.]

h. [of] life [Strong: 2416 chay, khah'-ee; from H2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively:— age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, merry, multitude, (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.]

1). In order to keep man from eating of the tree of life and living forever, God not only drove man out of the garden, he also placed Cherubims and a flaming sword to guard it. Interestingly, the same Hebrew word for “keep” in Genesis 3:24 is the same word used in Genesis 2:15. Obviously, Adam failed to “guard” the garden, but the Cherubim would not fail. A description of Cherubim is given in Ezekiel 1:1, 5-15 and Ezekiel 10:15.

a). Ezekiel 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

b). Ezekiel 1:5-14 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

1:6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

1:7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

1:8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

1:9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

1:10  As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

1:11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.

1:12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

1:14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.”

c). Ezekiel 10:15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar.

2). This is a far cry from the popular un-Biblical worldly view of cherubs as fat little babies with cute little wings. Most Christians are ignorant of the fact that Lucifer/Satan is also a Cherub: 

a). Ezekiel 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and i have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

3). Another interesting thought is that we don’t know how long these beings guarded the tree of life. It is possible that these Cherubim were guarding the tree of life up until the flood of Noah approximately 1650 years later.