Exodus 25:22 (WEB)
There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the covenant, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Exodus 25:22 (KJV)
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Key words
- וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁםveno'adti lekha sham · Hebrew
- 'there I will meet with thee' — the Ark is the appointed place of encounter with God.
- כַּפֹּרֶתkapporet · Hebrew
- 'mercy seat' — the gold lid of the Ark, between the cherubim, from which God speaks.
- כְּרֻבִיםkeruvim · Hebrew
- 'cherubims' — two golden angel statues that God himself commands (25:18).
Why it matters
God promises to meet Israel and speak to them from above the mercy seat, between the cherubim. Pitre puts this first among the Ark's five features: the Ark is the place where God dwells and speaks on earth (pp 44–46). He also notes, for readers who think all statues are unbiblical, that God here commands two golden statues of angels (p 46). Mary, the new Ark, is the place where God comes to meet his people in the flesh.
Catechism · 2
The First Commandment
“Nevertheless, already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the ark of the covenant, and the cherubim.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Num 21:4-9; Wis 16:5-14; Jn 3:14-15; Ex 25:10-22; 1 Kings 6:23-28; 7:23-26.
"And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord"
“The name of the Saviour God was invoked only once in the year by the high priest in atonement for the sins of Israel, after he had sprinkled the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the sacrificial blood. the mercy seat was the place of God's presence.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Ex 25:22; Lev 16:2,15-16; Num 7:89; Sir 50:20; Heb 9:5,7.
Fathers and councils · 2
Jerome
“For it pleases the Lord to sit in your mind as He once sat on the mercy-seat and the cherubims.” — editor's note: Ex. xxv. 22.
Read the whole comment
Basil the Great
“Thou shalt put them, it is said, before the testimony and I shall be known of thee thence.” — editor's note: Referred by the Ben. Ed. to Ex. xxv. 21 and 22. The first clause is apparently introduced from Ex. xvi. 34.
Read the whole comment
Cross-references · 18
Parallel passages
Exodus 25:22 and Numbers 7:89 share the same wording (14 words).
Cited together with
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Catechism §433.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.
Cited together in Letters Letter 235.