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H3742 — כְּרוּב (kerub)

Core Data

  • Strong's: H3742
  • Original: כְּרוּב
  • Transliteration: kerub
  • Pronunciation: ker-oob
  • Part of Speech: Masculine noun
  • Root: Uncertain derivation
  • Occurrences: 66 unique verses (105 tokens) in OT
  • Books: 12
  • First Occurrence: Gen 3:24 — "he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims..."
  • Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition

Of uncertain derivation; a cherub or imaginary figure:—cherub, cherubims.

Translation Distribution (KJV)

Translation Verses %
the cherubims 27 40.9%
cherubims 16 24.2%
cherub 11 16.7%
of the cherubims 8 12.1%
a cherub / the cherub 6 9.0%
with/of cherubims 4 6.0%
Other bound forms 10 15.1%

Distribution by Book

Book Count Per 100 Verses
Ezekiel 22 1.7
1 Kings 13 1.6
2 Chronicles 8 1.0
Exodus 11 0.9
2 Samuel 2 0.3
1 Chronicles 2 0.2
Genesis 1 0.1
Numbers 1 0.1
1 Samuel 1 0.1
2 Kings 1 0.1
Psalms 3 0.1
Isaiah 1 0.1

Usage clusters in tabernacle/temple construction texts and Ezekiel's throne/temple visions.

Semantic Categories

1. Eden Boundary Guardians

  • Gen 3:24 — cherubims are placed east of Eden with a flaming sword.

2. Ark and Mercy Seat Figures

  • Exo 25:18-20 — two cherubims of gold are made at the ends of the mercy seat.
  • Exo 25:22 — speech comes "from between the two cherubims."
  • Num 7:89 — the voice is heard from above the mercy seat, between the cherubims.

3. Woven or Carved Sanctuary Imagery

  • Exo 26:1 — cherubims are worked into the tabernacle curtains.
  • Exo 26:31 — cherubims are worked into the veil.
  • 1Ki 6:29 — cherubims are carved on temple walls with palm trees and open flowers.

4. Large Temple Figures

  • 1Ki 6:23-28 — two large cherubims of olive wood stand in the oracle.
  • 2Ch 3:10-13 — cherubims in the most holy house have outstretched wings.
  • 1Ki 8:6-7 — the cherubims cover the ark and staves.

5. Throne/Presence Language

  • 1Sa 4:4 — "the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims."
  • 2Ki 19:15 — Hezekiah addresses YHWH as dwelling between the cherubims.
  • Isa 37:16 — same formula in Isaiah's parallel account.

6. Ezekiel Visionary Cherubim

  • Eze 10:1-5 — cherubim appear with firmament, wheels, cloud, and glory.
  • Eze 10:20 — identified with the living creature seen by Chebar.
  • Eze 28:14,16 — singular "cherub" appears in an oracle setting.

Common Collocations

Word Strong's Co-occurrences Typical Pattern
כָּנָף (kanaph) H3671 18x wings of cherubim
עָשָׂה (asah) H6213 16x making/crafting cherubim
בַּיִת (bayith) H1004 14x temple/house contexts
יְהֹוָה (YHWH) H3068 12x YHWH enthroned/dwelling formulae
שְׁנַיִם (shenayim) H8147 12x two cherubim
אָרוֹן (aron) H727 10x ark association
זָהָב (zahab) H2091 8x gold cherubim/overlay
כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporeth) H3727 8x mercy seat association
פָּנִים (paniym) H6440 8x faces/orientation
מַעַל (maal) H4605 7x above/over spatial relation

Word Family / Cognates

  • No clear Hebrew root family is provided by the lexicon; derivation is marked uncertain.
  • G5502 χερουβίμ (cheroubim) — Greek transliteration of Hebrew cherubim.

Easily Confused Words

Word Strong's Shared Translation Key Difference
כְּרוּב (Kerub) H3743 Cherub Place/name in Ezra/Nehemiah contexts, not the creature/figure noun.
χερουβίμ (cheroubim) G5502 cherubim Greek transliteration in NT/LXX; not a separate Hebrew word.
כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporeth) H3727 shared contexts Mercy seat/object between or under cherubim, not the cherubim themselves.

Semantic Domains

  • [003001010] Names of Locations — search_relationships.py returned this domain; for H3742 this appears to reflect lexical database grouping rather than a semantic definition of the creature/figure term.

LXX Mapping

Greek Equivalent Co-occurrences PMI Notes
χερουβίμ (cheroubim) G5502 11 8.32 Direct transliteration.
πτέρυξ (pteryx) G4420 18 6.73 Wing-related rendering/co-occurrence.
ἱλαστήριον (hilasterion) G2435 7 6.93 Mercy-seat association in tabernacle texts.
κιβωτός (kibotos) G2787 10 4.22 Ark association.

See Also

Generated from: gather_word_data.py, search_relationships.py, search_strongs.py Last updated: 2026-05-07