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.
Parallel translations
- WEB So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
- BSB So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
- NKJV So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
- NASB So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
- NLT After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God stations cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. It dramatizes that fallen humanity cannot return to life on its own terms.
Overview
The guarded entrance shows that sinful humanity is genuinely shut out from Eden and the tree of life, unable to force its way back to God. The cherubim and flaming sword represent God's holiness barring the unholy. Only through the atoning work of Christ is the way to life reopened, granting believers access once barred.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Heb 1:7And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
- Ps 104:4Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
- Exod 25:18–22And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
- 1 Chr 21:16–17And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
- Heb 10:18–22Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
- John 14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- Gen 2:8–9And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
- Josh 5:13And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
- Ps 80:1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
- Ezek 10:2–22And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
- Ps 99:1The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
- 1 Sam 4:4So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
- 1 Kgs 6:25–35And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.
- Num 22:23And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
- Exod 25:2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 3:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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