וַיְגָ֖רֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩ מִקֶּ֨דֶם לְגַן־עֵ֜דֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת לִשְׁמֹ֕ר אֶת־דֶּ֖רֶךְ עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ (ס)
Ayant chassé l’homme, il posta en avant du jardin d’Éden les chérubins, avec la lame de l’épée flamboyante, pour garder les abords de l’arbre de vie.
On the Cherubim
ON THE CHERUBIM, AND THE FLAMING SWORD, AND CAIN THE FIRST MAN CREATED OUT OF MAN
[1] “And he cast forth Adam and set [him] over against the Garden of Pleasure [and posted] the Cherubim and the sword of flame which turns every way, to guard the way of the Tree of Life” (Gen. 3:24). Observe the word “cast forth” instead of the earlier “sent forth” (ib. 23). The words are not set down at random, but chosen with a knowledge of the things to which he applies them in their proper and exact sense.
[1] “And he cast forth Adam and set [him] over against the Garden of Pleasure [and posted] the Cherubim and the sword of flame which turns every way, to guard the way of the Tree of Life” (Gen. 3:24). Observe the word “cast forth” instead of the earlier “sent forth” (ib. 23). The words are not set down at random, but chosen with a knowledge of the things to which he applies them in their proper and exact sense.
On the Cherubim
This fine treatise divides itself into two parts, the first (1–39) a homily on Genesis 3:24—
The Midrash of Philo
Why God places a cherubim in front of the Paradise, and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life? (Genesis 3:24).