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The third and last occurrence of huperano in the N.T. is found in Heb. 9: 5, which
reads: "And over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat." The critic's
comment is:--
"In the ark of the covenant we have the best possible illustration of the force of this
word. Surely the Cherubim were not `far above' the ark."
He further suggests that probably the lower parts of the Cherubim were "below" the
crown of the ark, and gets so enamoured of this idea that he even goes so far as to say:
"Huperano, in this case, may denote near rather than far", but we recall that he has
already prefaced his investigation by saying:
"As few of us are sufficiently adept in either Greek or English to pass judgment upon
such grammatical and idiomatic problems, we will base nothing on expert evidence."
so that we need not be greatly concerned. The Scriptures themselves are the only and
final appeal.
The Apostle is not concerned, in Heb. 9: 5, with the fact that the Cherubim and the
mercy seat were made out of one piece of metal. His statement is confined to one
feature, and one feature only, namely, that the Cherubim "overshadowed" (kataskiazo)
the mercy seat, and in so doing he is referring to Exod. 25: 18-20, where we read:--
"And the Cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat
with their wings."
Here, we have inspired usage of words, and need not be adepts either in Hebrew,
Greek or English to understand the meaning of the Hebrew word here translated "on
high". Maal is translated in the LXX by huperano, and so provides an infallible authority
for the usage and meaning of the word. Maal occurs in such passages as "In heaven
above" (Exod. 20: 4); "From his shoulders and upward" (I Sam. 9: 2); "The clouds
above" (Prov. 8: 28). Whoever used the word huperano in Gen. 7: 20 and
elsewhere, had no hesitation in using it for a measurable distance, whether for the height
of the water above the mountains, or the height of the wings of the overshadowing
Cherubim. Doubtless he would have been surprised to have learned that huperano
contained no idea of "distance", and that in the reference to the Cherubim, it might mean
near rather than far. However good our intention may be, we are all liable to go to such
lengths when seeking support for any particular line of teaching. Although we have
written on the subject again and again, our critic has never understood that when we
speak of a position "far above all heavens", we have no idea that when Christ ascended
up far above all heavens He was "outside the heavens". What we have maintained is that
"the heavens" that are in view since the six days' creation are the only heavens associated
with the redeemed until the revelation of the mystery, and that no redeemed child of God
has any prospect of association with the heaven of Gen. 1: 1 except the church of the
mystery chosen in Christ before the period referred to in Gen. 1: 2. As many of our
readers may not have access to our early writings, and as it is essential that this matter
should be clarified, we repeat what has been in print for over twenty years, so that all