The focus in this episode is Ezek 28:1-19. As readers of my book, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible know, this is a controversial passage. All scholars agree that this is an oracle and lament against a human prince of Tyre. The disagreement stems from vv. 11-19, but 1-19 is peripherally affected. The debate is over just who the prince of Tyre in vv. 11-19 is being compared to — i.e., what is the point of analogy? Many say that the prince of Tyre is being compared to Adam in Eden. This would mean that it is Adam who is being referred to as a “guardian cherub” (v. 14) who walked in the midst of the stone of fire (a reference to either divine council members or the divine council locale). Dr. Heiser shares the view of other scholars who say that the prince of Tyre is being compared to a divine rebel — and that this passage is related to another one (Isaiah 14) that compares a human ruler (king of Babylon) to a divine rebel. Further, he argues that these two passages are related to Genesis 3, the OT’s own story of a primeval divine rebellion. This means that the anointed cherub is a divine being, a rebellious member of the divine council (stones of fire) – not Adam. This episode explores why the debate exists and adds some details in defense of Dr. Heiser’s position.
The episode is now live.
In Episode 143 of the Naked Bible Podcast, Dr. Michael Heiser unpacks one of the most debated and misunderstood passages in Scripture: Ezekiel 28:1–19. This poetic oracle against the king of Tyre famously speaks of an “anointed cherub” in Eden”—a figure traditionally linked with Satan or Lucifer in popular Christian theology. But as Heiser argues, the passage deserves a much closer look in its ancient Near Eastern context.
Heiser carefully distinguishes between the human king of Tyre and the supernatural being symbolically portrayed as inhabiting Eden, the “mountain of God.” Through detailed examination of Hebrew terms, temple imagery, and divine council motifs, Heiser reveals that the language describes a cosmic rebellion—a divine being cast out of sacred space for pride and self-deification.
Drawing from themes in The Unseen Realm, Heiser explains how this passage parallels but is not synonymous with Isaiah 14, and why neither text should be casually equated with the New Testament figure of Satan. Instead, Ezekiel 28 offers a theological and cosmic portrait of rebellion in the divine realm—tied into Israel’s prophetic vision of spiritual powers behind human empires.
Listeners are invited to step beyond traditional interpretations and enter the world of Eden as divine abode, cherubim as throne guardians, and hubris as the fatal flaw of the divine rebel—themes that frame much of Heiser’s supernatural theology.
又是一年，祝博主要啥有啥想啥来啥总之不缺啥！
I was curious how this one was going to go… if it was going to be a rehashing of UR or if it would be new material. I think you did an excellent job of both! A rehash for new listeners as well going beyond UR to explain the rationale behind the other side of the argument. Great episode!
Hello Dr Heiser,
To come back to your Naked Bible Podcast 112 about Ezekiel 1.
You referred to a book from Othmar Keel in German speaking about the Symbolism and Imagery of Ancient Near East.
I found another one of the same author which was translated in English “The Symbolism of the Biblical World, Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms” (Die Welt der altorientalischen Bildsymbolik und das Alte Testament: Am Beispiel der Psalmen – 1972, reedited in 1997). Link below.
It’s a 448 pages book with illustrations and deep explanations of symbols of the ANE. So, although it is not the book you referred to, this one can help your readers to look into the imagery of those days. 🙂
Have a good day ahead.
Regards
LINK
https://books.google.com.ph/books/about/The_Symbolism_of_the_Biblical_World.html?id=Fy4B1iMg33YC&redir_esc=y