Ophanim

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A class of angelic beings characterized by their wheel-like appearance and association with divine mystery
2. A heavenly order often related to the manifestation of God's glory and wisdom
3. Celestial beings depicted as wheels with eyes, symbolizing aspects of divine revelation and power

Etymology: The name is a plural, and its singular, "ophan," is a learned borrowing from Hebrew "'ofán," meaning "wheel." The Hebrew word is the one used in the Bible's vision in the Book of Ezekiel, where the prophet describes fiery wheels within wheels beside the living creatures of the divine chariot. English took the term over in its sacred sense, so the plural names the wheel-shaped beings that Ezekiel saw. The angels themselves are a later layer of meaning. The Hebrew plural "'ofanim" was applied to a class of heavenly beings, and in English the word kept the strange, mechanical imagery of its origin. Its meaning is therefore rooted in a plain object, a wheel, which was then elevated into a category of celestial creature.