From the guardians of the pharaohs to Solomon’s temple, the sphinxes and the cherubim

[Caladan]

The Southern Oracle, The Neverending Story.

The origin for the winged sphinx is identified with Egypt, and with the fourth dynasty period. the Egyptians, the Phoenicians and the Canaanites depicted winged sphinxes both as males and females. the males had a beard, and the females sometimes had a line of breasts in the lower part of their bodies.
during the late Bronze Age we have depictions of Egyptian pharaohs seated on thrones accompanied by winged sphinxes.
for the most part the Egyptians depicted the sphinx while their wings are lying on their backs, the Phoenicians and the other Canaanites depicted theirs with their wings extended and spread upwards.
It is believed that the winged sphinx arrived to the Phoenicians, Canaanites, and into Syria through the Egyptian occupation in the Levant during the times of the New Kingdom starting with the conquests of the 16th century BCE.
It is possible that the Phoenicians first depicted the sphinxes with their wings extended instead of lying on their back and made the transition into what we read in the Bible about the Cherubim. the Bible tells us that the wings of the Cherubim were extended.
A connection can be seen between the Egyptian winged sphinxes and the Cherubim which appear in the Mercy Seat which was rested upon the Ark of the Covenant found in the tabernacle and later in the first temple at Jerusalem, built by King Solomon according to Biblical tradition.

And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

~Exodus 25:17-22


A model of the ark, with the Mercy seat and the covering Cherubim resting on top.

Its hard to tell the exact form and shape of the Cherubim, but these verses tell us that they had wings.
In the alleged sarcophagus of the Phoenician king Ahiram from around 1000 BCE, wich was found in the ancient site of Byblos at 1923, the king is depicted seated on a throne with winged sphinxes on both sides, while priests serve him the lotus flower.
At the palace at Megiddo an ivory plaque was discovered and in it the king can be seen seated on a throne with the queen serving him the papyrus flower and a drinking cup- Egyptian elements. on both sides of the king there are winged sphinxes protecting him, lions with human heads.
in 1 Kings, it is written that:

Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.
The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.
And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

~1 Kings 10:18-20

In excavations which have taken place in Phoenician and Canaanite sites, various finds which depict kings and rulers seated on thrones, flanked by four-legged winged beasts, the bodies of lions, and human heads were discovered. in Egyptian art we know this phenomenon as the sphinx. some scholars see the Mercy Seat as a throne with winged sphinxes which were desinged in the spirit of the thrones from the late bronze age of the Phoenicians and Canaanites.
1 Samuel 4:4 tells us about the God of Israel:

He who sitteth (on) the cherubim

The idea which is found behind this description is depicted well by a king who is seated on a throne and is flanked by cherubim. such as the finds in Megiddo and Byblos which are dated to 1200-800 BCE.

[MSizer]

Caladan, everybody knows that a sphynx does not have a cerebellum.