Jacob of Serugh

“That through visible things the world might learn who is its Lord And what Moses omitted from his account, and what was not written, David expressed in the book of his psalm. "He made his angels and his ministers of fire and wind." Thus David caused to be written in his excellent book of Psalms So that the world might learn that angels too were created works And with the created things they come to birth from the Creator. For what the great Moses did not write about concerning the angels David wrote down, but single is the spirit of their revelations. And the world learned through Moses as well as through David That he is one who created all creatures with his gesture. And David showed on what day the angels came into being For their creation was made plain to the world, when and how In that gesture with which heaven and earth were created. In it all the hosts of heavenly beings arose. Through the word of the Lord heaven was made, David showed. And together with it [his word] were the hosts made through the Spirit from his mouth. Moses demonstrated that the Lord created the heaven and the earth And David demonstrated how the hosts came into being. Isaiah, too, through that revelation of his prophecy, brought to the world an account of that power of the seraphim.”

“The prophet wonderful-in-revelations told this account. He who ate the scroll full of the symbols of creative power Disgorged a memra at whose meaning intellects are dazzled. He discoursed about the chariot and about its transformations And about its forms and the faces that were joined in it. About the faces and the wings and eloquent wheels And the living spirit that was in the wheels being turned, About the movement of service of the cherubs, And about the high throne that is established on their backs, And about the appearance of the image of the Son of God Which was borne on the chariot with great awe; And about the voice of that service that is the cherubs' own, Which with great movement bless the most high in his place. All these things from Ezekiel, the son of the exile, Did the world learn about the chariot's awesome appearance. For neither Moses nor David published this account Nor any prophet told [of it] like Ezekiel.”