He mounted a cherub and flew, and he soared on the wings of the wind (Psalm 18:10)
"The cherub is a fierce winged beast, the charger ridden by the sky god in Canaanite mythology, not the dimpled darling of Renaissance painting." (Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary)
Dr. D. Pochin Mould (Angels of God, 1963) says cherub is derived from the Babylonian karibu, those winged guardian gods with human heads and the bodies of lions. She goes on to say, however, "It is not true that the development of Jewish teaching on angels is a taking over of pagan mythologies; rather, Jewish thought tends to throw the one transcendent God into even greater relief."
St. Michael, above, not fierce but quite majestic.
