31 Or “rode upon.”
32 Heb “a cherub” (so , , ); “the cherubim” (plural); “his winged creature”; “flying creatures.” A winged angel. Cherubs, as depicted in the Old Testament, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24–27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Pss 80:1; 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22–28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind (see the next line).
33 The translation follows very many medieval Hebrew in reading וַיֵּדֶא (vayyéde’, “and he glided”; cf. “soared”; “raced”) rather than וַיֵּרָא (vayyera’, “and he appeared,” so , ). See as well the , , , and the parallel version in Ps 18:10, which preserves the original reading (see the there).
34 The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict the Lord mounting a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. A third option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “ ‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” 5 (1973): 422–24.