Ophanim

[[File:Ezekiel-Vision-Merkaba.jpg|thumb|250px|The vision of Ezekiel Ezekiel 1:1 according to the depiction in the "Icones Biblicae" by Matthäus (Matthaeus) Merian the Elder (1593-1650).

The Ophanim' (Hebrew: אוֹפַנִּים wheels Singular אוֺפָן, Ophan; lat. ophan[us], pl. ophani[m]) are exalted spiritual beings mentioned in the apocryphal Book of Enoch. In Hebrew their name means wheels. In fact, they are said to be the wheels of the Merkaba, the Throne Chariot of God, and are sometimes equated with the Thrones (Hebrew: גלגלים Galgalim "wheels"), who are the rulers of the Saturn sphere. The description corresponds to that in the Apocalypse of the Daniel Daniel 7:9 and the vision of Ezekiel Ezekiel 1:1. Like the Cherubim and Seraphim, they never sleep and guard the Throne of God.

In answering questions to a lecture given in Leipzig on 12 January 1908, Rudolf Steiner relates the ten Sefirot to the wheels of the throne chariot of God (Hebrew מרכבה Merkaba "chariot") described in the vision of Ezekiel.

„The wheels of the chariot, Merkabah, indicate the turns by which man moves on ahead, and rounds are meant by them. The ten sephirot indicate periods of time, stages of development, through which man has passed. The physical body went through four stages of development: Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth. Three stages of the etheric body: Sun, Moon, Earth. Two stages of the astral body: Moon, Earth. The I is on the first stage: together there are ten.“ (Lit.: Contributions 32, p. 31)

Literature

• Gershom Scholem: Die jüdische Mystik in ihren Hauptströmungen, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-518-27930-0
• Rudolf Steiner: Okkulte Zeichen und Symbole der astralen und der geistigen Welt, Lecture in Leipzig, 12. Januar 1908 (not in CW) pdf
• Beiträge zur Rudolf Steiner Gesamtausgabe, Heft 32, 1970 Beiträge (Contributions) 32, S. 30f