Genesis 3:24

וַיְגָרֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן מִקֶּדֶם לְגַן־עֵדֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִים וְאֵת לַהַט הַחֶרֶב הַמִּתְהַפֶּכֶת לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־דֶּרֶךְ עֵץ הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ ס

✦ Hebrew interlinear

Tap a word to see its entry

✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וַיְגָ֖רֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩ מִקֶּ֨דֶם לְגַן־עֵ֜דֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת לִשְׁמֹ֕ר אֶת־דֶּ֖רֶךְ עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ ס

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ ἐξέβαλεν τὸν Ἀδὰμ καὶ κατῴκισεν αὐτὸν ἀπέναντι τοῦ παραδείσου τῆς τρυφῆς, καὶ ἔταξεν τὰ χερουβὶν καὶ τὴν φλογίνην ῥομφαίαν τὴν στρεφομένην φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

Ejecitque Adam: et collocavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubim, et flammeum gladium, atque versatilem, ad custodiendam viam ligni vitæ.

Spanish

Después de expulsar al hombre, puso al oriente del jardín del Edén querubines y una espada llameante que giraba en todas direcciones para vigilar el camino que conducía al árbol de la vida.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Echó, pues, fuera al hombre, y puso al oriente del huerto de Edén querubines, y una espada encendida que se revolvía á todos lados, para guardar el camino del árbol de la vida.

English

So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

✦ What the text says

Summary

The verse narrates two consecutive actions: the expulsion of the man from the garden, and the placement of guardian figures — cherubim and a whirling flaming sword — at the east side of the Garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.

Key words

y.Ga.resh ("he drove out", H1644) — piel (intensive) verb with narrative vav, indicating a forceful, completed act of expulsion, not a simple sending away.
i.yash.Ken ("he caused to dwell/stationed", H7931) — hiphil (causative) form: the subject causes something else (the cherubim) to dwell/be placed, rather than dwelling itself.
ha.mit.ha.Pe.khet ("the whirling one", H2015) — hithpael participle, feminine singular, reflexive in force, describing the sword's flame as continuously turning upon itself.
li.sh.Mor ("to guard", H8104) — qal infinitive with prefixed li ("to"), expressing purpose: the action for which the cherubim and sword are stationed.
ke.ru.Vim ("cherubim", H3742) — masculine plural noun, the direct object (marked by 'et) of the causative verb yashken.

What the text says

The verse opens with two narrative-vav clauses, each fronting a finite verb (yagaresh, then yashken), which is typical of Hebrew sequential narration ("and then X happened, and then Y happened"). The first clause is short: yagaresh ("he drove out", H1644) governs the direct object ha'adam ("the man", H0120) marked by 'et. The piel stem here carries an intensive nuance compared to a plain qal expulsion.

The second clause is longer and syntactically more complex. The hiphil verb yashken ("he caused to dwell", H7931) takes two coordinated direct objects, both marked by 'et: first hakkeruvim ("the cherubim", H3742), then lahat hacherev hammithapeket ("the flame of the sword, the whirling one" — H3858, H2719, H2015), a construct chain followed by a hithpael participle modifying "sword." The location is specified by miqqedem legan-'Eden ("from/at the east of the garden of Eden," H6924, H1588, H5731), using a construct noun chain gan-'Eden ("garden of Eden"). The purpose of this placement is given by the infinitive clause lishmor 'et-derekh 'etz hachayyim ("to guard the way of the tree of life," H8104, H1870, H6086, H2416), itself a construct chain (derekh 'etz hachayyim, "way of the tree of the life").

The grammar thus separates two distinct divine actions (removal of the man; installation of guardians) through parallel narrative verbs, while the participle hammithapeket conveys ongoing, repeated motion of the flame rather than a single static state.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.