Theology of the Old Testament (Old Testament Library)

The living creatures, living beings, or chayyoth (Hebrew: חַיּוֹת, romanized: ḥayyōṯ) are a class of heavenly beings in Judaism. They are described in the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly chariot in the first and tenth chapters of the Book of Ezekiel. References to the sacred creatures recur in texts of Second Temple Judaism, in rabbinical merkabah ("chariot") literature, in the Book of Revelation in the Christian New Testament, and in the Zohar. According to Jewish and Christian traditions, there are four living creatures, although their description varies by source. The symbolic depiction of the four living creatures in religious art, especially Christian art, is called a tetramorph.