The guardian cherub
Whether the lament over the king of Tyre describes only a human ruler or also the fall of a heavenly being.
Ezekiel 28:11-19
11Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
12“Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You were the seal of full measure, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. They were prepared in the day that you were created.
14You were the anointed cherub who covers. Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire.
15You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.
16By the abundance of your commerce, your insides were filled with violence, and you have sinned. Therefore I have cast you as profane out of God’s mountain. I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the middle of the stones of fire.
17Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.
18By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your commerce, you have profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought out a fire from the middle of you. It has devoured you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all those who see you.
19All those who know you among the peoples will be astonished at you. You have become a terror, and you will exist no more.” ’ ”
What each tradition says
Rabbinic / Midrashic
Rashi, citing the Midrash Aggadah (B. B. 75a), says the Rabbis interpreted this section as referring to Adam. The prophet asks Hiram why he should be proud of his sky, and whether he was in the Garden of Eden as Adam was.
Rashi, Rashi on Ezekiel — The Judaica Press Complete Tanach with Rashi, trans. A. J. Rosenberg (Sefaria) — On Ezekiel 28:16, comment on 'from among the stones of fire' (B. B. 75a)
Patristic
Cyril of Jerusalem cites the inspired prophet Ezekiel’s lament over him, saying he was a seal of likeness, a crown of beauty, and was born in the Paradise of God. Cyril presents this as Ezekiel’s teaching, not his own.
Cyril of Jerusalem, NPNF2-07. Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen — The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril, trans. Edwin Hamilton Gifford (Schaff, ed.) — Catechetical Lecture II, 'On Repentance and Remission of Sins, and Concerning the Adversary,' §4
Catholic
Majority viewHaydock notes that the king of Tyre, by his dignity and natural perfections, bore a certain resemblance to God, by reason of which he might be called the seal of resemblance. He adds that what is here said to him is commonly understood of Lucifer, the king over all the children of pride.
George Leo Haydock (bracketed note: Challoner), George Haydock's Catholic Commentary — On Ezekiel 28:12
Orthodox
No sourced position found. Checked: Philaret's Longer Catechism (Schaff, Creeds of Christendom vol. II, CCEL — Ezekiel appears only in the list of prophetical books); Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Jerusalem (Robertson trans. 1899, archive.org actsdecreesofsyn00orth — cherubim only in the decree on images); Isaac of Nineveh, Mystic Treatises (Wensinck trans. 1923 — no Ezekiel 28 material); NPNF2 Eastern fathers on CCEL (John of Damascus NPNF2-09, Gregory of Nyssa NPNF2-05 — no comment on the passage); archive.org/CCEL searches for a public-domain English Greek commentary on Ezekiel (Theophylact, Oecumenius, catenae) — none found; pravoslavieto.com portal checked.
Reformed / Protestant
Matthew Henry notes many expositors suggest this lament has an allegory besides its literal sense, alluding to the fall of angels who sinned through pride. Some passages refer primarily to Tyre’s king, others to angels. If mystical, Henry would rather refer it to Adam’s fall, glanced at in verse 13.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume IV (Isaiah to Malachi) — Ezekiel 28, section 'Fall of the Prince of Tyre' (vv. 11-19, b.c. 588), part I
Evangelical
Barnes reads this as the dirge of the prince of Tyre, answering the dirge of the state. He says the passage is ironical. Its main purpose is to depict all the glory, real or assumed, of “the prince of Tyrus,” to show how deplorable his ruin should be.
Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary — On Ezekiel 28:11-19