Bible Locations

Cherub, or Kerub, was a place in Babylonia where some Jewish exiles lived. Ezra 2:59 and Nehemiah 7:61 list "those who came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel." They were allowed to return, but some priests among them, who couldn't find their family records, were excluded from the priesthood "until there should be a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim." These towns seem to have been Jewish settlements in Babylonia, some with names beginning with "Tel," meaning "mound," perhaps built on old ruins, like Tel Aviv where Ezekiel lived. Cherub's exact location is unknown. The Babylonians settled exiles in communities around the land to farm and work, and clay tablets from places like Al-Yahudu show Judean families living in such villages.