Etymology
The noun merkabah "thing to ride in, cart" is derived from the consonantal root r-k-b with general meaning "to ride"). The word "chariot" is found 44 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible - most of them referring to normal chariots on earth and although the concept of the Merkabah is associated with Ezekiel's vision (1:4-26), the word isn't explicitly written in Ezekiel 1.
However, when left untranslated in English the Hebrew term merkabah (Hebrew: מֶרְכַּבְ, מרכבה, and מִרְכֶּבֶת) relates to the throne-chariot of God in prophetic visions. It is most closely associated with the vision in Ezekiel chapter 1 of the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four hayyot ("living creatures"), each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle.
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
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