Does shekinah mean presence

Answer 1

The Shekinah (Heb. šeḵinâ), the radiance, glory or presence of God dwelling in the midst of his people, is used by Targumist and Rabbi to signify God himself, for legal Judaism dislikes ascribing form or emotion to deity. Nevertheless the God conceived in purified human terms inspired the noblest prophetic utterances, whereas the legalist God became cold, abstract, aloof. The Shekinah, nearest Jewish equivalent to the Holy Spirit, became, with other OT ideas or derivatives (Word, Wisdom, Spirit, etc.) a bridge between man's corporeality and God's transcendence. The term is post-biblical, but the concept saturates both Testaments. It underlies the teaching that God dwells in his sanctuary (Ex. 25:8, etc.), or among his people (Ex. 29:45f., etc.). These and cognate passages use the root verb šāḵan, 'to dwell', from which Shekinah is derived.

The glory of God (kāḇôd in the Heb. Bible, doxa in lxx and NT) is another name for the Shekinah. The Heb. and Gk. words may be applied to the glory of mere human beings, such as Jacob (Gn. 31:1, av) or Solomon (Mt. 6:29), but it is clear enough when they refer to God. Thunder, lightning and cloud may be the outward concomitants of God's glory (Ex. 19:16; 24:15ff.; Pss. 29; 97; Ezk. 1:4); or it may be specially associated with the tent of meeting (Ex. 40:34-38) or with the Temple (Ezk. 43:2, 4); but it is manifest also in creation (Ps. 19), and possesses elements more numinous and mysterious than any of these (Ex. 33:18-23). In fact, the glory of God regularly becomes more glorious when it is deliberately divorced from Temple or mercy-seat.

In the NT as in the OT, glory may be predicated of God (Lk. 2:9; Acts 7:55; 2 Cor. 3:18) or ascribed to him (Lk. 2:14; Rom. 11:36; Phil. 4:20; Rev. 7:12, etc.). The attribution of this glory is mentioned as a human duty, whether fulfilled (Rom. 4:20) or unfulfilled (Acts 12:23; Rev. 16:9). The glory is present in a special way in the heavenly temple (Rev. 15:8) and in the heavenly city (Rev. 21:23).

The NT freely ascribes comparable glory to Christ as divine, before as well as after the dividing-point of Easter. The Synoptics are slightly reticent about associating this glory with the earthly Jesus, except in reference to the parousia (Mk. 8:38; 10:37; 13:26; also parallels), or in reference to Christ transfigured (Lk. 9:32). John ascribes this glory much more freely (cf. 1:14; 2:11; 11:4); nevertheless he distinguishes a fuller or final revelation as subsequent to the earthly ministry (7:39; 12:16, etc.). This seeming fluctuation is not unnatural-the view of the earthly Jesus and the heavenly Christ would sometimes become foreshortened after the Passion. The cognate verb doxazō frequently replaces the noun (Jn. 12; 17, etc.). The resemblance between the Heb. word and Gk. skēnē, etc., may suggest the shekinah motif in Jn. 1:14 (eskēnōsen, 'dwelt') and Rev. 21:3 (skēnē, 'dwelling').

Other passages are worthy of special attention-cf. 1 Tim. 3:16; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 13:21; Jas. 2:1; 1 Pet. 1:11, 21; 4:13; 5:1; Rev. 5:12f.

Heb. Hebrew

OT Old Testament

f. and the following (verse, etc.)

lxx Septuagint (Gk. version of OT)

NT New Testament

Gk. Greek

av Authorized Version ( King James'), 1611

ff. and the following (verses, etc.)

cf. confer (Lat.), compare

Wood, D. R. W. ; Wood, D. R. W. ; Marshall, I. Howard: New Bible Dictionary. electronic ed. of 3rd ed. Downers Grove : InterVarsity Press, 1996, c1982, c1962, S. 1090