Shekhinah
From Open Encyclopedia
Shekhinah (שכינה - alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah) is the English spelling of the Hebrew language word that means the glory or radiance of God, or God's presence. It is derived from the Hebrew verb 'sakan' or 'shachan' - to dwell or to reside. (The Greek word 'skene' - dwelling - is thought to be derived from 'shekinah' and 'sakan'.) In classic Jewish thought, the Shekhina refers to extraordinary manifestation of divine spirituality at given times and locations, to the effect that, while Man is in proximity to the Shekhina, the connection to God is more readily perceivable by Man.
The Shekinah is held by many to represent the feminine attributes of the presence of God (shekhinah being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the Talmud and the Kabbalah. The word 'Matronit' is also employed to represent this usage. Comparative Religionists suggest a comparison to shakti, the female energy of Hindu gods, and to the Christian concept of the Holy Spirit.
The public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, published in 1897, says:
- Shechinah: a Chaldee word meaning resting-place, not found in Scripture, but used by the later Jews to designate the visible symbol of God's presence in the tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon's temple. When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, he went before them "in a pillar of a cloud." This was the symbol of his presence with his people. God also spoke to Moses through the 'shekhinah' out of a burning bush. For references made to it during the wilderness wanderings, see Exodus 14:20; 40:34-38; Leviticus 9:23, 24; Numbers 14:10; 16:19, 42. It is probable that after the entrance into Canaan this glory-cloud settled in the tabernacle upon the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. We have, however, no special reference to it till the consecration of the temple by Solomon, when it filled the whole house with its glory, so that the priests could not stand to minister (1 Kings 8:10-13; 2 Chr. 5:13, 14; 7:1-3). Probably it remained in the first temple in the holy of holies as the symbol of Jehovah's presence so long as that temple stood.
Arguably, the next reference to the Shekinah filling a place is in chapter six of the book of Isaiah, where Isaiah relates a vision he had of God in Heaven. Isaiah sees God sitting on a throne, surrounded by the Living Creatures also witnessed by Ezekial and present in the Revelation. After Isaiah is purified by a hot coal, God gives him a message to pass on to His people. Isaiah writes of God's "long robe" filling the temple in which He sat, then of smoke filling the place as the Living Creatures praise God. These are possibly manifestations of the Shekinah. The New Testament presents the Shekinah as both literal (as in Luke 2:9 which refers to the "glory of the Lord" shining on the shepherds at Jesus' birth) as well as spiritual (as in John 17:22, where Jesus speaks to God of giving the "glory" that God gave to him to the people.)
The Shekinah as an Angel
According A Dictionary of Angels, Gustav Davidson, the Shekinah is an angel, specifically the female incarnation of Metatron. According to the Zohar, she acts, like the Metatron, as God's voice or messenger and appears to Moses and Jacob, who call her an angel. The Zohar also identifies her as the angel to whom Jacob refers in Genesis 48:16. The Talmud's descriptions of her radiance refer to it as having healing properties. A haggadah also gives the Shekinah dominion over the conjugal union of married Jewish couples.
