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shekhinah

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Copyright

shekhinah The Hebrew term (not itself in OT) for the important idea of God's dwelling in the midst of his people, usually located in the Tabernacle or the Temple, and described as his ‘glory’ (Exod. 40: 35). There were theological difficulties in reconciling the idea of the localized presence with that of the one God who could be encountered throughout the world; but the concept provides a way of holding that God is both transcendent and immanent, and it became available to Christians who struggled to relate their Jewish monotheism with a doctrine of the incarnation of Christ. The concept underlies the doctrine of the Word (John 1: 14), the narratives of the Transfiguration (Luke 9: 31) and the Ascension (Acts 1: 9), and the promise of the presence of Jesus where ‘two or three are gathered in my name’ (Matt. 18: 20) ‘to the end of the age’ (Matt. 28: 20).

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W. R. F. BROWNING. "shekhinah." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

W. R. F. BROWNING. "shekhinah." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-shekhinah.html

W. R. F. BROWNING. "shekhinah." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-shekhinah.html

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Shekhinah

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Shekhinah (Heb., ‘dwelling’). The divine presence as described in Jewish literature. The Shekhinah is sometimes used to refer to God himself, but generally it signifies God's presence in this world. It is frequently associated with light. Later Jewish philosophers were concerned to avoid anthropomorphism and therefore tended to maintain that the Shekhinah does not refer to God himself, but is an independent created intermediary. Thus Saʿadiah Gaon argued that the Shekhinah is the same as the glory of God which was seen by the prophets in visions.

In Islam, sakīna is supreme peace sent by God to dwell in human lives (e.g. Qurʾān 48. 4). In 2. 248, it refers to the Ark of the Covenant. But in general Islam resisted any localization of the transcendent power of God.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Shekhinah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Shekhinah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Shekhinah.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Shekhinah." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Shekhinah.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Shekhinah.(Book Review) Magazine article from: Hollins Critic; 10/1/1985
	"The Shekhinah Rose where a people died" Indian poet Dom Moraes on Israel and... Magazine article from: Midstream; 11/1/2007
	Reversing the Spell: New and Selected Poems. Magazine article from: The Women's Review of Books; 9/1/1998