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Bible Encyclopedias
Glory
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
or
I. Method of Treatment
II. General Use of the Term
1. As Applied to External Things
2. As Applied to Yahweh
III. The Uses of Kabhodh
1. Material Wealth
2. Human Dignity and Majesty
3. "My Soul": The Self
4. Self-Manifestation of God (Yahweh)
(1) Exodus 23:18 ff
(2) Isaiah 6
(3) Psalm 19:1
(4) Sinai and the Temple
(5) Ezekiel's Visions
(6) Messianic Ideal
(7) Its Ethical Content
IV. In the Apocrypha and the New Testament
1. In the Apocrypha
(1) As Applied to External Things
(2) As Applied to God
2. In the New Testament
(1) As Applied to Men
(2) As Applied to God
(3) As Applied to the Saints
(4) As Applied to the Messianic Kingdom
3. Its Ethical Significance
Literature
I. Method of Treatment
In this article we deal, first , with a group of words, translated "glory" in the English Versions of the Bible, and in which the ideas of size, rarity, beauty and adornment are prominent, the emphasis being laid in the first instance in each case upon some external physical characteristic which attracts the attention, and makes the object described by the word significant or prominent.
These are ( אדּרת ,
Secondly , this article will discuss the most common and characteristic word for "glory" in the Old Testament, the Hebrew ( כּבד ,
II. General Use of the Term
In the first group, as has already been stated, the ideas of beauty, majesty and splendor are prominent. And these qualities are predicated first of all, of things. David determines to make the temple which Solomon is to build "a house of fame and of glory" (1 Chronicles 22:5 ).
1. As Applied to External Things
Then, and more commonly, glory belongs to men, and especially to men of prominence, like kings. This glory may consist in wealth, power, portion, or even in the inherent majesty and dignity of character of its possessor. The reference is most frequently, however, to the external manifestations. Physical power is suggested in Deuteronomy 33:17 , where "glory" of the King James Version is replaced by "majesty" in the Revised Version (British and American). The king's glory consists in the multitude of his people (Proverbs 14:28 ). The glory and the pomp of the rebellious people shall descend into Sheol (Isaiah 5:14 ). Here the reference is clearly to those external things upon which the people depend, and the possession of which is the ground of their confidence.
2. As Applied to Yahweh
But chiefly glory is the possesion and characteristic of Yahweh, and is given by Him to His people or to anything which is connected with Him. In Isaiah 60:7 the Lord promises to glorify the house of His glory, and the meaning is clearly that He will impart to His house something of the beauty and majesty which belong to Him. Glory is one of the qualities which are distinctive of Yahweh ( 1 Chronicles 29:11 ); and Isaiah, in one of his earliest utterances, uses the word "glory" to describe Yahweh's self-manifestation in judgment to bring to naught the pride and power of men (Isaiah 2:10 , Isaiah 2:19 , Isaiah 2:21 ). The use of the word in Psalm 78:61 is not quite certain. The most natural interpretation would perhaps be to refer it to the ark as the symbol of the presence of Yahweh, but in view of the parallel word "strength," it is perhaps better to interpret glory as meaning power, and to suppose that the Psalmist means that Yahweh allowed His power to be temporarily obscured, and Himself to be seemingly humiliated on account of the sin of His people.
III. The Uses of Kābhōdh
The use and significance of
1. Material Wealth
In Genesis 31:1 (margin "wealth") it describes the flocks and herds which Jacob has acquired; in Psalm 49:16 f, as the parallelism indicates, it refers to the wealth of the sinner; and in Isaiah 10:3 it is said that in the day of desolation the heartless plunderers of the poor shall not know where to leave their ill-gotten gain. This idea is also probably to be found in Haggai 2:7 , where the parallelism seems to indicate that the glory with which Yahweh will fill the house is the treasure which He will bring into it. See also Sirach 9:11, where the glory of the sinner which is not to be envied is probably his wealth.
2. Human Dignity and Majesty
It describes the majesty and dignity or honor of men due to their adornment or to their position. In Genesis 45:13 , Joseph bids his brethren tell their father of his glory in Egypt; according to Exodus 28:40 , the priestly garments are intended for the glorification of their wearers; in 1 Samuel 4:21 f, the loss of the ark means, for Israel, the loss of her glory, that which gave her distinction from, and preeminence over, her neighbors; in Isaiah 22:23 it is said that Eliakim is to be a throne of glory, i.e. the source and manifestation of the splendor and dignity of his father's house; in Job 19:9 the complaint that God has stripped him of his glory must be taken to refer to his dignity and honor. Reference may also be made to the numerous passages in which the glory of Israel and other nations describes their dignity, majesty or distinction; so we hear of the glory of Ephraim ( Hosea 9:11 ), of Moab (Isaiah 16:14 ), of Kedar (Isaiah 21:16 ). This use is quite common in Sir. Sirach 3:10 f states that the glory of man comes from the honor of his father; the possessor of wisdom shall inherit glory (4:13; 37:26); note also 4:21 with its reference to "a shame that is glory and grace," and 49:5 where the forfeited independence of Judah is described by the terms "power" and "glory."
3. "My Soul": The Self
Closely related to this use of
Before leaving this use of
4. Self-Manfiestation of God (Yahweh)
But unquestionably the most important use of the word
(1) Exodus 23:18
The significance of the phrase in its earliest occurrence is by no means clear. Notwithstanding the uncertainty as to the exact documentary connection of the famous passage in Exodus 33:18 , it seems quite certain that we may claim that this is the earliest historical reference that the Old Testament contains to the glory of Yahweh. "And he (Moses) said, Show me, I pray thee, thy glory. And he (Yahweh) said Thou canst not see my face;... and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand until I have passed by: and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back; but my face shall not be seen." The passage in its present form bears unmistakable evidences of the editorial hand, due perhaps, as Baentsch (Hand-kommentar zum Altes Testament , "Ex-Lev-Nu," 279) suggests, to a desire to transform the primitive, concrete, physical theophany into a revelation of the ethical glory of God, but in its basis it belongs to the Jahwist (Jahwist) and is therefore the earliest literary reference to the glory of God in the Old Testament. The glory of Yahweh is clearly a physical manifestation, a form with hands and rear parts, of which Moses is permitted to catch only a passing glimpse, but the implication is clear that he actually does see Yahweh with his physical eyes.
It seems not improbable that in its original form it was related that Moses saw the glory, i.e., the form of Yahweh, and thus that we are to find in this narrative the source for the statement in Numbers 12:8 , that he (Moses) will behold (or perhaps better rendering the tense as a frequentative), beholds the form of Yahweh (see also the description in Exodus 24:9-11 ). The mention of the cloud (Exodus 34:5 ) as the accompaniment of the manifestation of Yahweh suggests that the form of Yahweh was thought of as being outlined in cloud and flame, and that Yahweh was originally thought of as manifesting Himself in connection with meteorological or more probably volcanic phenomena.
(2) Isaiah 6:1-13
Later the glory of Yahweh and the form of Yahweh are no longer identical terms, but the glory is still the physical manifestation of the Divine presence. This is clear from Isaiah's account of his great inaugural vision. The prophet sees the enthroned Yahweh with His skirts filling the temple. There is no indication of what it was that he saw or how he recognized that it was Yahweh. The attendant
Unquestionably His glory is here regarded as something visible, something, a part of which at least, Isaiah sees. The glory as such has no ethical significance except in so far as it is the method of manifestation of one who is undoubtedly an ethical being. The phraseology suggests that the skirts which fill the temple and the glory which fills the whole earth refer to the phenomena of fire and smoke. Some think that the smoke is caused by the clouds of incense that would fill the temple in connection with the sacrificial observances. But in view of Isaiah's horror of these observances, this interpretation is very questionable. A more probable interpretation connects the clouds and gloom with the phenomena of a great storm, and even possibly of an earthquake, for it seems highly plausible that the call of Isaiah in the year of the death of King Uzziah coincided with thee great earthquake in the days of Uzziah referred to in Zechariah 14:5 . (It seems at least probable that the references to the darkness and light in Zechariah 14:6 f may have their origin in the phenomena attendant upon this earthquake. It is probable that the earthquake by which the prophecy of Amos is dated ( Amos 1:1 ) is also this same historic earthquake.) The clouds and fire attendant upon this storm or earthquake become the media by which the glory of Yahweh is made known to the youthful prophet, and this glory partly reveals and partly conceals the presence of Yahweh of which, through, and in part by means of, these phenomena, Isaiah is made so vividly conscious.
(3) Psalm 19:1
This conception of Isaiah that the glory of Yahweh fills the earth is closely related to the thought of Psalm 19:1 that "the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork," the difference being that in the psalm Yahweh's glory is manifested in the ordinary rather than in the extraordinary phenomena. Parallel thoughts may be found in Psalm 8:1; Psalm 57:5; Psalm 108:5; Psalm 113:4 . In Psalm 29:1 , Psalm 29:2 , Psalm 29:3 , Psalm 29:5 , as in Isaiah, the glory of Yahweh is revealed in the extraordinary physical phenomena which the psalm describes. Glory here is a purely external, meteorological thing and is the manifestation of the presence of Yahweh, no matter whether the psalm is regarded, as it usually is, as a description of a thunderstorm, or whether with von Gall and others it is taken as a description of the phenomena which accompany the inauguration of the Messianic kingdom (see Joel 2:30 f the English Revised Version).
(4) Sinai and the Temple
Deuteronomy 5:24 indicates that in theophany at the time of the giving of the law, the glory and the greatness of Yahweh. consisted in the fire and thick darkness which enveloped the mountain, and out of which Yahweh spoke to the people. Essentially the same idea is expressed in the account of the dedication of Solomon's temple ( 1 Kings 8:10 f; 2 Chronicles 5:14 ). The cloud which filled the house of Yahweh, preventing the priests from ministering, is identified with the glory of Yahweh which filled the house. It is noteworthy that in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 the glory of Yahweh which fills the house manifests itself in the form of the cloud of smoke from the sacrifices which were consumed by the fire coming down from heaven.
(5) Ezekiel's Visions
Perhaps the most elaborate description of the glory of Yahweh to be found in the Old Testament is that given by Ezekiel in the various accounts of his visions. It is not easy to interpret his conception, but it seems clear that he does not identify the glory with the stormy clouds, the fire, the cherubim and the chariots. "The appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh" (Ezekiel 1:28 ) is not applied to all the phenomena which have been described in the preceding verses, but only to the likeness of form which looked like a man above the sapphire throne (Ezekiel 1:26 ). The same idea is indicated in Ezekiel 9:3 which states that "the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was"; that is, the glory is something peculiar to Yahweh, and is not quite identical with the phenomena which accompany it. This is true of all his visions. The glory of Yahweh manifests itself with all the accompaniments which he describes with such richness of imagery, but the accompaniments are not the glory. For other descriptions of the glory of Yahweh in Ezekiel, see Ezekiel 3:12 , Ezekiel 3:23; Ezekiel 8:4; Ezekiel 10:4 , Ezekiel 10:18; Ezekiel 11:22 f.
Very similar to this conception of Ezekiel is that given in those passages of the Pentateuch which are usually assigned to the Priestly Code. When the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron on account of the lack of food, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud as they "looked toward the wilderness" (Exodus 16:7 , Exodus 16:10; compare Exodus 24:16 f). And just as in Ezekiel, the glory is distinguished from its attendant circumstances; for after the completion of the Tent of Meeting, the cloud covers the tent, and the glory of Yahweh fills the tabernacle ( Exodus 40:34 f; see also Leviticus 9:6 , Leviticus 9:23; Numbers 14:21 f; Numbers 16:19 , Numbers 16:42; Numbers 20:6 ). The same thought is suggested in the references in Sirach 17:13; 45:3.
(6) Messianic Ideal
These passages just cited stand on the border between the historical and the ideal descriptions of the glory of Yahweh, for whatever may be one's views as to the historical worth of P's account of the Exodus and the wilderness sojourn, all must agree in seeing in it really the program or constitution for the ideal state of the future. And in this state the distinguishing characteristic is to be the manifest presence of Yahweh in His sanctuary, and this manifestation is the glory. This is the view of Ezekiel, for whom the essential action in the establishment of the new community is the return of the glory of Yahweh to the house of Yahweh (Ezekiel 43:2 , Ezekiel 43:4 , Ezekiel 43:5; Ezekiel 44:4 ). The same thought is expressed very clearly in Isaiah 4:5 f, which may be rendered on the basis of a slight rearrangement and regrouping of the original, 'And Yahweh will create over ... Mt. Zion ...., a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over everything the glory (of Yahweh) shall be a canopy and a pavilion, and it shall serve as a shelter from the heat, and a refuge and a covert from the storm and the rain.' This translation has the advantage that it furnishes an intelligible and characteristic conclusion to the description of the Messianic age which the chapter contains. Isaiah 11:10 , reading with the Revised Version, margin, "and his resting-place shall be glory," has the same thought, for it is clearly the glory of Yahweh that is manifested in the resting-place of the root of Jesse, and this resting-place can be none other than Mt. Zion (compare also Isaiah 24:23 ).
The Psalms and Deuteronomy-Isaiah have many passages in which this phase of the thought is brought out. For both books the restoration of the people from captivity is to be accompanied by, or, perhaps better, itself is, a revelation of the glory of Yahweh (Isaiah 40:5 ). The children of Israel have been created for the glory of Yahweh, and hence they must be restored that His glory may be made manifest (Isaiah 43:7 ). The light of the restored community is to be the glory of Yahweh (Isaiah 60:1 f). The presence of Yahweh brings grace and glory ( Psalm 84:11 ), and His salvation of those that fear Him causes glory to dwell in the land (Psalm 85:9 ). To these and many similar passages in Isa and the Psalms may also be added Sirach 36:14, which refers probably to the manifestation of God in glory in the Messianic kingdom.
(7) Its Ethical Content
But these passages make it quite evident that "glory" is not always used in the external, literally or figuratively physical sense. It comes to have an ethical significance, and this because, like the holiness with which it is associated in Isaiah 6:1-13 , it is connected with Yahweh, who is more and more exclusively viewed as an ethical being. As holiness gradually loses its physical sense of aloofness, apartness, and comes to describe moral purity, so glory, because it is an attribute or expression of Yahweh, comes to have a moral sense. This transformation, as we have seen, is already being made in the present text of Exodus 33:18 , Exodus 33:20 , and the connection with holiness in Isaiah 6:1-13 makes it almost certain that Isaiah gave the word an ethical connotation. So the God of glory of Psalm 29:3 suggests a moral quality because Yahweh is a moral being. All doubt on this matter disappears when we find the word "glory" used as the term for the essential nature of Yahweh, as we have already found it to be used of man. In Isaiah 42:8 , "I am Yahweh, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another," the meaning would seem to be, my essential character and power, that is, my glory, I will not share with other gods (compare also Isaiah 48:11 ). And in Isaiah 58:8 the glory must be taken in a figurative sense and refer to Yahweh Himself in His saving grace, who attends His people in advance and in the rear. It hardly seems possible to deny the ethical sense in Ezekiel 39:21 , where the manifestation of the glory of Yahweh comes as a result of the execution of His purposes of justice and righteousness upon His people. And in Habakkuk 2:14 , the glory of Yahweh which is to be known throughout the earth cannot be limited to any physical, external thing. It is equivalent to the righteous and just will of Yahweh. These passages are sufficient to prove the ethical significance of the word
IV. In Apocrypha and New Testament
"Glory" in the apocryphal books and in the New Testament is almost exclusively the translation of the Greek noun
1. In the Apocrypha
(1) As Applied to External Things
It will be perhaps a little more convenient to deal with the usage of the Apocrypha separately, following essentially the order that has been adopted for the Old Testament discussion of
(2) As Applied to God
But the most significant use of δοχα ,
But most frequently in the Apocrypha, in a sense which approximates that of the New Testament, the word "glory" refers to the blaze of light and splendor which is the essential expression of the holy majesty of Yahweh. The prayer of Manasseh refers to the unbearable majesty of the glory of Yahweh; while 2 Esdras 8:30, trusting in Yahweh's glory is equivalent to trusting in Yahweh Himself; and in 16:53 the oath "before God and his glory" is simply before the Lord God Himself. The same thought is expressed in Tobit 12:15; 13:14; The Wisdom of Song of Solomon 7:25 . In the Song of three Children, verses 31,33, the glory of Yahweh refers to His self-manifestation in His heavenly kingdom, and this is undoubtedly the significance in the frequently recurring doxologies, "Thine is the glory forever."
2. In the New Testament
(1) As Applied to Men
In the New Testament, much the same variety of usage is to be noted as in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, and it is not easy to trace the exact relationship and order of the various meanings. The ordinary classical use of the word in the sense of "opinion," "judgment," "view," occurs in Hellenistic Greek only in 4Macc 5:17 (18) on the authority of Thayer.
It is perhaps as convenient to follow generally the order adopted in the preceding discussion. In some places the word refers to the manifestations and insignia of rank and power, as in the familiar phrase, "Solomon in all his glory" (Matthew 6:29 ), or the glory of the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8 ), or the glory of the kings and nations of the earth which shall be brought into the heavenly city (Revelation 21:24 , Revelation 21:26 ).
(2) As Applied to God
Closely related to this usage is the employment of the word to ascribe honor and praise to God; see Luke 17:18 , where only the stranger returned to give glory to God; or John 9:24 , where the man who had been born blind is bidden to give glory to God; or the phrase "to the glory of God" in Romans 15:7 , where the meaning is to secure the honor and praise of God among men. Similar is the use in the frequently recurring doxologies such as, "Glory to God in the highest," "to him," that is, to God, "be glory," etc.
While the foregoing meanings are frequently illustrated in the New Testament, it is undoubtedly true that the characteristic use of the word
(3) As Applied to the Saints
But the most common use of the word is to describe the brilliance which is the characteristic of all persons who share in the heavenly glory. Moses, Elijah and Jesus Himself have this glory on the Mountain of Transfiguration (Luke 9:31 f). It was the same glory which gave the angel who came out of heaven power to lighten the earth ( Revelation 18:1 ), and also which shone about the shepherds when the angel appeared unto them (Luke 2:9 ). Paul refers to this glory, when he speaks of the face of Moses as it appeared after God had spoken with him (2 Corinthians 3:7 f). And as in the case of Moses, so here, the source of this glory is God Himself, who is the God of glory ( Acts 7:2 , and frequently).
(4) As Applied to the Messianic Kingdom
It is also used to describe the ideal Messianic kingdom of the future. It is applied to Christ to describe His royal majesty when He comes to set up His kingdom. So James and John ask to sit, one on His right hand and one on His left in His glory (Mark 10:37 ). Christ is to appear in glory with the angels (Matthew 16:27 and often), for His condition in the coming age as it was before the incarnation is a condition of glory ( Luke 24:26; John 17:5 , John 17:22 , John 17:24 ). But not merely the Messiah, but also all His followers shall share in the glory of the Messianic kingdom. This use is so common that it is scarcely necessary to illustrate it by reference. This glory is to be revealed to all Christians in the future (Romans 8:18 , Romans 8:21; Romans 9:23; compare also 1 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Corinthians 4:17 ).
3. Its Ethical Significance
In all these cases it has a distinctly ethical signification, for it is the term which is used to describe the essential nature, the perfection of the Deity, and is shared by others because they are made partakers of the Divine nature. So Paul refers to "the glory of the incorruptible God" (Romans 1:23; compare also Ephesians 1:17 f, and often). And the essential nature of Christ comes to be described in the same way. He has glory as of the only begotten of the Father ( John 1:14 ); he shows His glory in the performance of miracles (John 2:11 ); and like the Father, He is the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8 ).
As a verb in the Old Testament the most common signification of the word "glory" is, to make one's boast in or of anything, usually of the pious glorying in Yahweh (Jehovah), but occasionally with some other reference, as in Jeremiah 9:23 of man glorying in his riches, might or wisdom. In all these cases it represents the Hebrew
In the Apocryphal books it means either "glorify thyself," the middle voice of the verb
In the New Testament the verb is used 3 times in James, and several times in the Epistles of Paul, and everywhere is used to translate the verb
In this connection attention may be called to the use of the noun "glorying," once or twice rendered "to glory," where the meaning is either the occasion or ground of glorying, or sometimes the act of glorying. The original has
Literature
In addition to the commentaries and works on Biblical theology among which, Briggs,
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Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Glory'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/isb/g/glory.html. 1915.
