![]() ![]() David sang about this: “ Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord ‘kabod’/glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the ‘kabod’/glory due His name …” (1 Chronicles 16:28). Tributes to the Lord include complete and unconditional recognition of his Divine greatness and the rich content of his Name. That question from so many years ago also resonates now! How sad it is when we hear Him ask, “ A son ‘kabed’/honors his father I am a Father, where is My ‘kabod’/tribute?” (Malachi 1:6). We owe our deepest tribute to the Lord God. ![]() The Lord Himself tells us that He does not share his ‘kabod’ and praise with anyone or anything else: “ … My ‘kabod’/honor I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8). He prays “ ‘ lo lanu YHWH’/ not to us Lord, but to Your name give ‘kabod’/glory …” (Psalm 115:1). This seeking and nurturing one’s own honor often happens unconsciously or covered under a religious mantle, but the psalmist teaches us to put God’s ‘kabod’/dignity and power at the center. ![]() Also begging for help aims at God’s honor! That makes us humble and small and can save us from ambition and working for our own honor. It is instructive to learn how this supplication determines us in the interest of seeking God’s honor and glory and not coveting our little human honor. We hear similar supplication again: “ Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give ‘kabod’/glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Why should the nations say …” (Psalm 115:1-2). Thus we hear the psalmist beg “ Help us, O God of our salvation, for the ‘kabod’/glory of Your name Why should the nations say, Where is their God?” (Psalm 79:9-10). This is partly related to the honor of his name among the nations. In biblical prayers, God is often begged to save because of his ‘kabod’/honor. That is why Eli’s grandson got the sad name ‘Ikabod’ (= no ‘kabod’/glory), after the Philistines took the ark of God. ‘Kabod’/glory is also the expression of God’s presence at the ark of the covenant. And when Moses had set up the tabernacle, God showed his presence in the midst of his people, for “ … the ‘kabod’/glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34-35). Thus, the Lord promised to come to the Israelites during the sacrifice “ … and it shall be sanctified by My ‘kabod’/glory” (Exodus 29:43). God’s ‘kabod’/splendor indicates his presence in the tabernacle and in sacrificial service and worship. Only Moses had the great privilege of being there and speaking with the Lord face to face (Exodus 24:18 33:9-11). After God led the people of Israel out of Egypt to Sinai, the ‘kabod’/glory of the LORD resided on the mountain as a consuming fire, including the covering cloud (Exodus 24:16-17). The term ‘kabod’/glory is used in particular to describe the visible manifestation of God’s presence. A few points are worth mentioning regarding this substantively rich and comprehensive word. It is certainly no exaggeration to say that we cannot treat the word ‘kabod’/glory properly in a short study. After all, this word occurs in connection with God’s Being, actions and many things that speak of Him and/or belong to Him. Therefore ‘kabod’/glory is an important theological concept. In this second aspect of meaning, ‘kabod’ occurs mainly with regard to the Lord God Himself, his Divinity, Word, his name, works, sanctuary, and city. ![]() Second, ‘kabod’ means honor, glory, magnificence, dignity, splendor.First, ‘kabod’ can be translated as: weight, strength, power, ability.As a noun, ‘kabod’ has two aspects of meaning: This word is especially found in the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel and in the books of Psalms and Proverbs. ‘Kabod’ (pronunciation: kavod) is an important Hebrew word that occurs 199 times in the Old Testament. As a follow-up to this, we will further elaborate on the word כָּבוֹד ‘kabod’, which is derived from the aforementioned stem ‘kabed’ (to honor). In a different article, we discussed the Hebrew verb כבד ‘kabed’ which – starting from a basic meaning of ‘being heavy/weighty’ – has the meaning of: to honor, to deem respectful, to deem high. ![]()
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