Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SHEKINAH

A Hebrew term (šĕḵînâ) in the Targums and rabbinic literature which reverently expresses the divine Presence. It is derived from Heb. škn, “to dwell, abide, settle down.” The term does not appear in the OT or NT. The historical background for the correlation of Shekinah (“that which dwells”) with God’s Presence may be found in Exod. 25:8; 40:34. When the ark of the Lord is placed in the temple in Jerusalem, a cloud representing the Shekinah subsequently fills the temple, thereby symbolizing its new habitation (1 Kgs. 8:10). The Judeo-Christian biblical tradition portrays the Shekinah as leaving the temple and going into exile with the Israelites following the first temple’s destruction (cf. Ezek. 10; 11:16, 22-25). A different tradition claims that the Shekinah returned to heaven, whereas another tradition claims that it remains in the Western (Wailing) Wall on the temple mount. In the intertestamental period, the Shekinah was also thought to dwell in synagogues and among assemblies of the faithful (cf. m. ʾAbot 3.2; 1QS 8:4-10). Several passages in the NT imply the belief that the Shekinah was first incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth (e.g., John 1:14) and later in the Church (e.g., Eph. 2:19-22).

Bibliography. M. E. Lodahl, Shekhinah/Spirit: Divine Presence in Jewish and Christian Religion (New York, 1992); E. M. Umansky, “Shekinah,” The Encyclopedia of Religion (New York, 1987) 13:236-39.

David Cleaver-Bartholomew

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SHEKINAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)