Glory

Praise, or honour, attributed to God, in adoration or worship. The state of felicity prepared for the righteous.

See HEAVEN. The glory of God is the manifestation of the divine perfections in creation, providence, and grace. We may be said to give glory to God when we confess our sins, when we love him supremely, when we commit ourselves to him, are zealous in his service, improve our talents, walk humbly, thankfully, and cheerfully before him, and recommend, proclaim, or set forth his excellencies to others. Jos 7:19. Gal 2:20. Joh 15:8. Psa 50:23. Mat 5:16.

This word in the abstract, properly speaking belongs only to God; for there can be glory in no other. Hence the prophet speaks to the church, "Thy God thy glory." (Isa. ix. 19.) So that JEHOVAH, in his threefold character of person, is truly and strictly glory. Hence, when the Lord is speaking of the great works of creation, in creating the heavens and stretching them out, and spreading forth the earth; and also of the wonders of redemption by his Son; he confirms the oneness in nature, work, and design of Christ, and theadoration due to him as one with himself; and saith, I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." (Isa. xlii, 5 - 8.) Where by the way, it may be observed, here is the highest confirmation of the GODHEAD of Christ. For in the same moment that JEHOVAH declares his jealousy of his name and glory, and that he will not give his glory to another, neither his praise to graven images, he commands both praise and glory to be given to his dear Son, whom he gives as acovenant to the people, that he may have all the praise and glory of redemption. A plain proof that in JEHOVAH’S esteem Christ is one with the Father, "over all, God blessed for ever." Amen. (Rom. ix. 5.) The glory of JEHOVAH, though, no doubt, existing personally in the essence of the GODHEAD, can only be known by his creatures in the manifestation of it. "He dwells in that light, or glory, which no man can approach unto." So that all we can know or conceive of his glory, must result from such manifestations as he hathbeenpleased to make of himself in his works. Thus when Moses desired, that the Lord would shew him his glory, the Lord said, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee; and I will proclaim the name of the Lord." (Exod. 33. 18, 19.) His name, which is his person, therefore is, in the abstract; glory; and the manifestation of it is in his ways and winks. Hence the church is said to be his glory, inasmuch as the Lord is glorified in her salvation. For as the glorious Head of his body the church in his mediatorial character, "isthe brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person;" so the brethren, the messengers of the churches, are said to be the glory of Christ, 2 Cor. 8. 23. And the Lord promiseth to be to the church, not only "a wall of fire to defend round about, but the glory in the midst." (Zech. ii, 5.)

Names are sometimes given by the vanity of men to creatures concerning glory, but the holy Scriptures express their total disapprobation of it. Thus the Lord, speaking of the pride of the king of Assyria, (Isa. 8. 7.) declares, that all his glory shall come to nought. And the Lord Jesus speaking of Solomon’s glory, describes it as nothing compared to the humblest lilies of the field. (Matt. vi. 28. 29.) And hence that gracious precept of the Lord by the prophet: "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neitherlet the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. (Jer ix. 23, 24.) I cannot forbear requesting the reader’s attention, under this article, to a sweet and interesting feature of Christ, as the Glory - man Christ Jesus. I say, as the Glory - man; for I would beg to be understood, that thisname is peculiarly belonging to our Jesus, and to him only. His people in him, and through him, will hereafter be brought to glory, and will be, we are told, in point of glory as the angels. (Matt. xx2: 30.) But though glorious from a derived glory from Christ, yet not glory, in the abstract, in themselves. This is peculiarly and personally his; so that Jesus is the Glory - man, as the God - man Mediator. If the reader would wish to see the Scripture authority for this name, he will find it John 17. 5. where the glory Jesus then speaksofas Mediator, was unquestionably the glory in which he stood up at the call of God when "the Lord possessed him in the beginning of his ways before his works of old, and when his delights were with the sons of men." (See Prov. 8. 22 - 31.) I would only beg to add one thought more upon this subject, and to observe to the true believer in Jesus the blessedness the heart of that man feels, who, to such views of the divine glory, can set to his seal the truth of it in his own personal experience, when with the apostle hecansay, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4: 6.)

splendour, magnificence. The glory of God in the writings of Moses, denotes, generally, the divine presence; as when he appeared on Mount Sinai; or, the bright cloud which declared his presence, and descended on the tabernacle of the congregation, Exo 24:9-10; Exo 24:16-17. Moses, with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel, went up to Mount Sinai, and “saw the glory of the Lord.” Now “the glory of the Lord was, as it were, a burning fire on the mountain; and under his feet was, as it were, the brightness of the sapphire stone, resembling heaven itself in clearness.” The glory of the Lord appeared to Israel in the cloud also, when he gave them manna and quails, Exo 16:7; Exo 16:10. Moses having earnestly begged of God to show his glory to him, God said, “Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord said, There is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by; and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts:” (the train, the fainter rays of the glory:) “but my face shall not be seen,” Exo 33:18. The ark of God is called the glory of Israel; and the glory of God, 1Sa 4:21-22; Psa 26:8. The priestly ornaments are called “garments of glory,” Exo 28:2; Exo 28:40; and the sacred vessels, “vessels of glory,” 1Ma 2:9; 1Ma 2:12. Solomon “in all his glory,” in all his lustre, in his richest ornaments, was not so beautifully arrayed as a lily, Mat 6:29; Luk 12:27. When the prophets describe the conversion of the Gentiles, they speak of the “glory of the Lord” as filling the earth; that is, his knowledge shall universally prevail, and he shall be every where worshipped and glorified. The term “glory” is used also of the Gospel dispensation by St. Paul; and to express the future felicity of the saints in heaven. When the Hebrews required an oath of any man, they said, “Give glory to God:” confess the truth, give him glory, confess that God knows the most secret thoughts, the very bottom of your hearts,

Jos 7:19; Joh 9:24.

Hebrew kabod, "weight," alluded to 2Co 4:17; "our lightness of affliction worketh out for us a weight of glory," exceeding beyond all measure the affliction. "My glory" is my soul, man’s noblest part; rather my tongue, as explained in Act 2:26. So Psa 30:12 margin; Psa 57:8; Psa 108:1. The tongue, as the soul’s interpreter, is the glory of man above the brute, and the instrument of glorifying God, man’s highest glory. David not only exults inwardly, but makes his "tongue" and "flesh" sharers of his joy. As God is the saints’ glory (Jer 2:11), so they are His glory (Jer 13:11; Isa 62:3).

in the English Version, usually represents the words כָּבוֹד, kabod’, and δόξα. The Hebrew, from כָּבִד, "to be heavy," is susceptible of the various analogical meanings which are derived from its root, viz. "to be hard," "honored," "rich," etc. The above Heb. and Gr. terms have the following applications:

(1.) Abundance, wealth, treasures, rendered "honor" in Psa 48:12, and "glory" in Gen 31:1; Isa 10:3; Mat 4:8; Luk 4:6; Rev 21:24; Rev 21:26.

(2.) Honor, glory, dignity, as in 1Ki 3:13; 2Ch 1:11-12; Pro 8:18; Heb 2:7; 1Pe 1:24; 1Co 11:7. Spoken of God, as in Psa 19:1; Psa 29:1; Isa 42:8; of persons in high honor (Isa 5:13; 2Pe 2:10 Jud 1:8). Also the honor, glory, of any one; poet.cally for the mind, the heart, as the noblest part of man (Gen 49:6; Psa 7:5; Psa 16:9; Psa 30:12; Psa 47:8; Psa 108:1; Act 2:26). Some here assign the signification of "liver," but the liver is never (like the heart and reins) assumed as the seat of the mind and affections.

(3.) Splendor, brightness, glory, majesty" of all my glory," i.e., splendor (Gen 45:13; Isa 4:5; Isa 11:10; Isa 22:18; 1Sa 2:8; Act 22:11; 1Pe 5:4); " the glory of Lebanon," its magnificence, beauty (Isa 35:2; Isa 60:13). So of the sun, stars, etc. (1Co 15:40-41); of Moses’s face (2Co 3:7); also of the celestial light which surrounds angels (Rev 18:1), or glorified saints (Luk 9:31-32; 1Co 15:43; Col 3:4). Spoken especially of the glory, majesty, of Jehovah (Isa 59:19; Isa 60:1; 2Th 1:9; 2Pe 1:17; Rev 21:11; Rev 21:23), that fiery effulgence surrounded with dark clouds in which Jehovah is represented as appearing, or God himself as surrounded by this efful" gence, from which lightnings proceed (Lev 9:23-24; Num 16:35; Psa 18:12), such as he manifested when he showed himself at Sinai to Moses and the people (Exo 16:7; Exo 16:10; Exo 24:17; Exo 33:18; Lev 9:6; Lev 9:23), or appeared in the tabernacle (Exo 40:34), or in the Temple (1Ki 8:11; 2Ch 7:1-2; compare Luk 2:9; Luk 9:32; Act 7:55; Act 22:11), or was seen in prophetic visions (Isa 6:3; Joh 12:41; Eze 1:28; Eze 8:4; Eze 10:4; Eze 10:18; Eze 43:2; Eze 43:4; Eze 44:4; Rev 15:8; Rev 21:11; Rev 21:23). To this corresponds the SHEKINAH of the later Jews (Buxtorf’s Lexicon Chald. Talmud. et Rabbinicum, col. 2394). God appears, too, in glory to punish transgressors (Lev 10:2); and sinners are said to “provoke the eyes of his glory," i.e., of him as thus appearing in his glory for their punishment (Isa 3:8). Spoken also of the expected temporal reign of the Messiah (Mar 10:37; comp. Mat 20:21); and also of the glory of his second coming (Mat 16:27; Mat 19:28; Mat 24:30; Mar 13:26; Mar 8:38; Luk 9:26; Luk 21:27; Tit 2:13).

(4.) Of internal character, i.e. glorious moral attributes. Spoken of God, infinite perfection, divine majesty and holiness (Psa 19:1; Isa 40:5; Act 7:2; Rom 1:23; Eph 1:17); so of the divine perfections as manifested in the power of God (Joh 11:40; Rom 6:4; Col 1:11), or in his benevolence and benefience (Rom 9:23; Eph 1:12; Eph 1:14; Eph 1:18; Eph 3:16). So of Jesus, as the effulgence of the divine perfections (Heb 1:3; Joh 1:14; Joh 2:11); also of the Spirit (1Pe 4:14).

(5.) Of that exalted state of blissful perfection which is the portion of those who dwell with God in heaven; e.g. spoken of Christ, and including also the idea of his regal majesty as Messiah (Luk 24:26; Joh 17:5; Joh 17:22; Joh 17:24; 2Th 2:14; 1Ti 3:16; 1Pe 1:11). Spoken of glorified saints, i.e., salvation, eternal life, etc. (Rom 2:7; Rom 2:10; Rom 5:2; Rom 8:18; 1Co 2:7; 2Co 4:17; 1Th 2:12; 2Ti 2:10; Heb 2:10; 1Pe 5:1; 1Pe 5:10). So to glorify, when spoken of God and Christ, it render conspicuous and glorious the divine character and attributes of God as glorified by the Son (Joh 12:28; Joh 13:31-32; Joh 14:13; Joh 15:8; Joh 17:1; Joh 17:4); of Christ as glorified by the Father (Joh 8:54; Joh 13:32; Joh 17:1; Joh 17:5; Act 3:13), or by the Spirit (Joh 16:14), or by Christians (Joh 17:10), or generally (Lev 10:3; Joh 11:4; Joh 13:31). — Bastow, s.v. SEE GLORIFY.

Other terms less frequently rendered "glory," "glorious," etc., are: אִדַּיר laets, large; הָדִר, to swell; הוֹד, honor; תַּפְאָרָה, beauty, etc.; κλέος, renown; καυχάω, to boast. On these and the above, consult the Heb. and Gr. Lexicons.

We may be said to give glory to God when we confess our sins, when we love him supremely, when we commit ourselves to him, are zealous in his service, walk humbly, thankfully, and cheerfully before him, and recommend, proclaim, or set forth his excellencies to others (Mat 5:16; Joh 15:8; Gal 2:20). In Exo 8:9 we read, "And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me." The margin has for "glory" "honor," and for "over me" "against me." Pharaoh had besought Moses to pray that the Lord might take away the frogs, and Moses wished the king to have the honor and glory (in preference to himself) of appointing a time when he should thus pray to the Lord to take them away. This was not only complimentary to Pharaoh, but it would have a strong tendency to convince him that the Lord had heard the prayer of Moses, because he himself had appointed the time.

As man’s real glory on earth consists in submitting to the will of God, and in doing it, so will his glory in heaven consist in being eternally pleasing to God, and in finding in him his perfect happiness. There can be no real glory either in this world or in the next, aside from virtue. The glory we seek here consists in the esteem of our fellow-men, and it would never be a false or a dangerous glory if men were wise enough not to esteem anything but what is virtuous. Christ commands us to practice virtue, not in view of gaining the approbation of men, but to please God. At the first glance his instructions as this point may appear somewhat contradictory. He says: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Mat 5:16); then: Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. — Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward," etc. (Mat 6:1 sq.). But these passages are really not contradictory. Christ means that he does not want the desire of being admired and praised by men to be the motive of our good actions; but he wants us to do those good actions in order to edify our neighbors, to lead them by our example to the practice of virtue, so that they may glorify God, and not us. There is a great difference between these two motives: the first is very wrong, the second right and praiseworthy. We are consequently to keep secret our good actions, whenever an opposite course is not necessary for public edification; but when it is, then we are to let them be seen. St. Paul says: "Our rejoicing (or glory) is this, the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we heave had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward" (2Co 1:12).

The word glory, in St. Paul’s writings, has often been misunderstood. In speaking of the destiny of the Jews and Gentiles with regard to faith (Rom 9:22-23), be says: "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endued with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction; and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he bad afore prepared unto glory," etc. We do not think that the word glory here refers to eternal glory, but rather to God’s glory here below and to the glory of his Church; for God has really showed its riches in the virtues of those who have been called to faith. St. Paul uses the expression again in the same sense when he speaks (1Co 2:7) of “the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory," and when he says (Eph 1:5-6) that God predestined us for adoption "to the praise of the glory of his grace." So Augustine (Enarr. in Psa 18:3, and in Psa 39:4) understands these passages. — Bergier, Dict. de Theologie (Paris, 1854), 3:139.

There are eight different words in the Hebrew translated ’glory,’ but some occur only once. The principal of them are

1. hod, ’renown, glory,’ anything for which a being is admired. It is applied to God, Psa 148:13; and to the horse. Job 39:20.

2. tipharah, tiphereth, ’splendour beauty, glory.’ It is applied to God, Isa 60:19; to Israel, Isa 46:13; the crown that wisdom gives, Pro 4:9; the hoary head, Pro 16:31, etc.

3. kabod , ’weight, honour, glory’ (the word commonly used). It is frequently applied to God, as in ’the God of glory,’ Psa 29:3; to Jehovah as ’the King of glory,’ Psa 24:7-9; ’the glory of Jehovah’ that appeared on Mount Sinai, and that filled the tabernacle, Exo 24:16-17; Exo 40:34-35, and will fill the future temple, Eze 43:2-5; also the glory pertaining to Israel, and to the Gentiles in the past and the future. 1Sa 4:21-22; Isa 66:12.

In the N.T. the word is δόξα, ’esteem, honour, excellency of mind, body,’ etc. It is applied to created things, as the sun, moon, and stars, 1Co 15:41; also to man as the ’glory of God.’ 1Co 11:7. The moral glory of the Lord Jesus Christ shone out in all His pathway on earth. Joh 1:14; Joh 11:40. He speaks of the glory He had from eternity with the Father, and His acquired glory which He will graciously share with His joint heirs. Joh 17:5; Joh 17:22; Joh 17:24. Every tongue shall confess His lordship to the glory of God the Father. Php 2:11. His glory will be revealed on earth, and He will be hailed ’King of kings and Lord of lords.’ Mat 25:31; 1Pe 4:13; Rev 17:14; Rev 19:16. He is ’the Lord of glory.’ 1Co 2:8.

Glory belongs to God: He is the God of glory. Act 7:2; 2Co 4:6; 2Co 4:15. In Him all the divine attributes shine in infinite perfection. Christians in acknowledging this, and owning that from Him come all their blessings, joyfully ascribe unto Him "Praise and honour, glory and power, for ever and ever." Rom 11:36; Gal 1:5; 1Ti 1:17; 2Ti 4:18, etc. The same is ascribed to the Lord Jesus by the saints, and will be by every creature. Rev 5.

Glory is often used as expressive of the proper distinction of a person, or of a company: as the glory of the Father, Rom 6:4; of the Word, Joh 1:14; of the children of God, Rom 8:21; and even of inanimate bodies heavenly and earthly, 1Co 15:40-41. Each has its own glory, and such glory is evidently not transferable; for if it could be transferred or communicated, it would lose its specially distinctive force. But glory may be in the nature of distinction conferred, as upon a creature by a superior, and even upon the Lord Himself, viewed as in the place of Man; as on the mount of transfiguration, and at the right hand of God. 2Pe 1:17; 1Pe 1:21. And this is distinction in which others may in measure be permitted to share. Joh 17:22.

Glory may properly attach to a person even under an exterior by which it is not expressed. This was evidently the case with Christ when on earth: the flesh which He assumed in becoming Man served to veil His glory. In the same way the glory of the children of God is not yet manifest, and until it is manifest the glory is the exultation of the heart. This idea is not infrequently found in the Psalms.

And further, this thought of glory hidden brings us to the glory of God, which, in its full expression, is the effulgence or display of Himself in the accomplishment of His counsels, in hope of which Christians rejoice. These counsels hid in God constitute, as one may say, His glory; and in their result they fully display His wisdom, love, and power. Meanwhile they have come to light through Christ being at the right hand of God, and the Holy Ghost given. We have now the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The visible manifestation of glory seems connected with light : it was so on the mount of transfiguration. Mat 17:2. God dwells in "light which no man can approach unto." 1Ti 6:16. In the new Jerusalem the glory of God lightens it, "and the Lamb is the light thereof." Rev 21:23. When the Lord Jesus was revealed to Saul at his conversion, he was blinded by ’the glory of that light,’ Act 22:11, but only that divine light might shine into his soul.

All Coming Short Of The Glory Of GOD

Rom_3:23.

Giving Glory To The LORD

1Ch_16:28-29; Psa_29:2; Psa_96:8; Rev_14:7.

Glorifying The LORD

Psa_22:23; Isa_24:15; 1Co_6:19-20; 1Co_10:31.

Glory Belonging To The LORD

1Ch_29:11.

Glorying In The LORD

Psa_105:1-3; Jer_9:23-24; 1Co_1:31; 2Co_10:17; Gal_6:14.

GOD The Father Being Glorified In GOD The Son (Jesus Christ)

Joh_12:23-28; Joh_13:31-32; Joh_14:13; Joh_17:1-5; 1Pe_4:11.

GOD The Father Giving Jesus Christ Glory

Joh_13:31-32; Joh_17:1-24; Act_3:13; Heb_2:9; 1Pe_1:18-21; 2Pe_1:16-18.

Jesus Christ Being Glorified In His Saints

2Th_1:7-10.

Jesus Christ Not Seeking His Own Glory

Joh_8:49-50.

The Glory Of Man

1Pe_1:24.

The Glory Of The LORD

Psa_72:18-19; Psa_104:31; Psa_108:3-5; Psa_113:4; Psa_138:5; Psa_148:13; Isa_6:1-3; Isa_40:5; Isa_42:8; Isa_60:1-2; Hab_2:14; Rom_8:18; 1Pe_4:13; Rev_21:21-23.

The Holy Spirit Glorifying Jesus Christ

Joh_16:5-15.

The LORD Being Glorious

Exo_15:11.

The LORD Being Glory

Psa_3:3; Psa_24:10; Isa_60:19; Zec_2:4-5; Jam_2:1.

The LORD Giving Glory

Psa_62:6-7; Psa_84:11.

The Reward For Not Glorifying GOD

Dan_5:23-31; Rom_1:18-22.

What Is Not Glory

Pro_25:27.

What Not To Glory In

Jer_9:23-24; 1Co_3:20-21.

When There Is Great Glory

Pro_28:12.

Where Glory Is

1Ch_16:26-27.

Who Can Reflect The Glory Of The LORD

2Co_3:17-18.

Who Glorifies The LORD

Psa_50:16-23; Mat_5:11-16; Luk_13:10-13.

Who Shall Glorify The LORD

Isa_25:1-3.

Who Shall Glory

Psa_63:11; Psa_64:9-10; Isa_45:25.

Who Shall Receive Glory

1Sa_2:7-8; Pro_3:35; Rom_2:10; Rom_8:16-17.

Who Shall See The Glory Of GOD

Psa_97:5-6; Isa_40:5; Isa_66:17-18; Joh_11:40.

Who The LORD Glorifies

Psa_8:1-5; Isa_55:1-5; Joh_17:1-22; Rom_8:28-30.

Whose Glory Becomes Shame

Hos_4:6-7; Hab_2:6-16.

Whose Glory Is In Their Shame

Php_3:18-19.

GLORY.—There are few commoner words in the English Bible than ‘glory,’ and few more difficult of definition. The word appears on the surface to be used in a strange variety of meanings and applications, and with both good and bad connotation. Reputation, praise, honour (true and false), splendour, light, perfection, rewards (temporal and eternal)—all these varying conceptions seem covered by the same word.

Nevertheless the underlying thought is simpler than would appear. In the OT a large number of words are translated in English by ‘glory,’ but by far the most common is כָּבוֹר, of which the root idea is ‘heaviness,’ and so in a metaphorical sense, ‘weight,’ ‘worthiness.’ The LXX Septuagint frequently employs δόξα to translate this, as well as a great number of other Hebrew words; and δόξα (with its connected verb δοξάζω) is the usual NT word rendered ‘glory.’ This word is derived, of course, from the root of δοκέω, ‘to think or suppose,’ and the primary meaning of δόξα is, no doubt, ‘thought or opinion,’ especially, favourable human opinion, and thus in a secondary sense ‘reputation,’ ‘honour,’ etc.

But an important new shade of meaning comes into the word when it is used in religious language. The δόξα of man, human opinion, etc., is shifting, uncertain, often based on error, and its pursuit for its own sake is unworthy. But there is a δόξα of God which must be absolutely true and changeless. God’s ‘opinion’ marks the true value of things, as they appear to the eternal mind; and God’s ‘favourable opinion’ is true ‘glory.’ This contrast is well seen in Joh 5:44; Joh 12:43. Hence ‘glory,’ whether applied to God Himself or to His works as seen by Him, must imply the absolute truth which underlies all phenomena. This gives us the connecting link between ‘the glory that cometh from God’ and the ‘glory’ which man conceives of as belonging to God Himself. The ‘glory of God,’ therefore, must mean His essential and unchanging Godhead as revealed to man. And the familiar ascription ‘Glory to God’ would imply not only a right human praise, but the assigning to God of what He truly is, for nothing higher can be given Him. Similarly the true ‘glory’ of man or nature must be that ideal condition, that final perfection, which exists as a real fact in the Divine mind. The glory of God is what He is essentially; the glory of created things is what they are meant by God to be, though not yet perfectly attained (Heb 2:10, Rom 8:18-21).

Passing on to that which this article is specially concerned with,—What is meant by the ‘glory’ and the ‘glorifying’ of Jesus Christ? It must mean (a) the revelation of His essential Deity, that which He is in the mind of the Father, though veiled from man by the limitation of the Incarnation. See Joh 17:5, Heb 1:3, 1Co 2:8, Jas 2:1. (b) The revelation of the ideal and perfect condition of human nature, as elevated by its union with God in the Incarnation to that which God means it to be by the law of its creation, that which already in the mind of God it essentially is. Then the glory of Christ is the explanation and justification of Gen 1:27 (cf. 2Co 3:18).

But besides this fundamental conception of ‘glory’ which springs out of the primary meaning of the Greek word, it is to be noticed that ‘glory’ in Scripture usually carries with it ideas of ‘light,’ ‘splendour,’ and ‘beauty.’ Thus pre-eminently ‘the glory of the Lord’ in the OT is the visible shining forth of light, by which the Divine Presence is recognized by man, the שִׁכִינָה of the later Jews. So the ‘glory’ appeared to Israel at Sinai (Exo 24:16-17), at the door of the Tent (Lev 9:23, Num 14:10; Num 16:19), at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple (1Ki 8:10-11), in the visions of Isaiah (Isa 6:1-3) and Ezekiel (Eze 1:28; Eze 3:23; Eze 8:4). Similarly the Messianic hopes of Israel are expressed under the figure of ‘glory dwelling in the land’ (Psa 85:9). See artt. ‘Glory (in OT)’ and ‘Shekinah’ in Hastings’ ^{B [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.]} . Passing to the NT, the same conception of ‘glory’ is seen in St. Luke’s account of the Nativity (Luk 2:9). And this is brought into direct connexion with the Person of Christ in the narratives of the Transfiguration, especially in St. Luke’s (Luk 9:28 ff.). There the ‘glory’ of Christ shines forth visibly in the dazzling brightness of His countenance. It encompasses the forms of Moses and Elijah (Luk 9:31); it even transfigures material objects like Christ’s clothing (Luk 9:29). With this passage should be compared the visions of Stephen in Act 7:55; of Saul of Tarsus (Act 9:3; Act 22:6-11; Act 26:13), and of St. John in Patmos (Rev 1:13-16).

A more metaphysical conception of the ‘glory’ of Christ is seen in St. John’s Gospel. The Evangelist may indeed be alluding to the Transfiguration in Joh 1:14, and to the visible glory of Isaiah’s vision in Joh 12:41. But in Joh 2:11 and Joh 11:40 he is evidently describing some revelation to the inward eye of what Christ essentially is, some intuition of His Divine power (only suggested by a visible ‘sign’) borne in upon the soul of the believer. In Christ’s words and works His true nature, as the ‘effulgence’ of the Father’s glory, flashes upon and illuminates not the intellectual faculties merely, but the whole being of man, filling it with the sense of light and beauty and satisfaction.

Thus we seem to arrive at a conception of ‘glory’ which combines both the ideas of δόξα, as ‘splendour’ and as the manifestation of eternal truth as it is in the Divine mind.

In this sense Christ looks forward to and prays for the ‘glorifying’ of Himself by the Father (Joh 13:31-32; Joh 17:1; Joh 17:5; Joh 17:24). This glorifying is in a true sense accomplished in the Passion, as issuing in the Resurrection, whereby the true nature of Christ and His redemptive work were recognized and rejoiced in by the faithful. There is a ‘glory’ which is yet to come, but the present revelation to the Church of Christ’s glory is of the same order as the future one which will complete it (Joh 17:24). The Christian community, already ideally perfected by the separation of Judas (Joh 13:31), is henceforth to recognize permanently what individual intuition had already perceived and confessed at different points of the ministry. And this ‘glorifying’ of Christ is to be the ‘glorifying’ of the Father (Joh 17:1), for the completion of Christ’s work will reveal the Divine mind and purpose to the Church; and it is also the ‘glorifying’ of the believer and of the Church as a whole (Joh 17:22), for the Church will be the permanent witness of God to the world (Joh 17:23), and man in union with Christ is on the way to attain the Divine ideal (Joh 17:26).

The same profound conceptions of ‘glory’ appear in the writings of St. Paul and St. Peter. The object of the Christian calling is ‘the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (2Th 2:14). The invisible ‘glory’ of the Christian Church through its union with Christ by the Spirit is greater than the visible ‘glory’ of the Old Covenant (2Co 3:7-11). The ‘glory’ of God recognized in Christ by the believer is a new creation of light (2Co 4:6). Present limitations and sufferings will be abundantly compensated in the full future revelation of ‘glory’ (2Co 4:17, cf. Rom 8:18 ff.). Indeed, the ‘glorifying’ of the believer is already ideally complete (Rom 8:30); it will be visibly completed in the Resurrection of the body (Php 3:21, cf. 1Pe 5:1; 1Pe 5:4).

In the Resurrection life, therefore, Christ will be seen and known by all the faculties, the whole being of man redeemed, as sharing fully and essentially in the ‘glory’ of the Godhead. His Divinity will be recognized in the ‘glory’ which was ever inseparable from it; His humanity will be seen filled full, illuminated by its union with His Divinity, ‘taken up into God’ (Quicunque vult), and so constituting the perfect expression and vehicle of His Divinity (1Jn 3:2). Hence in the ideal and perfected Church, as described in the Apocalypse, both humanity and its material setting are illuminated with ‘the glory of the Lamb,’ whose glorified humanity is, as it were, the ‘Lamp’ (Rev 21:23) in which shines the ‘glory’ of the Godhead.

It will be seen that this one word ‘glory’ is really a summary of the Divine purpose for creation as revealed in Scripture—

‘From Eden’s loss unto the end of years.’

The ‘glory of God’ is revealed in the ‘glory of Christ,’ and both nature and man are in Christ progressing towards ‘the liberty of the glory of the children of God’ (Rom 8:21).

Literature.—Grimm-Thayer, Bibl.-Theol. Lex. s.v. δόξα; R. St. J. Parry, Discussion of the Gen^{. [Note: Geneva NT 1557, Bible 1560.]} Ep. of James (1903), 36; and the Commentaries on the NT passages above cited, especially Westcott’s St. John, 1890.

A. R. Whitham.

GLORY (in OT).—The first use of this word is to express the exalted honour or praise paid either to things, or to man, or to God. From that it passes to denote the dignity or wealth, whether material or spiritual, that calls forth such honour. Thence it has come to mean, in the OT especially, the majesty and splendour that attend the revelation of the power or character of God. The principal Heb. word (kâbôd) for ‘glory’ is derived from a root denoting heaviness. The root may be seen in Isa 1:4, ‘a people heavy with the burden of iniquity.’ For its derived use, cf. ‘loaded with honours,’ ‘weight of glory.’ A few illustrations of each of these uses may be given.

1. It is only necessary to mention the constantly recurring phrase ‘glory to God’ (Jos 7:16, Psa 29:1 etc.). As applying to man may be quoted, ‘the wise shall inherit glory’ (Pro 3:35).

2. Phrases such as ‘the glory of Lebanon’ (Isa 35:2), i.e. the cedars; ‘of his house’ (Psa 49:16), i.e. his material possessions; ‘the glory and honour of the nations’ (Rev 21:26), parallel with ‘the wealth of the nations’ in Isa 60:11, may be quoted here. ‘My glory’ (Gen 49:6, Psa 16:9; Psa 30:12; Psa 57:8 etc.) is used as synonymous with ‘soul,’ and denotes the noblest part of man; cf. also Psa 8:5. Jehovah is called ‘the glory’ of Israel as the proudest possession of His people (Jer 2:11; cf. 1Sa 4:21-22, Luk 2:32). With reference to God may be named Psa 19:1, His wisdom and strength; and Psa 63:2, the worthiness of His moral government.

3. Two uses of the expression ‘the glory of Jehovah’ are to be noted. (a) The manifestation of His glory in the self-revelation of His character and being, e.g. Isa 6:3. Here ‘glory’ is the showing forth of God’s holiness. For God’s glory manifested in history and in the control of the nations, see Num 14:22, Eze 39:21; in nature, Psa 29:3; Psa 29:6; Psa 104:31. (b) A physical manifestation of the Divine Presence. This is especially notable in Ezekiel, e.g. Eze 1:28, where the glory is bright like the rainbow. In the P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] sections of the Pentateuch such representations are frequent (see Exo 24:16-18, Lev 9:8 etc.). A passage combining these two conceptions is the story of the theophany to Moses (Exo 33:17-23; Exo 34:6-7). Here the visible glory, the brightness of Jehovah’s face, may not be seen. The spiritual glory is revealed in the proclamation of the name of Jehovah, full of compassion and gracious.

Wilfrid J. Moulton.

GLORY (in Apocr. [Note: Apocrypha, Apocryphal.] and NT).—Except in 1Pe 2:20 (where it means renown), ‘glory,’ as a noun, is always the translation of Gr. doxa. This word, coming from a root meaning ‘to seem,’ might signify outward appearance only, or, in a secondary sense, opinion. This use is not found in the Biblical writings, but the derived classical use—favourable opinion or reputation, and hence exalted honour—or, as applied to things, splendour, is very common (Wis 8:10, Rom 2:7-10, Bar 2:17, Joh 9:24, Sir 43:1; Sir 50:7). The special LXX [Note: Septuagint.] use of ‘glory’ for the physical or ethical manifestation of the greatness of God is also frequent. In AV [Note: Authorized Version.] of NT doxa is occasionally translated ‘honour’ (e.g. Joh 5:41, 2Co 6:8 etc.); in Apocrypha sometimes ‘honour’ 1Es 8:4 etc.), and a few times ‘pomp’ (1Ma 10:86; 1Ma 11:6 etc.), or ‘majesty’ (Ad. Est 15:7); otherwise it is uniformly rendered ‘glory.’ As a verb, ‘glory’ in the sense of boast (Gr. kauchaomai) is frequently found (Sir 11:4, 1Co 1:29).

A few examples of the use of ‘glory’ to denote the brightness of goodness may be given. In Bar 5:4 is the striking phrase ‘the glory of godliness,’ whilst wisdom is called ‘a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty’ (Wis 7:26). In Joh 1:14 the ‘glory’ of the Only-begotten consists in grace and truth (cf. Joh 2:11; Joh 17:5; Joh 17:22). In Rom 3:23 the ‘glory’ of God, of which men have fallen short, is His manifested excellence, revealed at first in man made in God’s image (cf. 1Co 11:7 a), lost through sin, but meant to be recovered as he is transfigured ‘from glory to glory’ (2Co 3:18). For ‘glory’ as used to express the visible brightness, cf. Tob 12:15, where Raphael goes in before the glory of the Holy One (cf. 2Ma 3:26, of angels). In NT, cf. Luk 2:9 ‘The glory of the Lord shone round about them.’ In 2Co 3:7-11 the double use of ‘glory’ is clearly seen; the fading brightness on the face of Moses is contrasted with the abiding spiritual glory of the new covenant. Passages which combine both the ethical and the physical meanings are those which speak of the glory of the Son of Man (Mat 16:27 etc.), and the glory, both of brightness and of purity, which gives light to the heavenly city (Rev 21:23). ‘Glory,’ as applied to the saints, culminates in a state where both body and spirit are fully changed into the likeness of the glorified Lord (Php 3:21, Col 3:4).

In Wis 18:24 a special use appears, where ‘the glories of the fathers’ is a phrase for the names of the twelve tribes, written on the precious stones of the high-priestly breastplate. Doubtless this is suggested by the flashing gems. An interesting parallel is given in Murray, Eng. Dict. s.v.: ‘They presented to his Electoral Highness … the Two Stars or Glories, and Two Pieces of Ribbon of the Order [of the Garter]’; cf. Kalisch on Exo 28:1-43 ‘The jewels are the emblems of the stars, which they rival in splendour.’

Wilfrid J. Moulton.

(Latin: gloriare, to glorify, to honor)

Term with many shades of meaning, e.g., praise, admiration; honor, celestial honor, splendor, or brightness. The word occurs frequently in Holy Writ to denote a visible, physical phenomenon: "And the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai" (Exodus 24). Again it is used to designate the power and greatness of the Creator: "The heavens shew forth the glory of God" (Psalm 18). Sometimes the word occurs in the sense of future eternal reward of the just: "I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come" (Roman 8). Glory is also employed to designate a nimbus or aureole, especially if not only the head is surrounded by the disk but if also the entire body radiates brightness.

This word has many shades of meaning which lexicographers are somewhat puzzled to differentiate sharply. As our interest in it here centres around its ethical and religious significance, we shall treat it only with reference to the ideas attached to it in Holy Scripture and theology. I. SCRIPTUREIn the English version of the Bible the word Glory, one of the commonest in the Scripture, is used to translate several Hebrew terms in the Old Testament, and the Greek doxa in the New Testament. Sometimes the Catholic versions employ brightness, where others use glory. When this occurs, the original signifies, as it frequently does elsewhere, a physical, visible phenomenon. This meaning is found for instance in Ex., xxiv, 16: "And the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai"; in Luke, ii, 9, and in the account of the Transfiguration on Mount Thabor. In very many places the term is employed to signify the witness which the created universe bears to the nature of its Creator, as an effect reveals the character of its cause. Frequently in the New Testament it signifies a manifestation of the Divine Majesty, truth, goodness or some other attribute through His incarnate Son, as, for instance, in John, I, 14: "(and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth"; Luke, ii, 32, "A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel"; and throughout the prayer of Christ for his disciples, John, xvii. Here too, as elsewhere, we find the idea that the perception of this manifested truth works towards a union of man with God. In other passages glory is equivalent to praise rendered to God in acknowledgment of His majesty and perfections manifested objectively in the world, or through supernatural revelation: "Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast created all things", Apoc., iv, 11: "Give glory to the Lord, and call upon his name", Ps. Civ, 1 (cf. Ps. Cv, I).The term is used also to mean judgment on personal worth, in which sense the Greek doxa reflects the signification of the cognate verb dokeo: "How can you believe, who receive glory one from another: and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek?" John, v, 44; and xii, 43: "For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God". Lastly, glory is the name given to the blessedness of the future life in which the soul is united to God: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come", Rom., viii, 18. "Because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God", ib., 21. The texts cited above are representative of multitudes similar in tenor, scattered throughout the sacred writings. II. THEOLOGICALThe radical concept present under various modifications in all the above expressions is rendered by St. Augustine as clara notitia cum laude, "brilliant celebrity with praise". The philosopher and theologian have accepted this definition as the centre around which they correlate their doctrine regarding glory, divine and human.1. Divine GloryThe Eternal God has by an act of His will created, that is, has brought into being from nothingness, all things that are. Infinite Intelligence, He could not act aimlessly; He had an objective for His action: He created with a purpose; He destined His creatures to some end. That end was, could be, no other than Himself; for nothing existed but Himself, nothing but Himself could be an end worthy of His action. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God" (Revelation 1:8); "The Lord hath made all things for himself" (Proverbs 16:4). Did He, then, create in order that from His creatures He might derive some benefit? That, for example, as some present-day theories pretend, through the evolution of things toward a higher perfection the sum of His Being might be enlarged or perfected? Or that man by co-operating with Him might aid Him in the elimination of evil which He by Himself is unable to cast out? No; such conceits are incompatible with the true concept of God. Infinite, He possesses the plenitude of Being and Perfection; He needs nothing, and can receive no complementary increment or superfluous accession of excellence from without. Omnipotent. He stands in need of no assistance to carry His will into execution.But from His infinity He can and does give; and from His fullness have we all received. All things are, only because they have received of Him; and the measure of His giving constitutes the limitations of their being. Contemplating the boundless ocean of His reality, He perceives it as imitable ad extra, as an inexhaustible fund of exemplar ideas which may, if He so wills, be reproduced in an order of finite existence distinct from, yet dependent on His own, deriving their dower of actuality from His infinite fullness which in imparting sustains no diminution. He spoke and they were made. Everything which His fiat has called into existence is a copy — finite indeed and very imperfect, yet true as far as it goes — of some aspect of His infinite perfection. Each reflects in fixed limitation something of His nature and attributes. The heavens show forth His power; earth’s oceans are . . . the glorious mirror where the Almighty’s form Glasses itself in tempests. . . The summer flower, though only to itself it live and die, is a silent witness before Him of His power, goodness, truth, and unity; and the harmonious order which binds all the innumerable parts of creation into one cosmic whole is another reflection of His oneness and His wisdom. Yet, as each part of creation is finite, so too is the totality; and therefore its capacity to reflect the Divine Prototype must result in an infinitely inadequate representation of the Great Exemplar. Nevertheless, the unimaginable variety of existing things conveys a vague hint of that Infinite which must ever defy any complete expression external to Itself. Now this objective revelation of the Creator in terms of the existences of things is the glory of God. This doctrine is authoritatively formulated by the Council of the Vatican: "If any one shall say that the world was not created for the glory of God, let him be anathema" (Sess. III, C. I, can. 5).This objective manifestation of the Divine nature constitutes the Universe — the book, one might say, in which God has recorded His greatness and majesty. As the mirror of the telescope presents an image of the star that shines and wheels in the immeasurably remote depths of space, so does this world reflect in its own fashion the nature of its Cause between Whom and it lies the gulf that separates the finite from the Infinite. The telescope, however, knows not of the image which its surface bears; the eye and mind of the astronomer must intervene in order that the significance of the shadow and its relation to the substance may be grasped. To praise, in the exact sense of the term, demands not alone that worth be manifest, but also that there be a mind to acknowledge. The unconscious testimony of the universe to its Creator is rather potential than actual glory. Hence, this glory which it renders to Him is called in theological phrase gloria materialis, to distinguish it from the formal glory rendered to God by His intelligent creatures. They can read the writing in the book of creation, understand its story, accept its lessons, and reverently praise the Majesty which it reveals. This praise involves not merely intellectual perception, but also the practical acknowledgment by heart and will which issues in obedience and loving service. The endowment of intelligence with all that it implies — spirituality and free-will — renders man a higher and nobler image of the Creator than is any other being of this visible world. The gift of intellect also imposes on man the duty of returning to God that formal glory of which we have just spoken. The more perfectly he discharges this obligation, the more does he develop and perfect that initial resemblance to God which exists in his soul, and by the fulfilment of this duty serves the end for which he, like all else, has been created.The natural revelation which God has vouchsafed of Himself through the world interpreted by reason has been supplemented by a higher supernatural manifestation which has culminated in the Incarnation of the Godhead in Jesus Christ: "and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the Father, full of grace and truth". Similarly the natural resemblance to God and the relation of our being to His, as established by creation, are supplemented and carried into a higher order by His communication of sanctifying grace. To know God through the medium of this supernaturally revealed truth, to serve Him in love springing from this grace is to be "Filled with the fruit of justice, through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Phil., I, 11). In manifesting the glory of God by the development of their proper powers and capacities, inanimate creatures reach that perfection or fulness of existence which God has prescribed for them. Likewise man achieves his perfection or subjective end by giving glory to God in the comprehensive sense above indicated. He attains the consummation of his perfection not in this life, but in the life to come. That perfection shall consist in a direct, immediate, intuitive perception of God; "We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). In this transcendent knowledge the soul shall become, in a higher measure than that which obtains by virtue of creation alone, a participant and therefore an image of the Divine nature; so "we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). So that objectively and actively the life in heaven shall be an unending ineffable manifestation and acknowledgment of the Divine majesty and perfections. Thus we understand the Scriptural language in which the future life of the blessed is described as a state in which "we all beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).The Catholic doctrine on this subject is defined by the Council of Florence (see Denzinger, 588). (See CREATION; GOOD.)2. Human GloryTo enjoy glory before men is to be known and honoured on account of one’s character, qualities, possessions, position, or achievements, real or imaginary. The moral question arises, is the desire and pursuit of this glory lawful? The doctrine on the subject is succinctly stated by St. Thomas (II-II, Q. cxxxii). Posing the question whether the desire of glory is sinful, he proceeds to answer it in the following sense: Glory imports the manifestation of something which is estimated honourable, whether it be a spiritual or a corporal good. Glory does not necessarily require that a large number of persons shall acknowledge the excellence; the esteem of a few, or even of oneself, may suffice, as, for example, when one judges some good of his own to be worthy of praise. That any person esteem his own good or excellence to be worthy of praise is not in itself sinful; nor, in like manner, is it sinful that we should desire to see our good works approved of men. "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works" (Matthew 5:16). Hence the desire of glory is not essentially vicious. But a vain, or perverse desire for renown, which is called vainglory, is wrong; desire of glory becomes perverse, when one seeks renown because of something not really worthy; when one seeks the esteem of those whose judgment is undiscriminating; when one desires glory before men without subordinating it to righteousness.Vainglory may become a deadly sin, if one seek the esteem of men for something that is incompatible with the reverence due to God; or when the thing for which one desires to be esteemed is preferred in one’s affections before God; or again, when the judgment of men is sought in preference to the judgment of God, as was the case with the Pharisees, who "loved the glory of men more than the glory of God" (John 12:43). The term "vainglory" denotes not alone the sinful act, but also the vicious habit or tendency engendered by a repetition of such acts. This habit is ranked among the capital sins, or, more properly vices, because it is prolific of other sins, viz., disobedience, boastfulness, hypocrisy, contentiousness, discord, and a presumptuous love of pernicious novelties in moral and religious doctrine.-----------------------------------ST. THOMAS, I-I, QQ. Xii, xliv, xlv, xciii, ciii; II-II, QQ, ciii, cxxxii, IDEM, Cont. Gent., tr. RICKABY, God and His Creatures, II, ch. Xlv; III, ch. Xxviii, xxix, lvi-lxiii; IV, ch. Liv. See also theological and philosophical textbooks, in which the subject is treated under Creation, The End of Man, Eternal Life; WILHELM AND SCANNELL, Manual of Catholic Theology (New York, 1899), vol. I, bk. III, pt. I; GRAY AND MASSIE in HAST., Dict. Of the Bible, s. v.; HASTINGS, A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels (New York, 1906), x. v.; PACE, The World-copy according to St. Thomas in The Catholic University Bulletin, vol. V.JAMES J. FOX Transcribed by Sierra Fisher The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VICopyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

glō´ri (substantive):

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 23:18ff

(2)    Isaiah 6

(3)    Psalms 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, ’addereth) perhaps to be connected with the Assyrian root ’adaru, meaning “wide,” “great”; (הדר, hādhar, הדרה, hădhārāh), perhaps with root-meaning of “brightness”; (הוד, hōdh), with essentially the same meaning of “brightness,” “light”; (טהר, ṭ^ehār), Psa 89:44, translated “glory” in the King James Version, in the Revised Version (British and American) rendered “brightness”; (יקרא, y^eḳārā’), an Aramaic root meaning “rare”; (תּפארה, tiph’ārāh), with the root-meaning of “beauty”; and finally (צבי, c^ebhı̄), perhaps on the basis of the Assyrian ṣabu, meaning “desire,” “desirable.”

Secondly, this article will discuss the most common and characteristic word for “glory” in the Old Testament, the Hebrew (כּבד, kābhōdh) including the special phrase “the glory of God” or “the glory of Yahweh.” In dealing with the Old Testament usage, attention will also be called to the original Hebrew of the Book of Ecclesiasticus or Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, cited in this article as Sir. Thirdly, with the Greek word (δόξα, dóxa) in the Apocrypha and in the New Testament. The nouns kaúchēma, kaúchēsis, translated “glory” or “glorying” in the New Testament, will be dealt with in the concluding paragraphs in which the use of the word glory as a verb will briefly be discussed. It will be possible within the limits of this article to give only the main outlines of the subject as illustrated by a few of the most significant references. The lexicons and the commentaries must be consulted for the details.

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” (1Ch 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 Deu 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 (Pro 14:28). The glory and the pomp of the rebellious people shall descend into Sheol (Isa 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 Isa 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 (1Ch 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 (Isa 2:10, Isa 2:19, Isa 2:21). The use of the word in Psa 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 kābhōdh in the Old Testament and in Sirach: The fundamental idea of this root seems to be “weight,” “heaviness,” and hence in its primary uses it conveys the idea of some external, physical manifestation of dignity, preëminence or majesty. At least three uses may be distinguished: (1) It defines the wealth or other material possesions which give honor or distinction to a person; (2) The majesty, dignity, splendor or honor of a person; (3) most important of all, it describes the form in which Yahweh (Jehovah) reveals Himself or is the sign and manifestation of His presence.

1. Material Wealth

In Gen 31:1 (margin “wealth”) it describes the flocks and herds which Jacob has acquired; in Psa 49:16 f, as the parallelism indicates, it refers to the wealth of the sinner; and in Isa 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 Hag 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 Gen 45:13, Joseph bids his brethren tell their father of his glory in Egypt; according to Exo 28:40, the priestly garments are intended for the glorification of their wearers; in 1Sa 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 Isa 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 (Hos 9:11), of Moab (Isa 16:14), of Kedar (Isa 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 kābhōdh to describe the majesty of men is the group of passages in which the phrase “my glory,” in parallelism with נפשׁ, nephesh, “soul,” “self,” or some similar expression, means the man himself in his most characteristic nature. In the blessing of Jacob (Gen 49:6) we read, “Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united.” Other passages are Psa 4:2; Psa 7:5; Psa 16:9; Psa 30:12; Psa 57:8; Psa 108:1 and perhaps Job 29:20. Some recent interpreters, partly because of the Septuagint rendering in Gen 49:6 (tá hḗpatá mou), “my liver,” and partly because of the Assyrian root, kabiṭṭu, meaning “temper” or “heart” (see Delitzsch, Assyrisches Handwörterbuch, 317a), would read in all these passages kābhēdh, literally, “liver” as in Lam 2:11, and interpret the figure as referring to the emotions as the expression of the self. The arguments in favor of the change are not without weight. Of course on either interpretation the language is highly figurative. It hardly seems necessary to change the reading, especially as the Septuagint renders the passages in the Psalms and in Job by doxa, the ordinary Greek rendering for kābhōdh, and it does not seem improbable that in poetry the word kābhōdh might be used to describe the man himself indicating that man as such is honorable and glorious, possibly because as in Psa 8:1, he is thought of as having been crowned by his Creator with glory and honor.

Before leaving this use of kābhōdh it is necessary to call attention to the fact that in a few cases it is used to describe things, perhaps because these things are thought of as practically personified. The “glory of the forest” (Isa 10:18) is clearly a personification, referring to the majestic force of the Assyrians. We may probably assume a personification also in the case of the glory of Lebanon in Isa 35:2; Isa 60:13, and the nature of the parable in Ezek 31 makes it probable that personification is intended in Eze 31:18.

4. Self-Manfiestation of God (Yahweh)

But unquestionably the most important use of the word kābhōdh is its employment either with the following gen. God or Yahweh, or absolutely, to describe the method or the circumstances of the self-manifestation of God. In discussing this subject we shall deal first of all with the use of the term as connected with actual or historical manifestations of the Deity, and then with its use to describe the characteristic features of the ideal state of the future, or, otherwise stated, the Messianic kingdom.

(1) Exo 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 Exo 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 Num 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 Exo 24:9-11). The mention of the cloud (Exo 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) Isa 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 seraphim in addition to the solemn “Holy, Holy, Holy” declare that “the whole earth is full of his glory.”

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 Zec 14:5. (It seems at least probable that the references to the darkness and light in Zec 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 (Amo 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) Psa 19:1

This conception of Isaiah that the glory of Yahweh fills the earth is closely related to the thought of Psa 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 Psa 8:1; Psa 57:5; Psa 108:5; Psa 113:4. In Psa 29:1, Psa 29:2, Psa 29:3, Psa 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 Joe 2:30 f the English Revised Version).

(4) Sinai and the Temple

Deu 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 (1Ki 8:10 f; 2Ch 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 2Ch 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” (Eze 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 (Eze 1:26). The same idea is indicated in Eze 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 Eze 3:12, Eze 3:23; Eze 8:4; Eze 10:4, Eze 10:18; Eze 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” (Exo 16:7, Exo 16:10; compare Exo 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 (Exo 40:34 f; see also Lev 9:6, Lev 9:23; Num 14:21 f; Num 16:19, Num 16:42; Num 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 (Eze 43:2, Eze 43:4, Eze 43:5; Eze 44:4). The same thought is expressed very clearly in Isa 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. Isa 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 Isa 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 (Isa 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 (Isa 43:7). The light of the restored community is to be the glory of Yahweh (Isa 60:1 f). The presence of Yahweh brings grace and glory (Psa 84:11), and His salvation of those that fear Him causes glory to dwell in the land (Psa 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 Isa 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 Exo 33:18, Exo 33:20, and the connection with holiness in Isa 6:1-13 makes it almost certain that Isaiah gave the word an ethical connotation. So the God of glory of Psa 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 Isa 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 Isa 48:11). And in Isa 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 Eze 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 Hab 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 kābhōdh, but it may be worth while to quote one more passage and this time from Psa 97:1-12 with its wonderful description of the blessings of the righteous rule of Yahweh. It is stated in Psa 97:6 that “the heavens declare his righteousness, and all the peoples have seen his glory.” His righteousness may include, as Kirkpatrick suggests, “His faithfulness to His people and His sovereign justice in the punishment of all,” or it may refer only to the former of these qualities; but in any case, it is a moral act, and by it the peoples recognize the glory of Yahweh as the supreme moral ruler.

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 doxǎ. In all these writings the Old Testament usage seems to be the most important, and it seems to be the fact, if one may judge from the Septuagint and from the original Hebrew of Sir, that the Greek noun doxa, in the great majority of cases, represents the Hebrew kābhōdh, so that the underlying thought is Hebrew, even though the words may be Greek

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 kābhōdh, and bearing in mind that the usage of Sir has been discussed under the Old Testament. The use of the word “glory” to describe the honor, reputation and splendor which belong to men is quite common. In this sense 1 Esdras 1:33 refers to the glory of Josiah, while in The Wisdom of Solomon 10:14 the perpetual glory given by The Wisdom of Solomon to Joseph must be interpreted in the same way. In 2 Macc 5:16, 20 glory refers to the beautification and adornment of the temple in a sense like that of tiph’ārāh in Isa 60:7. In Judith 15:9 “glory” is the translation of the Greek gaurı́ama, and indicates that Judith is the pride of Israel.

(2) As Applied to God

But the most significant use of δοχα, doxa in the Apocrypha is that in which it refers to the light and splendor which are regarded as the invariable accompaniments of God. The reference may be to the historic manifestation of God in glory at Mt. Sinai, as in 2 Esdras 3:19, or to the manifestation of God in Israel, which is to be the especial characteristic of the Messianic kingdom. In 1 Esdras 5:61 songs sung to the praise of the Lord, “because his goodness and his glory are forever in all Israel,” are based upon the hope that Yahweh is about to establish the Messianic kingdom among the people who have bound themselves to obey His law. In several passages in 2 Esdras the reference seems to be not to the Messianic kingdom in the historical sense, but rather to that kingdom of God which the saints are to inherit after death. This is clearly the thought in 2 Esdras 2:36 and in 7:52; also in 8:51 where the context shows clearly that the reference is to the glory of Paradise, which is the heritage of all those who are like Ezra in their devotion to Yahweh (compare also 2 Esdras 10:50).

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 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 4 Macc 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” (Mat 6:29), or the glory of the kingdoms of the world (Mat 4:8), or the glory of the kings and nations of the earth which shall be brought into the heavenly city (Rev 21:24, Rev 21:26). Doxa also defines the praise, honor and dignity of men. This is the meaning in Joh 5:41, Joh 5:44, where Christ distinguishes between His accusers and Himself in that He receives not glory from men, while they receive glory one of another (compare also Joh 7:18). In Eph 3:13, Paul declares that his tribulations for those to whom he is writing are a glory or distinction to them, while in 1Th 2:20 he declares that the Thessalonian Christians are his glory and joy.

(2) As Applied to God

Closely related to this usage is the employment of the word to ascribe honor and praise to God; see Luk 17:18, where only the stranger returned to give glory to God; or Joh 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 Rom 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 doxa in the New Testament is in the sense of brightness, brilliance, splendor; and first of all, in the literal sense, referring to the brightness of the heavenly bodies, as in 1Co 15:40 f, or to the supernatural brightness which overcame Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus (Act 22:11).

(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 (Luk 9:31 f). It was the same glory which gave the angel who came out of heaven power to lighten the earth (Rev 18:1), and also which shone about the shepherds when the angel appeared unto them (Luk 2:9). Paul refers to this glory, when he speaks of the face of Moses as it appeared after God had spoken with him (2Co 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 (Act 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 (Mar 10:37). Christ is to appear in glory with the angels (Mat 16:27 and often), for His condition in the coming age as it was before the incarnation is a condition of glory (Luk 24:26; Joh 17:5, Joh 17:22, Joh 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 (Rom 8:18, Rom 8:21; Rom 9:23; compare also 1Co 2:7; 2Co 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” (Rom 1:23; compare also Eph 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 (Joh 1:14); he shows His glory in the performance of miracles (Joh 2:11); and like the Father, He is the Lord of glory (1Co 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 Jer 9:23 of man glorying in his riches, might or wisdom. In all these cases it represents the Hebrew hith-hallēľ. In Exo 8:9 the phrase, “Have thou this glory over me,” is the translation of the Hebrew hith-pā’ēr, and means take to thyself the honor or distinction as regards me. In 2Ki 14:10 it translates the Hebrew hik-kābhēdh, “honor thyself,” i.e. be satisfied with the home which you have already attained.

In the Apocryphal books it means either “glorify thyself,” the middle voice of the verb doxázō, as in Sirach 3:10, where the original Hebrew has hith-kabbēdh, or “to exult,” “boast over,” as in Judith 9:7, where it represents the Greek gauróomai; or “to boast,” “take pride in,” where it represents, as it does usually in the New Testament, the Greek kaucháomai (Sirach 17:9; 24:1; 38:25; 39:8; 48:4, in the second and fourth of which cases it represents the Hebrew hith-pā’ēr).

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 kaucháomai, or, in two cases in James, the same verb is compounded with the preposition katá̌. In all these cases the meaning is “to take pride in,” “to congratulate oneself,” upon anything.

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 kauchēma or kauchēsiš. This usage occurs in Jas 4:16; Heb 3:6, and several times in the Epistles of Paul.

Literature

In addition to the commentaries and works on Biblical theology among which, Briggs, ICC on the Psalms, Scribner, N.Y., 1906, especially the note in I, 66, 67; and Weiss, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, English translation, T. and S. Clark, Edinburgh, 1882-83, may be mentioned especially, the chief works on the subject are von Gall, Die Herrlichkeit Gottes, Giessen, 1900; and Caspari, Die Bedeutungen der Wortsippe כבד im Hebraeischen, Leipzig, 1908. The discussions by G. B. Gray and J. Massie in HDB, II, are valuable, and also the brief but significant article by Zenos in the Standard Bible Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, N.Y., 1909.

It is not proposed to embrace in this article all the words which our English versions render by ‘glory’; it is confined to the most important of these-äüîá.

As applied to men and things, äüîá has two principal meanings: (1) honour, praise, good repute (2Co_6:8, 1Th_2:6); (2) that which by exciting admiration brings honour or renown; a natural perfection (1Pe_1:24 : ‘the glory of flesh’; 1Co_15:40-41 : ‘glory of the celestial … the terrestrial,’ etc.; 1Co_11:15 : ‘l long hair is a glory to a woman’); or a circumstance which reflects glory upon one (1Th_2:20 : St. Paul’s converts are a ‘glory’ to him; Eph_3:13 : St. Paul’s sufferings are a ‘glory’ to his converts; 2Co_8:23 : worthy Christians are the ‘glory’ of Christ; Rev_21:24-25 : the kings of the earth and the nations bring their ‘glory’ into the New Jerusalem. Cf. Hag_2:7-9).

Minor significations are (a) that which is falsely regarded as bringing honour to oneself (Php_3:19), and (b) persons endued with glory (Jud_1:8, 2Pe_2:10 = ‘dignities’ in both Authorized Version and Revised Version , the reference probably being to angelic powers).

In the numerous and important passages where the idea of ‘glory’ is associated with God and the heavenly world, with Christ, Christians, and the Christian life here and hereafter, we find the same two principal meanings. There is the glory which belongs to the Divine Being in itself, in which God manifests Himself to His creatures, so far as such manifestation is possible, and the glory which He receives back from His creatures; the outshining (Erscheinungsform) of the Divine nature, and the reflexion of that outshining in the trust, adoration, and thanksgiving of men and angels, as also in the silent testimony of His works, find especially by the results of the Divine redemption in the character and destiny of the redeemed.

I.

1. The glory which is native to the Being of God.-To the modern mind the chief difficulty of this conception, as presented in the NT, is due to that fusion in it of the physical, the rational, and the ethical, which is characteristic of biblical psychology throughout. In biblical thought these elements are conceived not abstractly, as if constituting separate spheres of being, but as they are given in experience, as inter-dependent and integral to the unity of life. Thus, whatever ethical content comes to be associated with the Glory of God, the basis of the conception is physical-the splendour which is Inseparable from the Divine Presence in the celestial world. In the OT, when Jahweh lifts the veil that hides Him from mortal eyes, the medium of theophany is always Light, a supra-mundane but actually visible radiance (which is localized and assumes a definite uniformity in the Shekinah-glory).

For later Judaistic developments, see Weber’s Jüdische Theologie, pp. 162ff., 275ff. In apocalyptic the ‘glory’ is definitely associated with the sovereignty of God in the heavenly world (1 En. xxv. 3), and is especially connected with the Divine Throne (ib. ix. 4, xiv. 20). In the Ascension of Isaiah (x. 16, xi. 32) it is equivalent to the Person of God; God is ἠ ìåãÜëç äüîá. äüîá in this sense of ‘radiance’ is unknown to ordinary Greek literature. Deissmann’s suggestion, that this may have been an ancient meaning which survived in the vernacular and so passed into the dialect of the Septuagint , seems more probable than Reitzenstein’s, who, on the ground of certain magical papyri, claims for it an origin in Egyptian-Hellenistic mysticism.

In the NT the same idea lies behind the use of the concept äüîá. Wherever the celestial world is projected into the terrestrial, it is in a radiance of supernatural light (Mat_17:5, Act_26:13, Mat_28:3, Act_12:7, etc.); and this is ultimately the radiance that emanates from the presence of God, who dwells in ‘light unapproachable’ (1Ti_6:16). To this the term äüîá is frequently applied-at Bethlehem (Luk_2:9), and at the Transfiguration (2Pe_1:17); the ‘glory’ of God is the light of the New Jerusalem; Stephen looking up saw the ‘glory of God’ (Act_7:55); and the redeemed are at last presented faultless before the presence of His glory (Jud_1:24; Jude cf.1 En. xxxix. 12).

With St. Paul the conception is less pictorial; the rational and ethical elements implicit in it come clearly into view. With him also the äüîá is fundamentally associated with the idea of celestial splendour, to which, indeed, his vision of the glorified Christ gave a new and vivid reality; but the idea of revelation, of the Glory as God’s self-manifestation, becomes prominent. St. Paul’s thought does not rest in the symbol, but passes to the reality which it signifies-the transcendent majesty and sovereignty that belong to God as God; and for St. Paul the most sovereign thing in God, divinest in the Divine, is the sacrificial sin-bearing love revealed in the Cross. God’s glory is displayed in His mercy (Rom_9:23), in the ‘grace which he freely bestowed upon us in the Beloved’ (Eph_1:6); its perfect living reflexion is in the face of Jesus Christ (2Co_4:6). Yet it is the glory, not of an ethical ideal, but of the Living God, God upon the Throne, self-existent, supreme over all being. It is especially associated with the Divine êñÜôïò (Col_1:11, Eph_3:16) and ðëïῦôïò (Rom_9:23, Php_4:19, Eph_3:16) by which the Apostle expresses the irresistible sovereign power and the inexhaustible fullness of God in His heavenly dominion. Believers are ‘strengthened with all power, according to the êñἁôïò of his glory,’ i.e. in a measure corresponding with the illimitable spiritual power signified by the glory which manifests the Divine King in His supra-mundane Kingdom. Every need of believers is supplied ‘according to his riches in glory, in Christ Jesus’ (Php_4:19), i.e. according to the boundless resources which belong to God as Sovereign of the spiritual universe, and are made available through Christ as Mediator. Christ is raised from the dead through ‘the glory of the Father’ (Rom_6:4). The precise sense of this expression has not yet been elucidated (in Pss.-Sol. 11:9 there is what seems to be a parallel to it: ἀíáóôÞóáé Êýñéïò ôὸí Ἰóñáὴë ἑí ὀíüìáôé ôῆò äüîçò áὐôïí), but it would seem that the ‘glory of the Father’ is practically equivalent to the êñÜôïò, the sovereign act of Him who is the ‘Father of glory’ (Eph_1:17). To formulate is hazardous; but perhaps we may say that for St. Paul the äüîá is the self-revelation of the transcendent God, given through Christ, here to faith, in the heavenly world to that more direct mode of perception which we try to express by saying that faith is changed to sight.

2. The Divine glory as communicated.-(a) As originally given to man, it has been lost (Rom_3:23).

According to Rabbinic doctrine, when Adam was created in the image of God, a ray (æַéå) of the Divine glory shone upon his countenance, but among the six things lost by the Fall was the æַéå, which went back to heaven (Weber, Jüdische Theologie, p. 222). At Sinai the æַéå was restored to the children of Israel, but was immediately lost again by their unfaithfulness (ib. p. 275). There can be little doubt that this pictorial rendering or spiritual truth lies behind the Apostle’s peculiar mode of expressing the fact of man’s universal failure to represent the Divine ideal (see Sanday-Headlam in loc.). The same allusion may possibly serve to explain the obscure passage, 1Co_11:7.

(b) But the departed glory is more than restored in Christ, the second Adam, to whom as the Image of God it belongs (2Co_4:4), who is the Lord of Glory (1Co_2:8), and in whose face it shines forth in the darkened hearts of men, as at the Creation light first shone upon the face of the earth (2Co_4:6). Here the conception is emphatically ethical; it is above all the glory of Divine character that shines from the face of Christ and in the hearts of believers. Yet here again the glory is not that of an ethical ideal merely; it is the full, indivisible glory of the Living God of which Christ is the effulgence (ἀðáýãáóìá [Heb_1:3]).

(c) By Christ as Mediator the Divine glory is communicated, not only to believers, but to every agency by which He acts: the Spirit (1Pe_4:14, Eph_3:16), the gospel (2Co_4:4, 1Ti_1:11), the ‘mystery’-God’s long-hidden secret, now revealed, the eternal salvation of men by Christ (Col_1:27). The whole Christian dispensation is characterized by ‘glory’ (2Co_3:7-18). As the inferior and temporary nature of the old dispensation is typified in the veiled and fading splendour of Moses, its mediator, the perfection and permanence of the new are witnessed in the unveiled and eternal glory of Christ, which is reflected partly here, more fully hereafter, on His people (a merely figurative interpretation is excluded by the very terms åἰêþí and äüîá). Their transfiguration is in process-already the ‘Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God’ rests upon them (1Pe_4:14); at His appearing it will be consummated (Php_3:21, Joh_3:3).

(d) In the majority of cases in which ‘glory’ is predicated of Christ, of Christians, and of the environment of their life, the sense is distinctly eschatological. The sufferings of Christ are contrasted with their after-glories (1Pe_1:11; 1Pe_1:21); also those of believers (1Pe_4:13, 2Th_2:14, Php_3:21). As already in Jewish eschatology, äüîá is a technical term for the state of final salvation, the Heavenly Messianic Kingdom in which Christ now lives and which is to be brought to men by His Parousia. This is the ‘coming glory’ (Rom_8:18), ‘about to be revealed’ (1Pe_5:1), the ‘inheritance of God in his saints’ (Eph_1:18) unto which they are prepared beforehand (Rom_9:23), called (1Pe_5:10), led by Christ (Heb_2:10); it is their unwithering crown (1Pe_5:11), the manifestation of their true nature (Col_3:4), their emancipation from all evil limitations (Rom_8:21); in the hope of it they rejoice (Rom_5:2); for it they are made meet by the indwelling of Christ (Col_1:27) and by the discipline of the present (2Co_4:17).

II.-The second chief sense in which ‘glory’ is predicated of God or Christ is that which may be termed ascriptional in contrast with essential. Passing over the strictly doxological passages, we note that ‘glory’ is given to God (or to Christ) (a) by the character or conduct of men: by the strength of their trust (Rom_4:20), in eating, drinking, and all that they do (1Co_10:31), by thanksgiving (2Co_4:15), brotherly charity (2Co_8:19), the fruits of righteousness (Php_1:11), repentance and confession of sin (Rev_16:9); (b) by the results of God’s own saving work, the Exaltation of Christ (Php_2:11), the faithful fulfilment of His promises in Christ (2Co_1:20), the reception of both Jews and Gentiles into the Church (Rom_15:7), the predestination of believers to the adoption of children (Eph_1:6), the whole accomplishment of that predestination, by faith, the sealing of the Spirit, and final redemption (Eph_1:14), by the marriage of the Lamb, the final and eternal union of Christ with the redeemed, sanctified, and glorified Church. (Rev_19:7).

Literature.-There is, so far us known to the present writer, no satisfactory monograph on the subject, either in English or in German. W. Caspari, Die Bedeutungen der Wortsippe ëáã im Hebräischen, Leipzig, 1908, is not without value for the student of the NT. H. A. A. Kennedy, St. Paul’s Conception of the Last Things, London, 1904; P. Volz, Jüdische Eschatologie, Tübingen, 1903; F. Weber, Jüdische Theologie2. Leipzig, 1897; B. Weiss, Bibl. Theol. of NT, Eng. translation 3, Edinburgh, 1882-83, i. 396, ii. 187; O. Pfleiderer, Paulinism, Eng. translation , London, 1877, i. 135. Commentaries: Sanday-Headlam (51902), and Godet (1886-87) on Romans; Erich Haupt, Die Gefangenschaftsbriefe7, in Meyer’s Krit.-Exeget. Kommentar, 1902; J. B. Mayor On James (31910), Jude, and Second Peter (1907); articles ‘Glory’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) .

Robert Law.

One of the common words that develops its own special meaning in the Bible is ‘glory’. When used of people or things in relation to everyday life, it may indicate nothing more than honour, fame, power, wealth or splendour (Gen 45:13; 2Ki 14:10; Isa 8:7; Isa 17:4; Dan 2:37; Mat 4:8; Mat 6:29; Joh 5:44; Joh 7:18). But because it is used more frequently of the majestic all-powerful God, it develops a significance that makes it a characteristic word of both Old and New Testaments.

The glory of the unseen God

Revelations of God’s majesty and power, such as through clouds, fire and lightning, were revelations of his glory (Exo 16:10; Exo 24:16-17; Lev 9:23-24; Psa 29:3-4; Psa 29:7-9; Hab 3:3-4). Glory therefore became associated with brightness or shining. When God’s glory, symbolizing his presence, filled the tabernacle and later the temple, its brightness was so intense that no human being could look upon it (Exo 40:34-35; 1Ki 8:11; see SHEKINAH). Even when God allowed people a vision of his glory, it was usually so dazzling that it overpowered them (Exo 33:18-19; Exo 34:8; Exo 34:29-30; Isa 6:1-5; Eze 1:28; Luk 2:9; Rev 1:13-17).

Such visions were more than exhibitions of overpowering brightness; they were revelations of the nature of God. God’s glory is an expression of his character – his goodness, love, justice, power and holiness (Exo 33:18-19; Exo 34:6-7; Psa 29:3; Isa 6:3; Joh 12:41; Rom 3:23). Therefore, the Bible speaks of the revelation of God through nature and through history as the revelation of his glory (Psa 19:1; Psa 96:3; see REVELATION).

The glory of Christ and his people

Jesus Christ is the greatest revelation of God’s glory. The presence of God once dwelt in the world in the glory that filled the tabernacle or temple, but now that glory dwelt in the world in the form of a human being (Joh 1:14; Jas 2:1). The God whom no person could see, except in visions, now revealed himself in Jesus Christ (Joh 1:18; 2Co 4:6; Heb 1:3).

Yet, while believers saw in Jesus the glory of God, unbelievers did not (Joh 1:14; Joh 2:11; 1Co 2:8). This was partly because Christ’s glory during his earthly life was not a visible majestic splendour, such as he had as God before the world began. In being born into this world he laid that glory aside; though the event known as the transfiguration was a foretaste of a greater glory that would yet be his (Mat 17:1-6; Joh 17:5; see TRANSFIGURATION). After the triumph of his life, death and resurrection, God exalted him to heaven’s highest place and gave him heaven’s highest glory (Php 2:6-11; Heb 2:9; 1Pe 1:11; 1Pe 1:21).

One promise given to believers in Jesus Christ is that, as they share in Christ’s sufferings in this life, so they will share in his glory in the life to come (Rom 8:17-18; 2Co 4:17; Php 3:21; 2Th 2:14; Heb 2:10; 1Pe 5:1; 1Pe 5:10). In a sense they share in Christ’s glory now and increasingly become like Christ through their devotion to him (Joh 17:22; 2Co 3:18; 1Pe 4:14). The great revelation of God’s glory at the end of the age will bring salvation to believers and terror to the wicked (Isa 60:1-3; Isa 66:18-19; Mat 16:27; Mat 24:30; Mat 25:31; Col 3:4; Tit 2:11-14).

Mere human beings cannot add to God’s glory (in the sense of his majesty and power) but they can give him glory (in the sense of honour and praise). They are to glorify him by their words and by their actions (1Sa 6:5; Psa 96:8; Jer 13:16; Mat 5:16; Act 12:23; Rom 4:20; Rom 11:36; 1Co 10:31; 2Co 8:19; Eph 3:21; Rev 5:13; Rev 14:7).

A word that refers to the special qualities

of God. Often it means brightness,

referring to the way he appears to people.

Sometimes it means majesty or power,

referring to a kind of greatness that

cannot be compared to anything in

human experience. It can also include the

ideas of wealth, honor, fame, or respect,

especially in expressions of praise.

The singular splendor of God and the consequences for humanity.

The Glory of God

The glory of God can be described in two senses: (1) as a general category or attribute, and (2) as a specific category referring to particular historical manifestations of his presence.

As an Attribute

God’s glory refers primarily to his majestic beauty and splendor; it also refers to the expression of God’s character (Rom 3:23). The Scriptures record praise to his glorious name (Neh 9:5), describe him as the glorious Father (Eph 1:17) and the King of glory (Ps 24); he is exalted above the heavens, and his glory is over all the earth (Pss 57:5, 11; 108:5; 113:4). He is the God of glory who appeared to the patriarchs of the OT (Acts 7:2). He is jealous to maintain his glory and unwilling that it be given to another (Is 42:8); he acts to bring glory to himself (Ps 79:9; Is 48:11).

The glory of God is proclaimed by the Creation (Pss 19:1; 97:6; Rom 1:20). It is revealed by his mighty acts of salvation and deliverance (1 Chr 16:24; Pss 72:18–19; 96:3; 145:10–12; Jn 11:4, 40). His glory is the theme of the praise (1 Chr 16:24–29; Pss 29:1–2, 9; 66:1–2; 96:7–8; 115:1; Is 42:12; Rom 4:20; Phil 2:9–11).

As His Presence

References to the glory of the Lord are often to particular historical manifestations of his presence; images of light and fire are prominently associated with these occurrences. The foremost example is what is known in rabbinical literature as the shekinah glory, a phrase meaning the “dwelling glory.” It refers primarily to the presence of God in the pillar of cloud and fire in the OT.

The first explicit reference to the glory cloud is found in Exodus 13:21–22. At the time of the exodus, the glory of God appeared in the pillar of cloud and fire to lead the people through the sea and wilderness (Neh 9:11–12, 19). At Sinai, with Israel encamped around the mountain, the glory of God comes in the cloud and fire to speak with Moses in the sight of the people (Ex 19:9, 16–18; 24:15–18; Dt 5:5, 22–24). When Moses is given a glimpse of that glory unconcealed by the cloud and fire, his own face becomes radiant and must be veiled because of the people’s fear (Ex 33:18–23; 34:29–35; 2 Cor 3:7–18).

The picture of Israel encamped around the glory of God on Sinai portrays God dwelling in the midst of his people. When the tabernacle is completed and the people set out on their march, the glory cloud of God’s presence dwells above them throughout their journey (Ex 40:34–38; Nm 10:11–12). When they encamp, the tribes encircle the tabernacle (Nm 1:50–2:2), and the cloud reminds them of his presence in their midst. Later, the same glory filled the new temple that Solomon builds (2 Chr 5:13–6:1; 7:1–3). The psalmists celebrated Jerusalem and the temple as the place where his glory dwelt (Pss 26:8; 63:2; 85:9); God was in their midst.

Later in Israel’s history they denied God’s glorious presence (Is 3:8) and exchanged the glory of the Lord for idols made by human hands (Ps 106:20; Jer 2:10–11; cf. Rom 1:23). Because of their disobedience, judgment came against Jerusalem; the penalties of covenant violation were enforced. God would no longer be the God of a disobedient people (Hos 1:9). God’s presence in the glory cloud left the temple (Ez 10:4, 18–19; 11:22), and Israel went into exile (12:1–15).

Yet out of this judgment God determined to bring a remnant to rebuild the city and the temple. In his visions Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord return to dwell in the temple again (Ez 43:2–9), a time when the glory would return to a purified people and dwell among them forever. When the exile was over and the second temple was under construction, Haggai and Zechariah urged the people on with the promise of the return of the glory of God to fill the temple as it had done in the first temple and to “be glory in their midst” (Hg 2:3–9; Zec 2:5, 10–11).

The Glory of God in Jesus Christ

We are not told if the shekinah glory returned to the second temple. But we are told that God’s glory was seen again on earth in the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son” (italics added). As such, Jesus was the new tabernacle for God’s abiding glory. In Jesus, God dwelt among people. Since Christ was (and is) the very image of God, to see the light of his face was to know the glory of God (2 Cor 4:4–6). To see Jesus was to see a “light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel” (Lk 2:30–32). The disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration (Mt 17:1–8) saw his glory in a marvelous way (2 Pt 1:16–17), for it was a glory that burst out of his human body. This outburst of glory prefigured the glorification Christ experienced in resurrection and ascension (see Jn 17:5; Phil 2:5–11).

Because Jesus humbled himself and was obedient to the point of death, God highly exalted him (Phil 2:8–9). After he suffered death on the cross, he entered into his glory (Lk 24:26) with a new and glorious body (1 Cor 15:39–43; Phil 3:21). The glorified Christ appeared to his servants. Stephen saw his glory (Acts 7:55), and Saul was blinded by his splendor (9:3). That same Christ is predicted to return in glory. He will sit on his throne in judgment (Mt 25:31); evil will be punished (16:27; 24:30; Mk 13:26; Lk 21:27; 2 Thes 2:9–10). Those who have professed him before men need not fear his glorious appearing (Mk 8:38).

At the consummation, the whole earth will be filled with his glory (Ps 72:19; Is 6:3; Hb 2:14). No longer will a glory cloud rest above a temple to mark the Holy Place, for there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Rv 21:1). The Holy City will have the radiance of the glory of God (vv 10–11).

Glory and the People of God

The people of God have experienced the glory of the presence of God. The glory cloud of the OT was their glory (Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11). Christ came as the embodiment of the glory of God; God was in the midst of his people. When Christ ascended, he sent his Spirit to the believers (Jn 16:7–14) so that God could live in the midst of his people. The Spirit of glory rests on those who suffer for the name of Christ (1 Pt 4:14); that Spirit is the guarantee of the glorious inheritance of the saints (Rom 8:16–17).

God has given to his people the hope of glory (Rom 5:2; Phil 3:21; Col 1:27; Jude 1:24–25). Those whom he has chosen he will also glorify (Rom 8:30; 9:23); they will share in the glory of Christ (Col 3:4; 2 Thes 2:14; 2 Tm 2:10). The sufferings of this age do not compare with the glory that will be revealed (Rom 8:18; 2 Cor 4:17). The whole of creation longs to see the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom 8:21). This hope of glory is so certain that Peter can speak of participating in it even now (1 Pt 5:1) while looking forward to that eternal glory (v 10). As partakers in the glory of Christ, the church is called to glorify God. Because of the hope that is in them, they purify themselves (1 Jn 3:3).

See also Boast; God, Being and Attributes of; Pillar of Fire and Cloud; Shekinah; Theophany; Wealth.

Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The distinctive feature of the presence of God, often compared to power, weight or brightness. Scripture affirms that God's glory is made known through his work of creation, his acts of intervention in history and supremely in the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.