Meaning & use
Shekinah
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Meaning
proper nounproperreligionformal
in Jewish and Christian thought, the presence or glory of God among people
Grammar: Used with 'the': the Shekinah. It is not countable and is usually capitalized.
Patterns
- the Shekinah
- the Shekinah glory
In some traditions, the Shekinah is described as the dwelling presence of God.
The temple was seen as a place where the Shekinah rested.
Theologians debate how to understand the Shekinah in the Hebrew Bible.
Common combinations
- the Shekinah glory
- The hymn speaks of the Shekinah glory filling the temple.
- the Shekinah presence
- They prayed for the Shekinah presence to be with them.
- the Shekinah rests
- According to the text, the Shekinah rests where two study together.
Synonyms and how they differ
- divine presence
- Divine presence is a general English term; Shekinah is the specific Hebrew theological term.
Word family
- Shekinah glory noun
- a phrase for the radiant presence of God
Commonly confused: Shekinah or shekhinah?
Shekinah vs shekhinah
Shekhinah is another common spelling of the same word; both are acceptable.
Practice
How is Shekinah usually pronounced?
Choose one answer.
The stress is on the second syllable and the 'i' sounds like 'eye': shi-KY-nuh. The other options put the stress or vowel sound in the wrong place.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Shekinah”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.