Great Isaiah Scroll Directory - documenta-catholica.eu

Shekinahmysticism which is obvious upon small consideration.When verbal forms are translated as nouns the word sometimes means "habitat." It isthe habitat of animals and birds as well as humans and God. (Dan. 4:21)Grammatically, when verbal forms are translated as nouns, in Hebrew, they are called"substantives." Technically, "Shekinah", therefore is a substantive rather than a noun.God speaks of his "desire" for this relationship with his people. The "Shekinah"therefore refers to the presence of God that was, but is not now, physically manifestedin the time- space continuum. It could be seen. The presence was a vehicle of theperson of God in the three dimensional world. The understanding of Solomon that Godcan not actually be limited to Temples on earth because of his eternal nature is seen in1Ki. 8:27:"But will God indeed dwell ["yashav"] on the earth? behold, the heavenand heaven of heavens cannot contain you; how much less this housethat I have built?"This omniscient eternal presence of the Almighty, that Solomon recognized, is theheavenly, but not the earthly, "Shekinah." Although the infinite spiritual presence isand was coincident with the physically discernable "Shekinah," it was distinguishedfrom the physical even in Mosaic times. It is only in this infinite way that the"Shekinah" is now manifested. He indwells his people as a spirit. Isa. 57:15 says asmuch:"For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits ("shakan") eternity, whosename is Holy; I dwell ("shakan") in the high and holy place, and with him also thatis of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive theheart of the contrite ones.""Who inhabits" In this passage the word "shokeyn," () translated "whoinhabits," is as close to the meaning and direct use of the word "Shekinah" ( ), inthe Bible, as one will find. The Hebrew letters, in the order they are pronounced, are sh= sh, = o, k = k, = ey, n = n. The unpointed original Hebrew is simply ( ). Theform is a masculine participle and literally means "He who inhabits" or "the one who isinhabiting." This refers to God Himself. According to this verse, He is the "Inhabiter"of heaven and human hearts at one and the same time! The word "Shekinah" , whichdescribes the physical thing which was "proof" of his "dwelling" on earth in the Mosaicdispensation, is akin to this construction. In fact, it is the identically same word, onlythe gender is changed. If you simply add the feminine ending to change it from amasculine to a feminine participle "shokeyn," (shkn), becomes "Shekinah" (shknh).Thus, the masculine form of the substantive "Shekinah" does appear in the Bible inIsaiah 57:15.http://www.ao.net/~fmoeller/shekinah.htm (3 of 12)2006-08-01 11:49:42