TR: כָּבוֹד (kabod) → δόξα (doxa)¶
Cross-Testament Trace¶
| Hebrew | Greek | |
|---|---|---|
| Word | כָּבוֹד (kâbôwd) | δόξα (dóxa) |
| Strong's | H3519 | G1391 |
| POS | Masculine noun | Feminine noun |
| Core meaning | Weight, heaviness → honor, splendor, visible majesty | Opinion → reputation → visible radiant glory |
| Library | TODO(need H3519 study) | G1391-doxa |
The Bridge¶
LXX co-occurrences: 170 (PMI 6.32, score 32.49) — the highest-scored Hebrew source for δόξα by a wide margin.
The Septuagint translators chose δόξα to render כָּבוֹד with exceptional consistency, and in so doing transformed the Greek word. Classical δόξα meant opinion or reputation — what others think of you. But kabod carries the weight of inherent, manifested reality — what a person or deity actually is, expressed visibly. The LXX translation elevated δόξα from subjective perception to objective radiance, so that by the NT era, δόξα had absorbed kabod's full freight of divine Shekinah, covenant honor, and eschatological expectation.
Hebrew Anchor: כָּבוֹד (H3519)¶
Occurrences: 189 unique verses across 27 OT books Primary translations (KJV): glory (22 vv), the glory (40 vv), honour (10 vv), glorious (5 vv) Root: כָּבַד (kabed, H3513) — to be heavy, to be weighty
The concrete root (heaviness, weight) generates the abstract meaning: what has weight commands honor. In divine contexts, kabod becomes the Shekinah — the tangible, luminous presence of God that fills the tabernacle and temple.
Key OT Passages¶
Tabernacle filling (Exo 40:34): "Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory (kabod) of the LORD filled the tabernacle."
Temple filling (1 Ki 8:11): "So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory (kabod) of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD."
Seraphim declaration (Isa 6:3): "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory (kabod)."
Prophetic universalization (Hab 2:14): "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory (kabod) of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
Sinai theophany (Exo 24:17): "And the sight of the glory (kabod) of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount."
Eschatological horizon (Isa 40:5): "And the glory (kabod) of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."
Greek Heir: δόξα (G1391)¶
Occurrences: 151 unique verses across 23 NT books Primary translation (KJV): glory (76.8%), honour (3.3%), praise (1.3%)
Key NT Passages Echoing OT Kabod¶
Prologue (John 1:14): "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father)" — σκηνόω (dwelt/tabernacled) deliberately echoes the tabernacle-filling of Exo 40:34. The Shekinah kabod now embodied.
Transfiguration (Luke 9:32): "when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him" — Moses and Elijah appear; the visible radiance of Sinai/tabernacle now rests on Christ.
Isaiah quotation (John 12:41): "These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him." — The kabod Isaiah saw in Isa 6 is identified as the glory of the pre-incarnate Christ.
New Temple (Rev 21:23): "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory (doxa) of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." — The eschatological fulfillment of the Shekinah: no constructed sanctuary needed; God's doxa is the light directly.
Prophetic fulfillment (Rom 8:18): "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory (doxa) which shall be revealed in us." — Isa 40:5's promise of universal kabod revelation applied to the resurrection state of believers.
The Semantic Shift¶
| Aspect | OT כָּבוֹד (kabod) | NT δόξα (doxa) |
|---|---|---|
| Physical basis | Pillar of cloud/fire, filling the sanctuary | Light, brilliance of transformation |
| Location | Tabernacle, Temple, Sinai | Christ, believers, new creation |
| Grammar | Often "the glory of the LORD" (divine title) | Often "glory of God" + doxologies |
| Temporal frame | Present Shekinah, covenant reminder | Past (pre-existent), present (incarnate), future (eschatological) |
| Human share | Israel receives reflected glory (Num 14:21) | Believers transformed from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18) |
Direct OT Quotations¶
- John 12:41 cites Isa 6:1–3 — Isaiah's kabod-vision identified as Christ's doxa
- Rev 21:23 echoes Isa 60:19 — "the LORD shall be thine everlasting light"
- 2 Cor 3:7–18 expounds Exo 34:29–35 — Moses' veiled kabod-reflection vs. unveiled doxa in Christ
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, search_strongs.py --hebrew-source Last updated: 2026-04-01