The Kābôd of Yhwh in the Old Testament

In this study on the kābôd of YHWH biblical texts are approached from a canonical perspective, and the synchronic approach prevails over the diachronic. Ben Sira characterized Ezekiel as the prophet who saw the appearance of the glory of God. This characterization is not based on the number of occurrences of kābôd in Ezekiel. The peculiarity of Ezekiel is that kābôd is used almost exclusively as a hypostasis of YHWH. Ezekiel’s description of the kābôd of YHWH is more elaborate than any other Old Testament writer’s, and it highlights the dual and paradoxical nature of the divine kābôd as both defying verbal description and being potentially visible. This research highlights especially the importance of the visible aspect.

Pieter de Vries, Ph.D. (1956), Free University of Amsterdam, is De Vries is assistant professor of biblical theology and hermeneutics at that university. He published several articles. He is also a scholar of the history of Christian doctrine. In this field he published among others John Bunyan on the Order of Salvation (1994).