LUX VERITAS

Dictionary entry

כָּבוֹד

Kavod

kavód

Glory as weight — what has real density, not shine.

The root kavad means to be heavy. God's glory is neither fame nor luminosity: it is presence with weight, something that keeps the priest from standing in the temple. The Greek translators chose dóxa, which in common use meant “opinion, reputation” — and the word was never the same again, because it began to carry the Hebrew weight underneath.

Where it appears

  • Exodus 40:34
  • Isaiah 6:3
  • John 1:14