# G1391 - doxa **Strong's:** [G1391](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1391/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** dox'-ah **Part of speech:** feminine noun **Hebrew equivalents (LXX):** כָּבוֹד (*kavod*, H3519), overwhelmingly the standard rendering **NT occurrences:** ~166 ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **Opinion, judgment, view**, the classical Greek sense (the original meaning, from *dokeō*, "to think / seem"). 2. **Reputation, honor, esteem**, what others think of one; renown, public regard. 3. **Splendor, brightness, radiance**, visible magnificence; outward shining. 4. **Glory of God / divine majesty**, the LXX-driven theological sense; the visible manifestation of God's presence; the *kavod* / *Shekinah*. ## Theological force, the LXX shift The semantic shift from "opinion" (classical) to "glory / majesty" (biblical) is one of the most striking pieces of LXX-influenced theology in the Greek vocabulary. The LXX translators chose *doxa* to render Hebrew *kavod* (כָּבוֹד), which means "weight, heaviness" → "weighty significance" → "honor, glory." The visible cloud of YHWH's presence at Sinai ([Exodus 24:16](/codex/exodus-24-16/)), in the tabernacle ([Exodus 40:34](/codex/exodus-40-34/)), and Solomon's temple ([1 Kings 8:11](/codex/1-kings-8-11/)) is the *kavod*, the Shekinah glory. The NT inherits this sense fully: - **[John 1:14](/codex/john-1-14/)**, "we beheld His glory (*doxan autou*), glory as of the only begotten", the Shekinah glory now visible in incarnate Christ. Paired with *eskēnōsen* ([G4637 - skenoo](/codex/g4637-skenoo/), "tabernacled") completing the OT-temple echo. - **[John 17:5](/codex/john-17-5/)**, "glorify Me… with the glory which I had with You before the world was", pre-incarnate divine glory. - **[2 Corinthians 4:6](/codex/2-corinthians-4-6/)**, "the glory of God in the face of Christ" - **[Hebrews 1:3](/codex/hebrews-1-3/)**, "He is the radiance of His glory" (*apaugasma tēs doxēs*) The visible Shekinah of OT theophanies is identified with the person of Christ: Isaiah's vision of YHWH's glory ([Isaiah 6:1-3](/codex/isaiah-6-1-3/)) is applied to Christ ([John 12:41](/codex/john-12-41/), "Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke of Him"). ## Notable verses ### Christ's pre-incarnate / eschatological glory - **[John 17.5](/codex/john-17-5/)**, "Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was" - **[John 17.22](/codex/john-17-22/)**, "the glory which You have given Me I have given to them" - **[John 1.14](/codex/john-1-14/)**, "we beheld His glory", Shekinah-incarnate - **[John 12:41](/codex/john-12-41/)**, "Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory" (= YHWH's glory in [Isaiah 6](/codex/isaiah-6/)) - **[2 Peter 1:17](/codex/2-peter-1-17/)**, Transfiguration: "He received from God the Father honor and glory" - **[Hebrews 1:3](/codex/hebrews-1-3/)**, "the radiance of His glory" - **[Matthew 25:31](/codex/matthew-25-31/)**, "the Son of Man comes in His glory" ### God's glory revealed - **[Romans 1:23](/codex/romans-1-23/)**, "exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image" - **[Romans 3:23](/codex/romans-3-23/)**, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - **[2 Corinthians 4:6](/codex/2-corinthians-4-6/)**, "the glory of God in the face of Christ" - **[John 11:40](/codex/john-11-40/)**, "if you believe, you will see the glory of God" ### Believers participating in glory - **[Romans 8:18](/codex/romans-8-18/)**, "the glory that is to be revealed to us" - **[Romans 8:30](/codex/romans-8-30/)**, those justified He also glorified - **[2 Corinthians 3:18](/codex/2-corinthians-3-18/)**, "we all… being transformed into the same image from glory to glory" - **[Colossians 1:27](/codex/colossians-1-27/)**, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" ### Doxological, *to give glory* - **[Romans 11:36](/codex/romans-11-36/)**, "to Him be the glory forever" - **[1 Corinthians 10:31](/codex/1-corinthians-10-31/)**, "do all to the glory of God" - **[Revelation 4:11](/codex/revelation-4-11/)**, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory" ## OT background, kavod / Shekinah - **[Exodus 24:16-17](/codex/exodus-24-16-17/)**, "the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai" - **[Exodus 40:34-38](/codex/exodus-40-34-38/)**, "the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle" - **[1 Kings 8:10-11](/codex/1-kings-8-10-11/)**, "the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house" - **[Isaiah 6:1-3](/codex/isaiah-6-1-3/)**, "I saw the LORD… the whole earth is full of His glory" - **[Ezekiel 1:28](/codex/ezekiel-1-28/)**, "such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD" - **[Ezekiel 10:18-19](/codex/ezekiel-10-18-19/)**, the glory departing the temple (the tragedy) - **[Ezekiel 43:1-5](/codex/ezekiel-43-1-5/)**, the glory returning (the eschatological hope) ## Patristic / scholarly note The patristic doctrine of *theosis* / deification (Athanasius, Cappadocians, Maximus the Confessor) develops the believer-glory dimension: [2 Corinthians 3:18](/codex/2-corinthians-3-18/)'s "from glory to glory" describes the believer's progressive participation in divine glory through union with Christ. Athanasius's famous formula *"He became man so that we might become god"* (*On the Incarnation* 54) is the soteriological extension of this glory-vocabulary. The Reformation pressed *soli Deo gloria*, to God alone be the glory, as one of the five pillars (*solas*) of Reformation theology, grounding all of life in the doxological telos. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ ## See also - [H3519 - kavod](/codex/h3519-kavod/), Hebrew "weight / glory" - [G4637 - skenoo](/codex/g4637-skenoo/), "to tabernacle", paired in [John 1.14](/codex/john-1-14/) - [G3056 - logos](/codex/g3056-logos/), the bearer of the glory - [G2316 - theos](/codex/g2316-theos/)