The Kabôd of Yhwh in the Old Testament

In this study on the kabôd 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 kabôd in Ezekiel. The peculiarity of Ezekiel is that kabôd is used almost exclusively as a hypostasis of YHWH. Ezekiel’s description of the kabôd of YHWH is more elaborate than any other Old Testament writer’s, and it highlights the dual and paradoxical nature of the divine kabôd as both defying verbal description and being potentially visible. This research highlights especially the importance of the visible aspect.