Shekinah

<h2>Etymology[<a title="Edit section: Etymology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shekhinah&action=edit&section=1">edit</a>]</h2>

<p><i>Shekinah</i> is derived from the Hebrew verb שכן. In <a title="Biblical Hebrew" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Hebrew">Biblical Hebrew</a> that <a title="Semitic root" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_root">Semitic root</a> means literally <i>to settle,</i> <i>inhabit,</i> or <i>dwell,</i> and is used frequently in the <a title="Hebrew Bible" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_Bible">Hebrew Bible</a>. In Mishnaic Hebrew the noun is often used to refer to birds' nesting and nests. ("Every bird nests [<i>shekinot</i>] with its kind, and man with its like, <a class="external text" href="http://halakhah.com/babakamma/babakamma_92.html" rel="nofollow">Talmud Baba Kammah 92b</a>.) and can also mean "neighbor" ("If a neighbor and a scholar, the scholar is preferred" <a class="external text" href="http://halakhah.com/kethuboth/kethuboth_85.html" rel="nofollow">Talmud Ketubot 85b</a>).

The word for <a title="Tabernacle (Judaism)" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernacle_(Judaism)">Tabernacle</a>, <i><a title="Mishkan" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishkan">mishkan</a></i>, is a derivative of the same root and is used in the sense of dwelling-place in the Bible, e.g. <a title="Psalms" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalms">Psalm</a> 132:5 ("Before I find a place for God, <i>mishkanot</i> (dwelling-places) for the Strong One of Israel.") Accordingly, in classic <a title="Judaism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism">Jewish thought</a>, the Shekinah refers to a dwelling or settling in a special sense, a dwelling or settling of <a title="Divine Presence" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Presence">Divine Presence</a>, to the effect that, while in proximity to the Shekinah, the connection to God is more readily perceivable.

Some Christian theologians have connected the concept of Shekinah to the Greek term "<a title="Parousia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parousia">Parousia</a>", "presence" "arrival," which is used in the <a title="New Testament" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament">New Testament</a> in a similar way for "Divine Presence".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhinah#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup></p>

<h2>Meaning in Judaism[<a title="Edit section: Meaning in Judaism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shekhinah&action=edit&section=2">edit</a>]</h2>

<p>The Shekinah is held by some to represent the <a title="Femininity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femininity">feminine attributes</a> of the presence of God (<i>Shekinah</i> being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the <a title="Talmud" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud">Talmud</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhinah#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup></p>

<h3>Manifestation[<a title="Edit section: Manifestation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shekhinah&action=edit&section=3">edit</a>]</h3>

<p>The Shekinah is referred to as manifest in the <a title="Tabernacle (Judaism)" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernacle_(Judaism)">Tabernacle</a> and the <a title="Temple in Jerusalem" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem">Temple in Jerusalem</a> throughout Rabbinic literature.</p>