Shekinah, Shechinah, Shechina, or Schechinah (Hebrew: שכינה‎), is theEnglish transliteration of a Biblical Hebrew word meaning dwelling or settling, and denotes the dwelling or settling of the Divine Presence of God, especially in theTemple in Jerusalem.

Etymology[edit]

Shekinah is derived from the Hebrew verb שכן. In Biblical Hebrew that Semitic root means literally to settle, inhabit, or dwell, and is used frequently in the Hebrew Bible. In Mishnaic Hebrew the noun is often used to refer to birds' nesting and nests. ("Every bird nests [shekinot] with its kind, and man with its like, Talmud Baba Kammah 92b.) and can also mean "neighbor" ("If a neighbor and a scholar, the scholar is preferred" Talmud Ketubot 85b).

The word for Tabernacle, mishkan, is a derivative of the same root and is used in the sense of dwelling-place in the Bible, e.g. Psalm 132:5 ("Before I find a place for God, mishkanot (dwelling-places) for the Strong One of Israel.") and Numbers 24:5 ("Your dwelling places, Israel," where the word for "your dwelling places", transliterated, is mishkenotecha). Accordingly, in classic Jewish thought, the Shekinah refers to a dwelling or settling in a special sense, a dwelling or settling of Divine Presence, 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 "Parousia", "presence" or "arrival," which is used in the New Testament in a similar way for "Divine Presence".^[1]

Meaning in Judaism[edit]

The Shekinah is held by some to represent the feminine attributes of the presence of God (Shekinah being a feminine word in Hebrew), based especially on readings of the Talmud.^[2]

Manifestation[edit]

The Shekinah is referred to as manifest in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem throughout Rabbinic literature. It is also reported as being present in the acts of public prayer, ("Whenever ten are gathered for prayer, there the Shekinah rests" Talmud Sanhedrin 39a); righteous judgment ("when three sit as judges, the Shekinah is with them." Talmud Berachot 6a), and personal need ("The Shekinah dwells over the headside of the sick man's bed" Talmud tractate Shabbat 12b; "Wheresoever they were exiled, the Shekinah went with them." Megillah 29a).