Shekinah is the English name of God in its feminine, motherly manifestation. The original word means the dwelling or settling, and denotes the dwelling or settling of the Divine Presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem. It is closely related to the word: “mish-kan,” the Tabernacle.
The heavenly “mish-kan” is mentioned in the New Testament in Revelation15:5: “After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.”
Literature explains that the Shekinah is the aspect of revelation by which God chooses to communicate with human beings; however, there are no solid biblical references that support these depictions.
There are, however, several biblical references to the Shekinah dwelling among the people of Israel:
“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them”
“And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God”
“…the Lord of Hosts, who dwells in mount Zion”
In the New Testament, the “mish-kan” (dwelling) of the Lord and, consequently, the Shekinah, is amid the believers:
“Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
and in the next verse,
“…for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”
The Shekinah is also mentioned (in Hebrew prayers) as an angelic essence of God. The two very similar common expressions regarding this angelic essence are “ta-chat kan-fey ha-she-chi-na,” (under the wings of the Divine Presence) and “al kan-fey ha-she-chi-na,” (on the wings of the Divine Presence).
The official Hebrew prayer for the fallen soldiers and the prayer said during funerals, remembrance days, and other occasions on which the memory of the dead is recalled, speaks as well of the wings of the Shekinah. This well-known prayer is called “El Male Rachamin,” “God, full of mercy”: “God, full of mercy, Who dwells above, give rest on the wings of the Divine Presence….”
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