It is clear that GLORY is the focus of this verse. Not only is it repeated twice – “we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father . . .” but it is also hidden in the word for tabernacled. God showed His glory at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. The word that is used for dwelt among us is εσκηνωσεν [eskenosen]. This Greek word mirrors the root Hebrew word which is שׁכינה [shekı̄nah]. This word also has the sense of glory qssociated with it. God showed His glory when He descended to live among us. Wow, imagine being in the presence of Almighty God whose glory and power and light unapproachable is all around us. Whose very radiance is too much for our eyes and would burn us to a crisp. The One who will be the substitute for the sun in heaven. The One who was shining so bright that Moses couldn’t see His full-faced-brightness but had to be protected and covered in the cleft of the rock with His hand so he could only see His back. (Exodus 33:23) Literally the word is אחרי [‘achry] which means behind part or I think more appropriately (and this would be in the IVV – Ian Vail Version] His afterglow [His afterness or behindedness].
We often talk about the shekhı̄nah glory of God. That is the word hidden in the word for “dwelling”. Hebrew is based on radicals or consonants. Note the root of eskenosen is skn, note the root of shekhı̄nah is the same s(h)kn. This signifies “the Glory” when God is present.
Glory Glory Glory. A three fold repetition like Isaiah’s holy holy holy.
Ian Vail
[I smile when posting these past Gems. Initially I took just one thought and wrote about that in order to keep it brief and punchy. But then after a while I had people asking for more because I often say there is a whole lot more in the verse that I could comment on. So readers started asking for me to tell all. I am admiring the restraint I show back then in these early Gems to make them as brief as they were.]Unless you can create the whole universe in six days, then perhaps giving “advice” to God isn’t such a good idea.
Anon