H3519 H3519
Glory, honor, splendor; the visible radiance of God's presence, human dignity and esteem, or material wealth.
Kavod derives from the root k-b-d meaning 'to be heavy, weighty,' and this etymological weight pervades every use of the noun. At its most exalted, it denotes the visible, luminous manifestation of God's presence — the kavod that fills the tabernacle (Exod 40:34), settles on Sinai (Exod 24:16), and departs from the temple in Ezekiel's devastating vision (Ezek 10:18). Yet the same word describes earthly honor, social standing, and even material prosperity, as when Laban's sons complain that Jacob has acquired all their father's kavod (Gen 31:1). The multilingual evidence is illuminating: German Herrlichkeit and Spanish gloria track the divine majesty sense, while French richesse and Arabic tharvah appear when wealth is in view — confirming that ancient Hebrew held these meanings together under one 'weighty' roof in a way few modern languages replicate.
5. sense 5 — The collective glory or splendor of a people or nation — as in Isa 5:13 where Israel's kavod goes into exile alongside its multitude. Spanish sus nobles ('its nobles'), German seine Herrlichkeit, and English 'its glory' show translators divided on whether this is the nation's honor, its elite class, or its splendor. The parallelism with hamon ('multitude') suggests kavod here encompasses the entire impressive weight of a people — their dignity, prosperity, and social substance taken together. 1×
AR["وَ-مَجدُهُم"]·ben["ও-তার-সম্মান"]·DE["und-seine-Herrlichkeit"]·EN["and-its-glory"]·FR["et-sa-gloire"]·heb["ו-כבודו"]·HI["और-उसके-सम्माननीय"]·ID["dan-orang-orang-terhormatnya"]·IT["e-la-sua-gloria"]·jav["lan-mulya-nipun"]·KO["그들의-영화는"]·PT["e-honra-seu"]·RU["и-знать-его"]·ES["y-sus-nobles"]·SW["na-waheshimiwa-wao"]·TR["ve-sayginlari"]·urd["اور-اس-کے-بزرگ"]
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
1. glory, splendor of God — The dominant theophanic and doxological sense: the visible radiance, splendor, and manifest presence of God. This is the kavod that appears in the cloud over Sinai (Exod 24:16-17), fills the tabernacle and temple (Exod 40:34; 1 Kgs 8:11), and which Isaiah sees enthroned (Isa 6:3). The 170 occurrences confirm this as the overwhelmingly primary meaning. German Herrlichkeit, Spanish gloria, and Korean 영광 all lexicalize this theophanic-doxological sense as distinct from mere 'honor.' When Joshua says 'give glory to the LORD' (Josh 7:19), the word means both 'acknowledge his weightiness' and 'let his radiance be seen.' 170×
AR["بِمَجْدِ-","مَجدُ","مَجْد","مَجْدَ","مَجْدَ-","مَجْدُ","مَجْدُ-","مَجْدِ","مَجْدِ-"]·ben["-গৌরব","গৌরব","গৌরব-","গৌরবের-","মহিমা","মহিমা-","মহিমার","সদাপ্রভু","সম্মান"]·DE["Herrlichkeit","Herrlichkeit-","der-Herrlichkeit-","ehrte"]·EN["glory-of","glory-of-","the-glory-of","the-glory-of-"]·FR["gloire"]·heb["כבוד","כבוד-"]·HI["अपने-महिमामय-का","महान","महिमा","महिमा-","वैभव"]·ID["Kemuliaan","kehormatan","kemuliaan","kemuliaan-"]·IT["gloria"]·jav["Kamulyan","amargi","kaluhuran","kaluhuran-","kamulyan","kamulyan-","kamulyan-saking"]·KO["영광-을","영광-의","영광-이","영광은","영광을","영광의","영광의-","영광이"]·PT["A-glória","Glória-de","a-glória","a-glória-de","a-honra-de","da-glória","glória-de","é-a-glória-de"]·RU["слава","слава-","славу","славу-","славы","славы-"]·ES["Gloria-de","gloria-de","gloria-de-","la-gloria-de"]·SW["utukufu","utukufu-wa","uzuri-wa","wa-utajiri-wake","wa-utukufu"]·TR["görkemi","görkemidir","görkemini","sani","serefini","yüceliği","yüceliği-","yüceliği-için-","yüceliğini","yüceliğini-","yüelik-","şanını","şanının"]·urd["جلال","جلال-","شان"]
Josh 7:19, 1 Sam 2:8, 1 Sam 4:21, 1 Sam 4:22, 1 Sam 6:5, 1 Kgs 3:13, 1 Chr 16:28, 1 Chr 16:29, 2 Chr 5:14, 2 Chr 7:2, Esth 1:4, Esth 5:11 (+38 more)
2. honor, respect, dignity — Honor, esteem, and dignity accorded to a human person — 26 occurrences. This sense appears in wisdom literature and royal contexts: Solomon receives kavod alongside wealth (1 Chr 29:12, 28; 2 Chr 1:11), and Proverbs teaches that humility precedes kavod (Prov 15:33; 18:12). Spanish honor and French gloire both appear in these passages, whereas the theophanic sense draws gloria and Herrlichkeit. The distinction is real: this is social weight, the gravity a respected person carries in the community, not luminous divine presence. 26×
AR["كَرامَةً","كَرامَةٌ","كَرامَةٍ","كَرَامَةً","وَ-كَرامَةً","وَ-كَرامَةٌ","وَ-كَرَامَةً","وَ-كَرَامَةٌ","وَ-مَجْدٌ","وَالْكَرَامَةُ","وَكَرَامَةً","وَلَيْسَ","وَمَجْدٌ"]·ben["আর-মর্যাদা","আর-মর্যাদার","আর-সম্মান","এবং-সম্মান","ও-মর্যাদা","ও-সম্মান","সম্মান","সম্মানের"]·DE["Herrlichkeit","und-Herrlichkeit","und-der-Herrlichkeit"]·EN["and-honor","and-the-honor","honor"]·FR["et-gloire","gloire"]·heb["ו-ה-כבוד","ו-כבוד","כבוד"]·HI["आदर","आदर-के","आदर।","और-आदर","और-महिमा","और-सन्मान","और-सम्मान","सम्मान","सम्मान-के","सम्मान-को"]·ID["Kehormatan","Kemuliaan","dan-kehormatan","dan-kemuliaan","dan-penghormatan","kehormatan","kemuliaan"]·IT["e-gloria","gloria"]·jav["kamulyan","lan-kaluhuran","lan-kamulyaan","lan-kamulyan"]·KO["그리고-그-영광이","그리고-영광","그리고-영광-이","그리고-영광과","그리고-영광을","그리고-영광이","영광","영광-을","영광을","영광이","영광이니라"]·PT["Honra","e-a-honra","e-honra","honra"]·RU["Славу","и-почёт","и-славу","и-славы","и-честь","и-честь,","и-честь.","и-честью","честь","честью"]·ES["Honor","gloria","honor","honra","y-gloria","y-honor","y-honra","y-la-honra"]·SW["Heshima","heshima","na-heshima","wkabwod"]·TR["onur","onurdur","onuru","onurun","ve-onur","ve-seref","ve-şeref"]·urd["اور-عزت","اور-عزّت","عزت","عزت-سے"]
Num 24:11, 1 Chr 17:18, 1 Chr 29:12, 1 Chr 29:28, 2 Chr 1:11, 2 Chr 1:12, 2 Chr 17:5, 2 Chr 18:1, 2 Chr 26:18, 2 Chr 32:27, 2 Chr 32:33, Prov 3:16 (+14 more)
3. wealth, abundance — Material wealth, riches, and abundance — a small but etymologically significant sense appearing clearly in Gen 31:1 (Jacob took all Laban's kavod) and Nah 2:9 (the plundering of Nineveh's kavod). Here the 'heaviness' metaphor is most concrete: kavod is the sheer mass of possessions. French richesse and the Arabic rendering tharvah ('wealth') confirm this as a genuinely distinct sense from 'honor' or 'glory.' It represents the oldest, most physical layer of the root's meaning. 2×
AR["الْ-كَرامَةِ","مَجْدٌ"]·ben["-ঐশ্বর্য","গৌরব-"]·DE["die-Ehre","ehrte"]·EN["glory","the-wealth"]·FR["gloire","le-richesse"]·heb["ה-כבוד","כבוד"]·HI["वैभव","शान"]·ID["kekayaan","kemuliaan"]·IT["come-lino","il-ricchezza"]·jav["kamulyaan","kamulyan"]·KO["그-부를","영광-이"]·PT["a-glória","glória"]·RU["-богатство","слава"]·ES["abundancia","la-gloria"]·SW["utajiri"]·TR["-zenginliği","şan"]·urd["جلال","دولت"]
4. sense 4 — Personal honor or inner dignity in a poetic/tribal context. In Gen 49:6 Jacob's blessing declares 'let my kavod not enter their assembly,' referring to his personal honor or life-force. The feminine form used here (unique in the corpus) and the parallelism with nephesh ('soul') suggest kavod functions as a near-synonym for one's essential self or reputation. Spanish mi honra, French mon gloire, and German meine Ehre all capture this reflexive, personal dimension of the word. 1×
AR["كَرَامَتِي"]·ben["আমার-গৌরব"]·DE["meine-Ehre"]·EN["glory-my"]·FR["gloire-mon"]·heb["כבוד-י"]·HI["आत्मा-मेरी"]·ID["kemuliaanku"]·IT["gloria-mio"]·jav["kamulyan-kula"]·KO["나의-영광이여"]·PT["minha-glória"]·RU["слава-моя"]·ES["mi-honra"]·SW["wangu-ukubwa"]·TR["onurum"]·urd["عزت-میری"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. כָּבוֹד n.m. Is 60:1 and †f. Gn 49:6 abundance, honour, glory;—כ׳ Jos 7:19 + 70 times; כָּבֹד Gn 31:1 Na 2:10; cstr. כְּבוֹד Ex 16:7 + 62 times; כְּבֹד Pr 25:2(×2); sf. כְּבוֹדִי Gn 45:13 + 17 times; כְּבֹדִי Gn 49:6 + 3 times; + 40 times sfs.— 1. abundance, riches Gn 31:1 (J), Is 10:3; 61:6; 66:11, 12 Na 2:10 ψ 49:17, 18. 2. honour, splendour, glory, of external condition and…