Doxa
A. The noun doxa (do/ca) has the following cognates:
1. Dokeo (dokew) (verb), “to think, believe, to appear, to have the appearance”
2. Doxazo (doxazw) (verb), “to ascribe glory to, to honor, to praise, to glorify”
3. Sundoxazo (sundoxazw) (verb), “to be glorified with, to share glory with”
4. Endoxos (endoco$ ) (adjective), “honored, highly esteemed, glorious, splendid”
5. Endoxazo (endoxazw) (verb), “to glorify, to honor”
B. Classical
1. Liddel and Scott list the following meanings (Greek-English Lexicon, New Edition, page 444):
a. Expectation
b. Notion, opinion, judgement
c. The opinion which others have of one, estimation, repute
d. Of external appearance, glory, spendour; magnificance, celestial beatitude; illustrious persons,
dignities
2. The noun doxa was found in the writings of Homer and the historian Herodotus.
3. It is derived from the verb dokeo meaning “to think, to believe.”
4. The sense of the noun became “belief, opinion,’ and later “reputation.”
5. The subjective sense can be applied in many ways.
6. It may imply “expectation” (Homer Iliad, 10, 324; Odyssey 11, 344; Xenophon Anabasis II, 1, 18), but it
may equally well imply the “opinion” or “view which I represent” (Xenophon Vect. 5, 2).
7. In this sense the term becomes a philosophical catchword for a “philosophical opinion,” whether sound or
unsound, true or false (Plato Phileb. 36c; Plato Theaet, 187b).
8. Since dokeo usually denotes “good standing,” the objective sense is mostly used favorably for “reputation”
or “renown” (Demosthenes Or. 2, 15).
C. LXX
1. The LXX records doxa 450 times translating 25 different words in the Hebrew.
2. In the majority of these occurrences doxa corresponds to the Hebrew kavodh (dobk), “glory” (Ex. 40:34;
Psa. 3:3; Ez. 3:12).
3. The term kavodh originally meant “that which makes something heavy, heaviness, weight, dignity.”
4. It rapidly acquired the meaning of “honor, splendor, power.”
5. This has become the principle definition in the OT (Gen. 45:13; Ex. 16:10; Lev. 9:6, 23).
6. Moses asked the Lord to see His glory and the Lord responded with a description of what His glory entails
in Exodus 33:18-19, “Then Moses said, ‘I pray You show me your glory!’ And He (the Lord) said, ‘I
Myself will make all my goodness (divine perfection) pass before you, and will proclaim the Person of
the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I wil be gracious, and will show compassion on
whom I will show compassion.’”
7. The Lord goes on to say in Exodus 34:6-7a, “Then the Lord passed by in front of him (Moses) and
proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding
grace and doctrine; Who keeps grace for thousands, Who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin.”
8. Doxa is used for the character and nature of God, His perfect integrity.
9. It refers to Who and What God is and His modus operandi.
10. It also was used in the OT for the Shekinah Glory or the visible presence of the Lord in Israel in both the
Tabernacle and the Temple (Ex. 29:42; 40:34; 1 Kings 8:11; 1 Chron. 5:14; 7:1; Isa. 6:3; Ezek. 1:28).
11. The glory was also manifested ultimately in the Person and Finished Work of Jesus Christ in hypostatic
union during the 1st Advent (Matt. 17:2-5; John 1:14; 1 Cor. 11:7; 2 Cor. 4:4, 6; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 19:1,
7)!
12. Doxa refers to the visible manifestation of the perfect character and integrity and grace policy of God
towards all mankind.
13. It refers to His perfect reputation and character.
14. Kavodh also functions in a secular sense for whatever gives an individual “honor, prestige, reputation,” or
“influence.”
15. In these cases the term(s) may refer to the doxa of men rather than God.
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16. If in relation to man kavodh denotes that which makes him impressive and demands recognition, whether in
terms of material possessions or striking gravitas, in relation to God it implies that which makes God
impressive to man, the force of His self-manifestation.
17. As everywhere attested in the OT, God is intrinsically invisible.
18. Here, and in biblical and biblically influenced Greek as a whole, we hardly ever find doxa used for opinion.
19. Kavodh cannot bear such a sense, and it is extremely rare for doxa in the Bible.
20. The meaning of “glory or honor ascribed to someone, reputation” for doxa is very rarely found in the OT
books.
21. Since kavodh can have the sense of “power, splendor, human glory,” doxa takes on the same meaning.
22. The primary meaning of the LXX word, however, does not emerge except with reference to God.
23. The term speaks of one thing.
24. God’s power is an expression of the “divine nature,” and the honour ascribed to God by man is finally no
other than an affirmation of this nature.
25. The doxa theou is the “divine glory” which reveals the nature of God in creation and in His acts, which fill
both heaven and earth.
D. NT Usage
1. The noun doxa was used for the both the glory of the Father and the Son in the NT where it is employed
168 times.
2. The glory of God is revealed through creation (Matt. 6:29; Luke 12:27; Rom. 1:29).
3. The glory of God is also revealed in and through believers (John 17:22; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 1:18; 3:16;
Col. 1:11, 27; 2 Pet. 1:3, 7, 11; Heb. 2:10).
4. The divine motive is for His own glory, not for self-praise.
5. This is not arrogance for it is perfectly compatible with God’s infinite attributes.
6. God recognizes His glory, and He claims all glory in the interest of absolute truth.
7. All things exist for the glory of God (Ex. 33:18; Psa. 19:1; Isa. 6:3; Matt. 6:13; Acts 7:2; Rom. 1:23;
9:23; Heb. 1:3; 1 Pet. 4:14)!
8. God’s glory was before all creation (John 17:5), and it will exist after human history as it did before!
9. The Finished Work of the humanity of Christ on the cross expressed the glory of God.
10. The resurrection, ascension and session expressed the glory of God.
11. Kittel lists the following applications of the word in the NT (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,
volume 2, pages 247-252):
a. Divine mod of being
b. Jesus
c. Believer
d. Angels
12. Aalen lists the following applications of the word in the NT (The New International Dictionary of the New
Testament, volume 2, page 46):
a. Glory, majesty and power of God
b. Christ’s earthly life
c. Christ’s exalted existence
d. Christ’s 2nd Advent
e. Christ’s pre-existence
f. All-embracing epithet
g. Angels
h. Believers
i. Christian Hope
13. Louw and Nida list the following NT meanings (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on
Semantic Domains, volume 2):
a. The quality of splendid, remarkable appearance – ‘glory, splendor’ (page 696).
b. The state of brightness or shining – ‘brightness, shining, radiance’ (page 175).
c. A manifestation of power characterized by glory – ‘glorious power, amazing might’ (page 682).
d. To speak of something as being unusually fine and deserving honor – ‘to praise, to glorify, praise’
(page 430).
e. Honor as an element in the assignment of status to a person – ‘honor, respect, status’ (page 734).
f. A state of being great and wonderful – ‘greatness, glory’ (page 736).
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14. Bauer, Gingrich and Danker list the following (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other
Early Christian Literature pages 203-204):
a. Brightness, splendor, radiance
b. Magnificence, splendor, anything that catches the eye
c. Fame, renown, honor
d. Of angelic beings
15. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, “doxa, "glory" (from dokeo, "to seem"), primarily
signifies an opinion, estimate, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion. It is used (I) (a) of the
nature and acts of God in self-manifestation, i. e., what He essentially is and does, as exhibited in whatever
way he reveals Himself in these respects, and particularly in the person of Christ, in whom essentially His
"glory" has ever shone forth and ever will do, (John 17:5,24; Heb. 1:3); it was exhibited in the character
and acts of Christ in the days of His flesh, (John 1:14; John 2:11); at Cana both His grace and His power
were manifested, and these constituted His "glory", so also in the resurrection of Lazarus (11:4,40); the
"glory" of God was exhibited in the resurrection of Christ, (Rom. 6:4), and in His ascension and exaltation,
(1 Pet. 1:21), likewise on the Mount of Transfiguration, (2 Pet. 1:17). In (Rom. 1:23) His "everlasting
power and Divinity" are spoken of as His "glory," i. e., His attributes and power as revealed through
creation; in (Rom. 3:23) the word denotes the manifested perfection of His character, especially His
righteousness, of which all men fall short; in (Col. 1:11) "the might of His glory" signifies the might which
is characteristic of His "glory"; in (Eph. 1:6,12,14), "the praise of the glory of His grace" and "the praise of
His glory" signify the due acknowledgement of the exhibition of His attributes and ways; in (Eph. 1:17),
"the Father of glory" describes Him as the source from whom all divine splendor and perfection proceed in
their manifestation, and to whom they belong; (b) of the character and ways of God as exhibited through
Christ to and through believers, (2 Cor. 3:18) and (4:6); (c) of the state of blessedness into which believers
are to enter hereafter through being brought into the likeness of Christ, e. g., (Rom. 8:18,21; Phil. 3:21)
(RV, "the body of His glory"); (1 Pet. 5:1,10; Rev. 21:11); (d) brightness or splendor, (1) supernatural,
emanating from God (as in the shekinah "glory," in the pillar of cloud and in the Holy of Holies, e. g.,
(Exod. 16:10; 25:22)), (Luke 2:9; Acts 22:11; Rom. 9:4; 2 Cor. 3:7; Jas. 2:1); in (Titus 2:13) it is used of
Christ's return, "the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (RV); cf. (Phil. 3:21),
above; (2) natural, as of the heavenly bodies, (1 Cor. 15:40,41); (II) of good reputation, praise, honor,
(Luke 14:10) (RV, "glory," for KJV, "worship"); (John 5:41) (RV, "glory," for KJV, "honor"); (7:18; 8:50;
12:43) (RV, "glory," for KJV, "praise"); (2 Cor. 6:8) (RV, "glory," for KJV "honor"); (Phil. 3:19; Heb.
3:3); in (1 Cor. 11:7), of man as representing the authority of God, and of woman as rendering conspicuous
the authority of man; in (1 Thes. 2:6), "glory" probably stands, by metonymy, for material gifts, an
honorarium, since in human estimation "glory" is usually expressed in things material. The word is used in
ascriptions of praise to God, e. g.. (Luke 17:18; John 9:24), RV, "glory" (KJV, "praise"); (Acts 12:23); as in
doxologies (lit., "glory-words"), e. g., (Luke 2:14; Rom. 11:36; 16:27; Gal. 1:5; Rev. 1:6).”
16. The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon (pages 155-156):
a. Opinion, judgement, view
b. Opinion, estimate, whether good or bad, concerning someone; in prof. Writ. Generally one, and as
resulting from that, praise, honor, glory
c. Splendor, brightness; magnficence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace; majesty; a most glorious
condition, most exalted state
17. The Analytical Greek Lexicion Revised lists the following (page 104):
a. A seeming; appearance; a notion, imagination, opinion; the opinion which obtains respecting one;
reputation, credit, honor, glory
b. Honorable consideration
c. Praise, glorification, honor
d. Dignity, majesty
e. A glorious manifestation, glorious working
f. Dignitaries
g. Glorification in a future state of bliss
h. Pride, ornament
i. Splendid array, pomp, magnificence
j. Radiance, dazzling lustre
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