Words · Greek Words · Lesson 2, word 3 of 5
δόξαdoxa
Glory, honour, splendour, the translation of kavod.
Why this word is here. The angels' word at Bethlehem and John's word for what he saw; behind it stands Hebrew kavod throughout the Greek Old Testament.
What it means
Abbott-Smith: in classical Greek, expectation, judgment, opinion; then opinion or estimation in which one is held, repute, in the New Testament always good opinion, hence reputation, praise, honour, glory. In the Greek Old Testament it very frequently renders Hebrew kavod, and that usage imports kavod's content: splendour, majesty, the visible glory of God, as in the tabernacle and Isaiah 6.
So in the New Testament doxa ranges from human honour ('they loved the glory of men', John 12:43) to the glory of God in doxology, the glory of the risen Christ, and the glory believers will share.
Where you meet it
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
Luke 2:14 (BSB)
'Glory (doxa) to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests.' The angels put doxa upward and peace downward in one sentence.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 (BSB)
Anchor verse 'We beheld His glory (doxa), the glory of the one and only Son from the Father.' John reaches for the kavod word deliberately: tent, glory, Exodus echoes.
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11:36 (BSB)
'For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory (doxa) forever! Amen.'
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”
Revelation 4:11 (BSB)
'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory (doxa) and honour and power.' The throne-room liturgy of heaven.
Why it matters
Doxa is the bridge word between the testaments: whatever kavod meant in tabernacle and temple, doxa claims for Jesus and for God's final future. It also disciplines worship language: glory is first God's own splendour and only then the honour creatures return to him, so 'giving God glory' means acknowledging, not supplying.
Watch out
Do not import the classical meaning. A few sermons note that doxa 'really means opinion' and build a point about God's good opinion of us. In classical Greek that sense exists; in the New Testament, under the Septuagint's influence, doxa means honour and glory, and Abbott-Smith says the opinion sense survives only as good opinion, repute. Reading a rare older sense into John 1:14 is the anachronism fallacy.
In this lesson
- euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον): Good news, the gospel of the kingdom and of Christ.
- charis (χάρις): Grace: favour freely given, and the thanks it wakes.
- sarx (σάρξ): Flesh: the body, human nature, or life organised against God.
- pneuma (πνεῦμα): Wind, breath, spirit, above all, the Holy Spirit.
Sources
- Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (1889)
- STEP Bible lexicon data (Abbott-Smith)
- SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)
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