Word study
Glory
9 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
In brief
The Hebrew kavod comes from a root meaning heavy: weight, worth, honor, and so the visible splendor of God's presence. The Greek doxa is used the same way in the New Testament, both for God's radiance and for honor given to him. The verb doxazō, "glorify," belongs to the same family.
Written and reviewed by our editorial team.
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: glory, glories. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “glory” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- כָּבוֹד kâbôdabundance, honour, glorytranslated this way 130 times of its 198 uses · Strong’s H3519Noun · Translated: glory 124, honor 30, glorious 14, splendor 5Full study and all 188 verses →
Exodus 16:7 and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we, that you should grumble against us?”
Leviticus 9:6 And Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”
- תִּפְאָרָה tiphârâhbeauty, glorytranslated this way 14 times of its 49 uses · Strong’s H8597Noun · Translated: glory 14, splendor 10, glorious 8, beauty 3Full study and all 49 verses →
1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.
Psalm 89:17 For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is exalted.
- צְבִי tsebîbeauty, honourtranslated this way 6 times of its 33 uses · Strong’s H6643Noun · Translated: gazelle 8, glory 6, beautiful 6, gazelles 4Full study and all 32 verses →
2 Samuel 1:19 “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!
Isaiah 24:16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.
- יְקָר yeqârhonourtranslated this way 6 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H3367Noun · Translated: glory 6, honor 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Daniel 2:37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
Daniel 4:30 the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
- הָלַל hâlalshinetranslated this way 5 times of its 165 uses · Strong’s H1984Verb · Translated: praise 65, Hallelujah 24, praised 14, boast 9Full study and all 140 verses →
1 Chronicles 16:10 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Psalm 105:3 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
- כָּבַד kâbadbe heavy, weighty, burdensome, honouredtranslated this way 4 times of its 109 uses · Strong’s H3513Verb · Translated: honor 19, honored 11, heavy 10, hardened 6Full study and all 105 verses →
Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
2 Kings 14:10 You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall— you and Judah with you?”
- פָּאַר pâarbeautify, glorifytranslated this way 3 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s H6286Verb · Translated: glorified 3, honor 2, adorn 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Isaiah 44:23 Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O depths of the earth. Break forth in song, O mountains, you forests and all your trees. For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and revealed His glory in Israel.
Isaiah 49:3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”
- שָׁבַח shâbachsoothe, stilltranslated this way 2 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H7623Verb · Translated: glory 2Full study and all 11 verses →
1 Chronicles 16:35 Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’
Psalm 106:47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.
- הוֹד hôdsplendour, majesty, vigourtranslated this way 2 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s H1935Noun · Translated: splendor 9, majesty 3, glory 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Psalm 8:1 For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.
Habakkuk 3:3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth.
Greek words (New Testament)
- δόξα dóxahonor, renown, glory splendortranslated this way 134 times of its 163 uses · Strong’s G1391Noun · Translated: glory 131, glorious 18, praise 3, splendor 3Full study and all 149 verses →
Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
- δοξάζω doxázōI glorify, honor, bestow glory ontranslated this way 4 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s G1392Verb · Translated: glorified 26, glorify 18, glorifying 4, honored 2Full study and all 53 verses →
Luke 23:47 When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
John 15:8 This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
What the Bible says about glory: passages by topic →
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.