Texts in Conversation
Rabbinic tradition in Pirkei Avot develops the idea of the “Shekinah,” or God's special presence, that was first used in 2 Maccabees 14:35. In that period, it referred to God’s unique presence that was said to live in the Temple.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Maccabees 14:35
Deuterocanon
32 When they declared with oaths that they had no knowledge where the man was whom he sought, 33 he stretched out his right hand toward the sanctuary, and swore this oath: “If you won’t deliver up to me Judas as a prisoner, I will level this temple of God even with the ground, break down the altar, and I will erect here a temple to Dionysus for all to see. 34 And having said this, he departed. But the priests, stretching forth their hands toward heaven, called upon him who always fights for our nation, in these words: 35 “You, O Lord of the universe, who in yourself have need of nothing, were well pleased that a sanctuary of your habitation should be set among us. 36 So now, O holy Lord of all holiness, keep undefiled forever this house that has been recently cleansed.”
Date: 160–63 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Pirkei Avot 3:2
Mishnah
Rabbinic
2 Rabbi Hanina, the vice-high priest, said: pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear it inspires, every man would swallow his neighbor alive. Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradion said: if two sit together and there are no words of Torah spoken between them, this is a session of scorners, as it is said: "he does not sit in the seat of the scornful; rather, the teaching of the Lord is his delight" (Psalms 1:1). But if two sit together and there are words of Torah spoken between them, the Shekhinah dwells among them, as it is said: "then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another, and the Lord listened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and thought upon His name" (Malachi 3:16). This gives scriptural proof only for two; how do we know that even when one person sits and studies Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, fixes his reward? As it is said: "though he sits alone in stillness and meditates, he takes a reward for himself" (Lamentations 3:28).
Date: 190–230 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The term shekhinta, in Hebrew Shekhinah (“dwelling,” “[Divine] presence”), is quite common in the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible (Targumim) and in other parts of rabbinic literature. It originates from the idea of God’s dwelling in a sanctuary, especially the Jerusalem Temple, and is based on longstanding biblical traditions, but the term itself is perhaps first attested in the Greek text of 2 Maccabees 14:35. God’s dwelling, however, was not imagined as limited to the Temple, particularly at times when there was no functioning temple. The Divine presence was attributed also to other contexts, such as a gathering of judges or of small groups of people, not necessarily in a liturgical setting. One of the best-known expressions of this idea is found in Mishnah tractate Avot (3:2), which reads, “But two who are sitting together and there are words of Torah [spoken] between them, the Divine Presence [Shekhinah] rests with them.” This and similar sayings find an interesting analogy in the New Testament: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). Despite the differences, there seem to be profound connections between the different sayings, beyond a common basis in the Hebrew Bible ..."
Joseph Sievers, “‘Where Two or Three . . .’: Shekhinah and Matthew 18:20: Foundations for Jewish-Christian Dialogue and Beyond?” Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture 6.1 (2017): 25–39.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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