Pursuing Veritas

This book review recently appeared in JETS 67.1. My thanks for the editorial team at JETS for providing a review copy.

Show Me Your Glory: The Glory of God in the Old Testament. By Rebecca G.S. Idestrom. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2023, xviii + 326 pp., $44.00 paper.

When Indiana Jones encounters two U.S. Army Intelligence officers in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he shows them a picture of the ark of covenant. In response to a query about what is coming out of the ark, Jones deadpans, “Lightning. Fire. The power of God, or something.” Were Rebecca Idestrom present, I like to imagine that she would have said that the glory of God emanating from the ark. I say this because of Idestrom’s splendid book, Show Me Your Glory, which explores the concept of God’s glory in the Old Testament and demonstrates that the first testament, “presents a rich and multifaceted portrait of the glory of God” (2).

Building from Moses’ prayer in Exodus 33:18 where he asks YHWH to, “Show me your glory,” Idestrom undertakes an exegetical study of the decisive concepts, definitions, and uses of the glory of God in the Old Testament. Using a theologically informed narrative approach, her study does a fine job avoiding both the slippery slope of claiming that everything about God connects to concepts of glory, as well as the pitfall of viewing only specific literary terms or frameworks as indicators that glory was on an ancient author’s mind. Instead, Idestrom employs Mark Boda’s context rich “word views” approach, where the study of words and images allow contemporary readers to enter into ancient narratives and experiences.

The first two chapters of Show Me Your Glory introduce the concept of glory, along with its related nuances, images, and concepts. Idestrom walks through the semantic range and uses of kevod (the most common Hebrew term translated as glory) and related terminology, underscoring how Old Testament authors were unified in their use of glory as oriented toward YHWH, while also stressing the multifaceted nature of how these authors specifically used glory language.

From there, each chapter focuses on how a particular portion of Old Testament communicates about God’s glory. Chapters three and four cover the Pentateuch, first by providing a case by case look at the nine appearances of glory in Exodus and then examining themes of glory in worship, the tabernacle as a location of God’s manifest glory, the appearance of glory language in judgement incidents, and how God’s glory was used as a means of remembering what God has done in the past.

The historical books of 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, and 1-2 Chronicles are covered in chapter five. Here, Idestrom argues that authors employed an increased emphasis on the weightiness and power of God’s glory among His people, reaffirming the centrality of YHWH’s holiness in worship, the ark of covenant, and Solomon’s Temple. Particularly helpful in these chapters is not only Idestrom’s passage by passage exegesis, but also her summaries of concepts found in each canonical book.

Chapter six looks at the Psalms, where the practices of corporate worship and prayer provided the experiential center for an ancient Israelite’s encounter with God’s glory. Thematic looks at YHWH as king and general revelation in the Psalms then give way to chapter seven’s look at how concepts of glory framed Isaiah’s messages of judgement and redemption. In fact, Idestrom highlights how many of the major themes of Isaiah are caught up in language of glory and the revelation of who YHWH truly is for His people.

Chapters eight and nine continue an examination of the prophets. Particularly important for Idestrom is how God’s glory returning to a new temple serves as the climax of Ezekiel, revealing that earlier prophetic messages about judgment would be transformed. The emphasis on God’s glorious revelation of the coming restoration of Jerusalem, the temple, and the people’s relationship with YHWH continues in the chapter on Habakkuk, Haggai, and Zechariah, which also fittingly provides a look forward to promises of God’s glorious future works.

After an extended excursus on the oft untreated question of whether ancient Israelite’s believed God’s glory ever materialized in the second temple, Idestrom ends with a summary of the Old Testament’s multifaceted portrait of God’s glory as presence, reassurance, judgement, revelation of coming redemption, eschatological hope, and more. Although the connection of glory and worship runs throughout most of the Old Testament’s portrayal of God’s glory, Idestrom concludes that no single theme dictates ancient concepts of God’s glory. Rather, authors employed multifaceted ways of speaking about experiences with the grand glory of an immense God.

Overall, Idestrom’s study provides an engaging, exegetically sound, and experientially rich investigation that reveals admirable engagement with ancient sources and major secondary literature. While the specific nature of this study might make its audience rather narrow, pastors, teachers, and theologians exploring concepts of divine glory in the Old Testament or a scriptural theology of glory would be hard pressed to find a better resource.

Likewise, anyone interested in an experiential reading of the Old Testament would benefit from this study for the simple reason that—more than just a commentary style survey of linguistic data—Idestrom writes in a way that invites readers to experientially encounter these passages and the beauty revealed within. Indeed, the heart of this book is an invitation to participate in the story that the Bible reveals about the God of glory. If studying the words and concepts of scripture can be a form of prayer and worship, then this study not only enables us to read about God’s glory in the Old Testament but also prepares us to experience that glory for ourselves. Along with Moses, then, may we read this book with the prayer, “show me your glory” on our lips.