My latest article, “Did God dwell in the second temple? Clarifying the relationship between theophany and temple dwelling,” appears in this month’s Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Here is the article’s abstract:

Unlike the tabernacle or Solomon’s temple, the Bible does not describe the glory cloud of the Lord filling the second temple. This difference has caused many commentators to ask whether God’s presence “dwelled” in the second temple. An accurate answer requires a clarification of what temple dwelling means during the Second Temple period. A broad analysis of temple theology within the biblical and Second Temple literature reveals that the glory cloud relates to theophany, which is only one part of broader “presence” and “dwelling” concepts. The interplay between these concepts and developments in temple theology shifted the meaning of “dwelling.” This shift provided the avenue by which first century Jews could believe that the glory cloud was never manifested and that God still “dwelled” in the second temple. Understanding these beliefs should give interpreters pause when assigning significance to the lack of a cloud theophany in the second temple. In practice, placing more significance on the glory cloud than historically warranted raises other interpretive issues—especially for evangelical interpreters.

The full issue of JETS can be found at: https://www.etsjets.org/JETS_current_non.

Here is a pdf of the full article: JETS_61.4_767-784_Greene