SPECIAL TOPIC: THE CLOUD

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE CLOUD

This seems to refer to what the rabbis later called the shekinah cloud of glory. The word
shekinah is from the Hebrew root which means “to dwell.” In this wilderness wandering experience it was
a symbol of the personal/physical presence of YHWH (cf. Exod. 16:7; 40:34-38). After the crossing of the Jordan
River under Joshua, the ark of the covenant becomes the symbol for the presence of God, not the cloud.

This phrase seems to imply the fiery presence of YHWH in the pillar was more pronounced than usual
(cf. Exod. 24:17). Usually it was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.