Hod (Hebrew)

For Hod as used in Kabbalah see: Hod (Kabbalah).

For other meanings, see Hod (disambiguation).

Hod הוד is the Hebrew word for "majesty" or "splendor" or "glory".

Hod and hodu in the Hebrew Bible

A search [1] for the number of times the Hebrew word hod הוד is used in the Hebrew Bible, shows that it is found at least twenty five times, and a search [2] for the word hodu הוֹדוּ and hodo shows that it is found thirty eight times in various contexts in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh).

Hod in the prayers

When one recites the Hallel prayer (derived from the Book of Psalms) on certain Jewish holidays, there is a climactic verse that is repeated a few times by the hazzan and congregants in synagogue: hodu lashem ki tov הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי-טוֹב "Gives praise to God..." (Psalms 118:29 [3] ) where the word Hodu denotes "giving praise" to "His Majesty" who is God.

Hod in the Kabbalah

In the Kabbalah of Judaism, Hod is also the name for one of the Sefirot (the divine "enumerations" or "emanations") of God.

Hodu is India

In Hebrew, the nation of India is known as Hodu הוֹדוּ . In the scroll of Esther the first verse of chapter one describes the King Ahasuerus as ruling a Persian Empire stretching from Hodu ("India") to Cush ("Africa"): הַמֹּלֵךְ מֵהֹדּוּ וְעַד-כּוּשׁ (Esther 1:1 [4] ).

Tarnegol Hodu: Turkey bird

A turkey (bird) is called a tarnegol hodu ("chicken [of] 'India'"), perhaps because it was brought from the Americas and its association with North America's Native Americans who were also called "Indians".