  It should be noted, however, that interpretations of exactly what Halevi meant by the very significant term al-amr al-ilahi vary greatly. While there is a general consensus that it signifies experienced aspects of divinity in nature and especially in history, explanations and descriptions range from the very abstract (e.g., “the divine matter,” “the divine thing,” “the divine,” “an aura enveloping the people and land of Israel”) to a wide array of specific instances or manifestations (e.g., “God as such,” “God's will,” “a super-rational faculty in man for prophecy,” “divine light”). In order to clarify and organize the basic connotations of the term in a way that enables us to make sense of all of Halevi's specific usages, it is helpful to distinguish between three distinct yet related connotations originally suggested by Shlomo Pines. He based them on his study of Shiite and Ismaili terminology used in the Kuzari, but they are introduced here because of their direct correlation with Halevi's clearest uses of the term in the first parts of the dialogue.