Numbers 12:8

12:8 With him I will speak face to face, ¹  openly, ²  and not in riddles; and he will see the form ³  of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Genesis 17:3

17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, ⁴  and God said to him, ⁵ 

Genesis 17:22

17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. ⁶ 

Genesis 18:20-22

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ⁸  18:21 that I must go down ⁹  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ¹⁰  If not, ¹¹  I want to know.”

18:22 The two men turned ¹²  and headed ¹³  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 18:33

18:33 The Lord went on his way ¹⁵  when he had finished speaking ¹⁶  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ¹⁷ 

¹ tn The emphasis of the line is clear enough – it begins literally “mouth to mouth” I will speak with him. In human communication this would mean equality of rank, but Moses is certainly not equal in rank with the Lord. And yet God is here stating that Moses has an immediacy and directness with communication with God. It goes beyond the idea of friendship, almost to that of a king’s confidant.

² tn The word מַרְאֶה (mar’eh) refers to what is seen, a vision, an appearance. Here it would have the idea of that which is clearly visible, open, obvious.

³ tn The word “form” (תְּמוּנָה, tÿmunah) means “shape, image, form.” The Greek text took it metaphorically and rendered it “the glory of the Lord.” This line expresses even more the uniqueness of Moses. The elders saw God on one special occasion (Exod 24:10), and the people never (Deut 4:12, 15), but Moses has direct and familiar contact with God.

⁴ tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.

⁵ tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.

⁸ tn Heb “heavy.”

⁹ tn The cohortative indicates the Lord’s resolve.

¹⁰ tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the Lord, who is well aware of the human capacity to sin, finds it hard to believe that anyone could be as bad as the “outcry” against Sodom and Gomorrah suggests.

¹¹ sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.

¹² tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the Lord was the third visitor, who remained behind with Abraham here. The words “from there” are not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹³ tn Heb “went.”

¹⁴ tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the Lord remained standing before Abraham.” This reading is problematic because the phrase “standing before” typically indicates intercession, but the Lord would certainly not be interceding before Abraham.

¹⁵ tn Heb “And the Lord went.”

¹⁶ tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “to his place.”