Exodus 33:17-23

33:17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have requested, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know ¹  you by name.”

33:18 And Moses ²  said, “Show me your glory.” ³ 

33:19 And the Lord ⁴  said, “I will make all my goodness ⁵  pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name ⁶  before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” ⁷  33:20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for no one can ⁸  see me and live.” ⁹  33:21 The Lord said, “Here ¹⁰  is a place by me; you will station yourself ¹¹  on a rock. 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and will cover ¹²  you with my hand ¹³  while I pass by. ¹⁴  33:23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back, ¹⁵  but my face must not be seen.” ¹⁶ 

Psalms 62:2-3

62:2 He alone is my protector ¹⁷  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ¹⁸  I will not be upended. ¹⁹ 

62:3 How long will you threaten ²⁰  a man?

All of you are murderers, ²¹ 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ²² 

Psalms 84:10

84:10 Certainly ²³  spending just one day in your temple courts is better

than spending a thousand elsewhere. ²⁴ 

I would rather stand at the entrance ²⁵  to the temple of my God

than live ²⁶  in the tents of the wicked.

John 14:8-9

14:8 Philip said, ²⁷  “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content.” ²⁸  14:9 Jesus replied, ²⁹  “Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known ³⁰  me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 14:21-23

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ³¹  them is the one who loves me. ³²  The one ³³  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ³⁴  myself to him.”

14:22 “Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) ³⁵  said, ³⁶  “what has happened that you are going to reveal ³⁷  yourself to us and not to the world?” 14:23 Jesus replied, ³⁸  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ³⁹  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ⁴⁰ 

Philippians 1:23

1:23 I feel torn between the two, ⁴¹  because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ⁴²  and Timothy, slaves ⁴³  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ⁴⁴  with the overseers ⁴⁵  and deacons.

Philippians 3:2

3:2 Beware of the dogs, ⁴⁶  beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ⁴⁷ 

Revelation 22:3-4

22:3 And there will no longer be any curse, ⁴⁸  and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. ⁴⁹  His ⁵⁰  servants ⁵¹  will worship ⁵²  him, 22:4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

[33:17]  ¹ tn The verb in this place is a preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive, judging from the pointing. It then follows in sequence the verb “you have found favor,” meaning you stand in that favor, and so it means “I have known you” and still do (equal to the present perfect). The emphasis, however, is on the results of the action, and so “I know you.”

[33:18]  ² tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:18]  ³ sn Moses now wanted to see the glory of Yahweh, more than what he had already seen and experienced. He wanted to see God in all his majesty. The LXX chose to translate this without a word for “glory” or “honor”; instead they used the pronoun seautou, “yourself” – show me the real You. God tells him that he cannot see it fully, but in part. It will be enough for Moses to disclose to him the reality of the divine presence as well as God’s moral nature. It would be impossible for Moses to comprehend all of the nature of God, for there is a boundary between God and man. But God would let him see his goodness, the sum of his nature, pass by in a flash. B. Jacob (Exodus, 972) says that the glory refers to God’s majesty, might, and glory, as manifested in nature, in his providence, his laws, and his judgments. He adds that this glory should and would be made visible to man – that was its purpose in the world.

[33:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:19]  ⁵ sn The word “goodness” refers to the divine appearance in summary fashion.

[33:19]  ⁶ tn The expression “make proclamation in the name of Yahweh” (here a perfect tense with vav [ו] consecutive for future) means to declare, reveal, or otherwise make proclamation of who Yahweh is. The “name of Yahweh” (rendered “the name of the Lord” throughout) refers to his divine attributes revealed to his people, either in word or deed. What will be focused on first will be his grace and compassion.

[33:19]  ⁷ sn God declares his mercy and grace in similar terms to his earlier self-revelation (“I am that I am”): “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” In other words, the grace and mercy of God are bound up in his own will. Obviously, in this passage the recipients of that favor are the penitent Israelites who were forgiven through Moses’ intercession. The two words are at the heart of God’s dealings with people. The first is חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious, show favor”). It means to grant favor or grace to someone, grace meaning unmerited favor. All of God’s dealings are gracious, but especially in forgiving sins and granting salvation it is critical. Parallel to this is רָחַם (rakham), a word that means “show compassion, tender mercy.” It is a word that is related to the noun “womb,” the connection being in providing care and protection for that which is helpless and dependent – a motherly quality. In both of these constructions the verbs simply express what God will do, without explaining why. See further, J. R. Lundbom, “God’s Use of the Idem per idem to Terminate Debate,” HTR 71 (1978): 193-201; and J. Piper, “Prolegomena to Understanding Romans 9:14-15: An Interpretation of Exodus 33:19,” JETS 22 (1979): 203-16.

[33:20]  ⁸ tn In view of the use of the verb “can, be able to” in the first clause, this imperfect tense is given a potential nuance.

[33:20]  ⁹ tn Gesenius notes that sometimes a negative statement takes the place of a conditional clause; here it is equal to “if a man sees me he does not live” (GKC 498 §159.gg). The other passages that teach this are Gen 32:30; Deut 4:33, 5:24, 26; Judg 6:22, 13:22, and Isa 6:5.

[33:21]  ¹⁰ tn The deictic particle is used here simply to call attention to a place of God’s knowing and choosing.

[33:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and you will,” or interpretively, “where you will.”

[33:22]  ¹² sn Note the use in Exod 40:3, “and you will screen the ark with the curtain.” The glory is covered, veiled from being seen.

[33:22]  ¹³ tn The circumstantial clause is simply, “my hand [being] over you.” This protecting hand of Yahweh represents a fairly common theme in the Bible.

[33:22]  ¹⁴ tn The construction has a preposition with an infinitive construct and a suffix: “while [or until] I pass by” (Heb “in the passing by of me”).

[33:23]  ¹⁵ tn The plural “my backs” is according to Gesenius an extension plural (compare “face,” a dual in Hebrew). The word denotes a locality in general, but that is composed of numerous parts (see GKC 397 §124.b). W. C. Kaiser says that since God is a spirit, the meaning of this word could just as easily be rendered “after effects” of his presence (“Exodus,” EBC 2:484). As S. R. Driver says, though, while this may indicate just the “afterglow” that he leaves behind him, it was enough to suggest what the full brilliancy of his presence must be (Exodus, 363; see also Job 26:14).

[33:23]  ¹⁶ tn The Niphal imperfect could simply be rendered “will not be seen,” but given the emphasis of the preceding verses, it is more binding than that, and so a negated obligatory imperfect fits better: “it must not be seen.” It would also be possible to render it with a potential imperfect tense: “it cannot be seen.”

[62:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[62:3]  ²⁰ tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”

[62:3]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.

[62:3]  ²² tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).

[84:10]  ²³ tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).

[84:10]  ²⁶ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.

[14:8]  ²⁷ tn Grk “said to him.”

[14:8]  ²⁸ tn Or “and that is enough for us.”

[14:9]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[14:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “recognized.”

[14:21]  ³¹ tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ³² tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ³³ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ³⁴ tn Or “will disclose.”

[14:22]  ³⁵ tn Grk “(not Iscariot).” The proper noun (Judas) has been repeated for clarity and smoothness in English style.

[14:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “said to him.”

[14:22]  ³⁷ tn Or “disclose.”

[14:23]  ³⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ³⁹ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[1:23]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.

[1:1]  ⁴² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴³ tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴⁴ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ⁴⁵ sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[3:2]  ⁴⁶ sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.

[3:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “be anything accursed” (L&N 33.474).

[22:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “city, and his.” Although this is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, a new sentence was started here in the translation because of the introduction of the Lamb’s followers.

[22:3]  ⁵¹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[22:3]  ⁵² tn Or “will serve.”