Exodus 34:29-35

The Radiant Face of Moses

34:29 ¹ Now when Moses came down ²  from Mount Sinai with ³  the two tablets of the testimony in his hand ⁴  – when he came down ⁵  from the mountain, Moses ⁶  did not know that the skin of his face shone ⁷  while he talked with him. 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone; ⁸  and they were afraid to approach him. 34:31 But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and Moses spoke to them. 34:32 After this all the Israelites approached, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 34:33 When Moses finished ⁹  speaking ¹⁰  with them, he would ¹¹  put a veil on his face. 34:34 But when Moses went in ¹²  before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. ¹³  Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded. ¹⁴  34:35 When the Israelites would see ¹⁵  the face of Moses, that ¹⁶  the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 33:17

33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; ¹⁸ 

you will see a wide land. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ²⁰ 

like a root out of parched soil; ²¹ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ²² 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ²³ 

Matthew 17:2

17:2 And he was transfigured before them. ²⁴  His ²⁵  face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Mark 9:2-3

The Transfiguration

9:2 Six days later ²⁶  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, ²⁷  9:3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them.

John 1:14

1:14 Now ²⁸  the Word became flesh ²⁹  and took up residence ³⁰  among us. We ³¹  saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, ³²  full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

Acts 6:15

6:15 All ³³  who were sitting in the council ³⁴  looked intently at Stephen ³⁵  and saw his face was like the face of an angel. ³⁶ 

Philippians 3:7-8

3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! ³⁷  – that I may gain Christ,

Philippians 3:2

3:2 Beware of the dogs, ³⁸  beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³⁹ 

Philippians 1:16-18

1:16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 1:17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment. ⁴⁰  1:18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

Yes, ⁴¹  and I will continue to rejoice,

Revelation 1:13-16

1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. ⁴²  He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt ⁴³  around his chest. 1:14 His ⁴⁴  head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, ⁴⁵  and his eyes were like a fiery ⁴⁶  flame. 1:15 His feet were like polished bronze ⁴⁷  refined ⁴⁸  in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar ⁴⁹  of many waters. 1:16 He held ⁵⁰  seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His ⁵¹  face shone like the sun shining at full strength.

Revelation 20:11

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then ⁵²  I saw a large ⁵³  white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven ⁵⁴  fled ⁵⁵  from his presence, and no place was found for them.

[34:29]  ¹ sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the Lord is reflected differently today, but nonetheless reflected. II. The glory of Yahweh authenticates the message (31-32). III. The authentication of the message must be used cautiously with the weak and immature (33-35).

[34:29]  ² tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).

[34:29]  ³ tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.

[34:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”

[34:29]  ⁵ tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.

[34:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “and Moses.”

[34:29]  ⁷ tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).

[34:30]  ⁸ tn This clause is introduced by the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh); it has the force of pointing to something surprising or sudden.

[34:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Moses finished”; the clause is subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause.

[34:33]  ¹⁰ tn The Piel infinitive construct is the object of the preposition; the whole phrase serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

[34:33]  ¹¹ tn Throughout this section the actions of Moses and the people are frequentative. The text tells what happened regularly.

[34:34]  ¹² tn The construction uses a infinitive construct for the temporal clause; it is prefixed with the temporal preposition: “and in the going in of Moses.”

[34:34]  ¹³ tn The temporal clause begins with the temporal preposition “until,” followed by an infinitive construct with the suffixed subjective genitive.

[34:34]  ¹⁴ tn The form is the Pual imperfect, but since the context demands a past tense here, in fact a past perfect tense, this is probably an old preterite form without a vav consecutive.

[34:35]  ¹⁵ tn Now the perfect tense with vav consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, “Moses returned the veil….”

[34:35]  ¹⁶ tn Verbs of seeing often take two accusatives. Here, the second is the noun clause explaining what it was about the face that they saw.

[34:35]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “with him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”

[33:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.

[53:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ²¹ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ²² tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ²³ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[17:2]  ²⁴ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

[17:2]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[9:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And after six days.”

[9:2]  ²⁷ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

[1:14]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic, the incarnation of the Word. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:14]  ²⁹ tn This looks at the Word incarnate in humility and weakness; the word σάρξ (sarx) does not carry overtones of sinfulness here as it frequently does in Pauline usage. See also John 3:6.

[1:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and tabernacled.”

[1:14]  ³¹ tn Grk “and we saw.”

[1:14]  ³² tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[6:15]  ³³ tn Grk “And all.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[6:15]  ³⁴ tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[6:15]  ³⁵ tn Grk “at him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ³⁶ sn His face was like the face of an angel. This narrative description of Stephen’s face adds to the mood of the passage. He had the appearance of a supernatural, heavenly messenger.

[3:8]  ³⁷ tn The word here translated “dung” was often used in Greek as a vulgar term for fecal matter. As such it would most likely have had a certain shock value for the readers. This may well be Paul’s meaning here, especially since the context is about what the flesh produces.

[3:2]  ³⁸ sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.

[3:2]  ³⁹ tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”

[1:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “thinking to cause trouble to my bonds.”

[1:18]  ⁴¹ tn Or “But.” The conjunction ἀλλά (alla) may be emphatic or contrastive. If the former, the idea may be that Paul will continue rejoicing because of the proclamation of the gospel or because of his imminent release from prison (v. 19); if the latter, Paul is now turning his attention solely to this second reason to rejoice, viz., that he will soon be released from prison. In this latter view the clause should be translated, “But I will also rejoice since I know…”

[1:13]  ⁴² tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Juio" tou anqrwpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).

[1:13]  ⁴³ tn Or “a wide golden sash,” but this would not be diagonal, as some modern sashes are, but horizontal. The Greek term can refer to a wide band of cloth or leather worn on the outside of one’s clothing (L&N 6.178).

[1:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[1:14]  ⁴⁵ tn The clause, “even as white as snow” seems to heighten the preceding clause and is so understood in this ascensive sense (“even”) in the translation.

[1:14]  ⁴⁶ tn The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[1:15]  ⁴⁷ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears nowhere else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 2:18), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 2:18 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[1:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “that has been heated in a furnace until it glows.”

[1:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “sound,” but the idea is closer to the roar of a waterfall or rapids.

[1:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because contemporary English style employs much shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

[1:16]  ⁵¹ tn This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[20:11]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:11]  ⁵³ tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

[20:11]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.

[20:11]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “vanished.”