John 16:25

16:25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; ¹  a time ²  is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you ³  plainly ⁴  about the Father.

Exodus 33:18-23

33:18 And Moses ⁵  said, “Show me your glory.” ⁶ 

33:19 And the Lord ⁷  said, “I will make all my goodness ⁸  pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name ⁹  before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” ¹⁰  33:20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for no one can ¹¹  see me and live.” ¹²  33:21 The Lord said, “Here ¹³  is a place by me; you will station yourself ¹⁴  on a rock. 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and will cover ¹⁵  you with my hand ¹⁶  while I pass by. ¹⁷  33:23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back, ¹⁸  but my face must not be seen.” ¹⁹ 

Exodus 34:5-7

34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. ²⁰  34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ²¹  “The Lord, the Lord, ²²  the compassionate and gracious ²³  God, slow to anger, ²⁴  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ²⁵  34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ²⁶  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ²⁷  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Job 33:26

33:26 He entreats God, and God ²⁸  delights in him,

he sees God’s face ²⁹  with rejoicing,

and God ³⁰  restores to him his righteousness. ³¹ 

Psalms 17:15

17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; ³² 

when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. ³³ 

Psalms 63:2

63:2 Yes, ³⁴  in the sanctuary I have seen you, ³⁵ 

and witnessed ³⁶  your power and splendor.

Matthew 5:8

5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Revelation 22:3-5

22:3 And there will no longer be any curse, ³⁷  and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. ³⁸  His ³⁹  servants ⁴⁰  will worship ⁴¹  him, 22:4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 22:5 Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

[16:25]  ¹ tn Or “in parables”; or “in metaphors.” There is some difficulty in defining παροιμίαις (paroimiai") precisely: A translation like “parables” does not convey accurately the meaning. BDAG 779-80 s.v. παροιμία suggests in general “proverb, saw, maxim,” but for Johannine usage “veiled saying, figure of speech, in which esp. lofty ideas are concealed.” In the preceding context of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus has certainly used obscure language and imagery at times: John 13:8-11; 13:16; 15:1-17; and 16:21 could all be given as examples. In the LXX this word is used to translate the Hebrew mashal which covers a wide range of figurative speech, often containing obscure or enigmatic elements.

[16:25]  ² tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:25]  ³ tn Or “inform you.”

[16:25]  ⁴ tn Or “openly.”

[33:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:18]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:19]  ⁸ sn The word “goodness” refers to the divine appearance in summary fashion.

[33:19]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn The deictic particle is used here simply to call attention to a place of God’s knowing and choosing.

[33:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and you will,” or interpretively, “where you will.”

[33:22]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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.”

[34:5]  ²⁰ tn Some commentaries wish to make Moses the subject of the second and the third verbs, the first because he was told to stand there and this verb suggests he did it, and the last because it sounds like he was worshiping Yahweh (cf. NASB). But it is clear from v. 6 that Yahweh was the subject of the last clause of v. 5 – v. 6 tells how he did it. So if Yahweh is the subject of the first and last clauses of v. 5, it seems simpler that he also be the subject of the second. Moses took his stand there, but God stood by him (B. Jacob, Exodus, 981; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 439). There is no reason to make Moses the subject in any of the verbs of v. 5.

[34:6]  ²¹ tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.

[34:6]  ²² sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.

[34:6]  ²³ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ²⁴ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ²⁵ sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.

[34:7]  ²⁶ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

[34:7]  ²⁷ sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

[33:26]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ²⁹ tn Heb “his face”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ³¹ tc Many commentators think this line is superfluous and so delete it. The RSV changed the verb to “he recounts,” making the idea that the man publishes the news of his victory or salvation (taking “righteousness” as a metonymy of cause).

[17:15]  ³² tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”

[17:15]  ³³ tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.

[63:2]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

[63:2]  ³⁵ tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

[63:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[22:3]  ³⁷ tn Or “be anything accursed” (L&N 33.474).

[22:3]  ³⁸ tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:3]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[22:3]  ⁴¹ tn Or “will serve.”