OBVLIOUSLY GREAT

MOSES

Exodus 34:29–35 KJV 1900

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary The Effects of Fellowship with God (34:29–35)

29. Moses did not know. Like John the Baptist (John 1:21) and Paul (1 Tim. 1:15), Moses was unconscious of his own stature. This is true spiritual greatness. Numbers 12:3 rightly describes him as meekest (humblest) of men: here is an instance of it. The skin of his face shone. This very old story contains two unusual linguistic usages, which guarantee its authenticity. The first is the verb translated shone here; ‘shot forth beams’ would be the better translation. Unfortunately, because the cognate noun also means ‘a horn’, the Vulgate mistranslated the verb as ‘having horns’, and so it is that Moses appears in mediaeval works of art as wearing a pair of horns. The second unusual usage is discussed under verse 33.

33. He put a veil on his face. The word for ‘veil’ (masweh) is unknown, except from this passage, but both the context and Jewish traditional interpretation make its meaning clear. It is quite gratuitous, with some modern editors, to translate it as a ‘priest’s mask’ (although such are known from the ancient world), the more so as Moses is acting in a prophetic, not priestly, capacity in this context. The whole story suggests an ad hoc expedient, not a religious ritual.

34. He took the veil off. Moses saw the glory of YHWH with unveiled face (2 Cor. 3:18). So his prayer in Exodus 33:18 (‘show me thy glory’) is answered at last.