Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”
Parallel translations
- WEB then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”
- KJV And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
- BSB Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
- NKJV Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
- NASB Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses is permitted to see God's 'back,' but not His face. He receives a real yet limited revelation of God's glory.
Overview
God grants Moses a glimpse of His afterglow, a true revelation suited to human capacity, while withholding the full vision of His face. This anthropomorphic language conveys both nearness and limitation. It reminds us that here we know God truly but partially, awaiting the day when we shall see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 33:20He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.”
- John 1:18No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
- Job 11:7“Can you fathom the mystery of God? Or can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
- 1 Tim 6:16who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
- Job 26:14Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
- 1 Cor 13:12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 33:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.