And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mountain, Moses didn’t know that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.
- NASB And it came about, when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.
- NLT When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.
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
Coming down Sinai with the tablets, Moses' face shines from being with God, though he himself is unaware.
Overview
Prolonged communion with God left a visible radiance on Moses' face, a reflected glory he did not even notice. This sign confirmed Moses as God's mediator and the Law as truly from heaven. Paul contrasts this fading glory with the surpassing, lasting glory believers behold in Christ, into whose image they are being transformed (2 Corinthians 3:7-18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Matt 17:2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
- Luke 9:29And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.
- Exod 32:15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
- Rev 1:16He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
- 2 Cor 3:7–9Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,
- 2 Cor 3:13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.
- Rev 10:1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
- Acts 6:15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
- John 5:13But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while the crowd was there.
- Acts 12:9So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.
- Acts 23:5“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”
- Josh 8:14When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city.
- Mark 9:6For they were all so terrified that Peter did not know what else to say.
- Luke 2:49“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
- Judg 16:20Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
- Josh 2:4But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from.
- Exod 16:15When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
- Mark 14:40And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping—for their eyes were heavy. And they did not know what to answer Him.
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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 34:29 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
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