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Exodus 33 Bible study: Show me your glory
In Hebrew, "presence" in "My presence will go with you" (33:14) is the word for face, the same word as in "You cannot see my face" (33:20). Moses asked, "Please show me your glory" (33:18). John writes of Jesus, "We saw his glory" (John 1:14), and "The only born Son… has declared him" (John 1:18).
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“He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.””
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“Everyone who sought the LORD went out to the Tent of Meeting, outside the camp.”
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What's really going on
The land, without the LORD
After the golden calf, the LORD still tells Moses to go up "to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob" (33:1). "I will send an angel before you" (33:2), and the LORD himself will drive out the nations there: "I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite" (33:2). Then: "but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way" (33:3). He had said the same of them on the mountain: "they are a stiff-necked people" (32:9). "When the people heard this evil news, they mourned; and no one put on his jewelry" (33:4). The land, the angel and the victory were all still promised. Moses would not set out without the LORD: "If your presence doesn’t go with me, don’t carry us up from here" (33:15).
Where it leads to Jesus
We saw his glory
Exodus 33:18leads toJohn 1:14-18
Moses asked, "Please show me your glory" (33:18), and was told, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live" (33:20). John writes of Jesus, "The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). He names Moses: "For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). And he says, "No one has seen God at any time. The only born Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him" (John 1:18). John doesn't cite this chapter, so setting the two side by side is a reading: many hear in John's words an answer to Moses' request; others read them on their own.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Exodus 33
That was a taste
The rest of Exodus 33 is waiting in Favor
- A tent outside the camp
- Moses asked, and asked again
- Paul quotes verse 19
- What happened at the rock
- 9 questions as you read
- 9 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Exodus 33 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
פָּנִיםpanimsay pa-NEEM
Strong's: "the face (as the part that turns)". Brown-Driver-Briggs lists "face" and "presence". This one word runs through the chapter, ten times in the Hebrew. "The LORD spoke to Moses face to face" (33:11) uses it twice. "My presence will go with you" (33:14) and "If your presence doesn’t go with me" (33:15) use it. So do "You cannot see my face" (33:20) and "my face shall not be seen" (33:23). The WEB also renders it "before" (33:2, 33:19) and "surface" (33:16). In Hebrew, the "presence" the LORD promises will go with Moses and the "face" Moses may not see are the same word.
For your group
Exodus 33 Bible study questions
- 1The land, an angel and victory were all still promised, but the LORD would not go up among them (33:1-3), and Moses said, "If your presence doesn’t go with me, don’t carry us up from here" (33:15). What good thing might you be tempted to take without God in it?
- 2The LORD spoke to Moses "as a man speaks to his friend" (33:11), and Moses prayed, "please show me your way, now, that I may know you" (33:13). What does knowing God as a friend look like on an ordinary day for you?
- 3"Everyone who sought the LORD went out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp" (33:7). What would going out to seek the LORD look like in your week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Exodus 33 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home