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From: Exodus 34:29-35

Moses’ Shining Face

[29] When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testi-
mony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that
the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. [30] And when
Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone,
and they were afraid to come near him. [31] But Moses called to them; and Aaron
and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with
them. [32] And afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he gave them in
commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. [33] And
when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; [34] but
whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off,
until he came out; and when he came out, and told the people of Israel what he
was commanded, [35] the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin
of Moses’ face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until
he went in to speak with him.

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Commentary:

34:29-35. The account of the events at Sinai ends with Moses in sharp focus,
his face reflecting the glory of God.

“His face shone” (vv. 29,30, 35). The Hebrew word “qaran”, which means “to
shine, to be radiant”, is very similar to “qeren”, which means “horn”. Hence St
Jerome’s translation in the Vulgate: “And his face turned with bright horns”,
which has had its influence on Christian tradition and art. Michelangelo, for ex-
ample, gave his famous statue of Moses two bright lights, one on each side of
his forehead. Anyway, the sacred author’s point is that Moses was transformed
due to the fact that he had been so near God. The veil covering his face empha-
sizes the transcendence of God: not only can the Israelites not see God; they
cannot even look at the face of Moses, his closest intermediary.

St Paul refers to this episode in order to show the radical superiority of the New
Covenant and the meaning of apostolic ministry, for with the coming of Christ all
has been revealed and man has direct access to the Father (cf. 2 Cor 3:7-18).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.