Exodus 34:33
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.
When Moses had finished speaking to them
This phrase marks the conclusion of a significant moment of communication between Moses and the Israelites. The Hebrew root for "speaking" is דָּבַר (dabar), which implies not just casual conversation but authoritative declaration. Moses, as the mediator of God's covenant, conveys divine instructions and revelations. Historically, this moment follows the renewal of the covenant after the Israelites' transgression with the golden calf. It underscores the gravity and solemnity of Moses' role as God's chosen leader and prophet, who speaks with divine authority.

he put a veil over his face
The act of Moses veiling his face is rich with symbolic meaning. The Hebrew word for "veil" is מַסְוֶה (masveh), which suggests a covering or concealment. This action was necessary because Moses' face shone with the glory of God after being in His presence, as described earlier in the chapter. The veil served as a barrier between the divine radiance and the people, who were unable to bear the direct reflection of God's glory. This symbolizes the separation between a holy God and sinful humanity, a theme prevalent throughout Scripture. Theologically, it points to the need for a mediator, which Moses was at that time, and foreshadows the ultimate mediation of Christ, who removes the veil and grants believers direct access to God. Historically, this practice of veiling also reflects ancient Near Eastern customs where sacredness and divine encounters were often veiled or hidden from the common people, emphasizing the holiness and otherness of God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The central figure in this passage, Moses is the leader of the Israelites and the mediator between God and His people. He has just returned from Mount Sinai with the renewed tablets of the covenant.

2. Mount Sinai
The mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. It is a place of divine revelation and covenant renewal.

3. The Israelites
The people of God who are witnessing Moses' radiant face after he has been in the presence of God.

4. The Veil
A physical covering that Moses uses to shield the Israelites from the radiance of his face after speaking with God.

5. The Covenant
The renewed agreement between God and the Israelites, symbolized by the tablets Moses brings down from the mountain.
Teaching Points
The Glory of God
Moses' radiant face is a testament to the glory of God. When we spend time in God's presence, His glory should be reflected in our lives.

The Role of a Mediator
Moses serves as a mediator between God and the Israelites, foreshadowing Christ as our ultimate mediator who brings us into direct relationship with God.

Transformation through Encounter
Just as Moses was transformed by his encounter with God, we too are transformed when we spend time in His presence, allowing His Spirit to work in us.

The Veil and Understanding
The veil symbolizes the limitations of the old covenant. In Christ, the veil is removed, allowing us to see and understand God's glory more fully.

Living in the New Covenant
As believers, we are called to live in the freedom and boldness of the new covenant, reflecting God's glory without a veil.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Moses' use of the veil illustrate the difference between the old and new covenants?

2. In what ways can we reflect God's glory in our daily lives, similar to how Moses' face shone after being in God's presence?

3. How does the concept of a mediator in the Old Testament point to the role of Jesus in the New Testament?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure we are being transformed by our encounters with God?

5. How does understanding the removal of the veil in Christ impact our relationship with God and others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
2 Corinthians 3:13-18
Paul references Moses' veil to contrast the old covenant with the new covenant in Christ, emphasizing the freedom and transformation that comes with the Spirit.

Exodus 34:29-32
These verses provide context for why Moses' face was radiant and why he needed to wear a veil, highlighting the glory of God reflected in Moses.

Matthew 17:1-3
The Transfiguration of Jesus, where His face shone like the sun, parallels Moses' experience and points to Jesus as the greater mediator.
Fellowship with God and its FruitsJ. Urquhart Exodus 34:28-35
A Transfigured SoulJ. Forfar.Exodus 34:29-35
Communion with GodT. Baron.Exodus 34:29-35
Communion with God, and its ResultsJ. Dixon.Exodus 34:29-35
Exhortation to HumilityR. McCheyne.Exodus 34:29-35
Light Reflected from the CrossExodus 34:29-35
Light Through Converse with Spiritual ThingsWeekly PulpitExodus 34:29-35
Moral IlluminationT. G. Selby.Exodus 34:29-35
Moses' Face Shining: a Picture of True GloryHomilistExodus 34:29-35
Moses TransfiguredH. Allon, D. D.Exodus 34:29-35
Moses' VailA. Nevin, D. D.Exodus 34:29-35
The Absence of Self-ConsciousnessExodus 34:29-35
The After-Glow of DevotionG. Kirkham.Exodus 34:29-35
The Divine Glory and its EffectsW. A. Gray.Exodus 34:29-35
The Element of Unconsciousness in CharacterW. M. Taylor, D. D.Exodus 34:29-35
The Highest Excellence is that Which is Least Conscious of ItselfW. M. Taylor, D. D.Exodus 34:29-35
The Law a LightOtto von Gerlach, D. D.Exodus 34:29-35
The Outshining of a Joyful HeartChristian AgeExodus 34:29-35
The Shining FaceJ. L. Elderdice.Exodus 34:29-35
The Shining FaceJ. Orr Exodus 34:29-35
The Shining of Moses' FaceD. Young Exodus 34:29-35
The Vail on Moses' FaceS. Robinson, D. D.Exodus 34:29-35
The Vailed FaceJ. Vaughan, M. A.Exodus 34:29-35
Unconscious BeautyT. T. Shore, M. A.Exodus 34:29-35
People
Aaron, Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Israelites, Jebusites, Moses, Perizzites
Places
Egypt, Mount Sinai, Sinai
Topics
Ended, Face, Finished, Finisheth, Putteth, Speaking, Talk, Till, Vail, Veil
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 34:10-35

     4269   Sinai, Mount

Exodus 34:29-35

     5195   veil

Exodus 34:33-35

     5104   Moses, foreshadower of Christ

Library
Blessed and Tragic Unconsciousness
'... Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.'--EXODUS xxxiv. 29. '... And Samson wist not that the Lord had departed from him.'--JUDGES xvi. 20. The recurrence of the same phrase in two such opposite connections is very striking. Moses, fresh from the mountain of vision, where he had gazed on as much of the glory of God as was accessible to man, caught some gleam of the light which he adoringly beheld; and a strange radiance sat on his face, unseen by himself, but
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

God Proclaiming his Own Name
'The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.'--EXODUS xxxiv. 6. This great event derives additional significance and grandeur from the place in which it stands. It follows the hideous act of idolatry in which the levity and sinfulness of Israel reached their climax. The trumpet of Sinai had hardly ceased to peal, and there in the rocky solitudes, in full view of the mount 'that burned with fire,'
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Jealous God
I. Reverently, let us remember that THE LORD IS EXCEEDINGLY JEALOUS OF HIS DEITY. Our text is coupled with the command--"Thou shalt worship no other God." When the law was thundered from Sinai, the second commandment received force from the divine jealousy--"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863

The Knowledge that God Is, Combined with the Knowledge that He is to be Worshipped.
John iv. 24.--"God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." There are two common notions engraven on the hearts of all men by nature,--that God is, and that he must be worshipped, and these two live and die together, they are clear, or blotted together. According as the apprehension of God is clear, and distinct, and more deeply engraven on the soul, so is this notion of man's duty of worshipping God clear and imprinted on the soul, and whenever the actions
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Nature of the Renderings
From the text we now turn to the renderings, and to the general principles that were followed, both in the Old and in the New Testament. The revision of the English text was in each case subject to the same general rule, viz. "To introduce as few alterations as possible into the Text of the Authorised Version consistently with faithfulness"; but, owing to the great difference between the two languages, the Hebrew and the Greek, the application of the rule was necessarily different, and the results
C. J. Ellicott—Addresses on the Revised Version of Holy Scripture

Elijah's Weakness, and Its Cube
'And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time. 3. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"That the Righteousness of the Law Might be Fulfilled in Us. "
Rom. viii. 4.--"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." God having a great design to declare unto the world both his justice and mercy towards men, he found out this mean most suitable and proportioned unto it, which is here spoken of in the third verse,--to send his own Son to bear the punishment of sin, that the righteousness of the law might be freely and graciously fulfilled in sinners. And, indeed, it was not imaginable by us, how he could declare both in the salvation
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Moses --Making Haste
"Lord, teach us to pray."--Luke xi. 1. "And Moses made haste . . ."--Ex. xxxiv. 8. THIS passage is by far the greatest passage in the whole of the Old Testament. This passage is the parent passage, so to speak, of all the greatest passages of the Old Testament. This passage now open before us, the text and the context, taken together, should never be printed but in letters of gold a finger deep. There is no other passage to be set beside this passage till we come to the opening passages of the New
Alexander Whyte—Lord Teach Us To Pray

The Christian's God
Scripture References: Genesis 1:1; 17:1; Exodus 34:6,7; 20:3-7; Deuteronomy 32:4; 33:27; Isaiah 40:28; 45:21; Psalm 90:2; 145:17; 139:1-12; John 1:1-5; 1:18; 4:23,24; 14:6-11; Matthew 28:19,20; Revelation 4:11; 22:13. WHO IS GOD? How Shall We Think of God?--"Upon the conception that is entertained of God will depend the nature and quality of the religion of any soul or race; and in accordance with the view that is held of God, His nature, His character and His relation to other beings, the spirit
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Jehovah. The "I Am. "
WHEN Moses in the desert beheld the burning bush God answered his question by the revelation of His name as the "I Am." "And God said unto Moses, I am, that I am: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exod. iii:14). He who spake thus out of the bush to Moses was the same who in the fullness of time appeared upon the earth in the form of man. Our Lord Jesus Christ is no less person, than the I AM. If we turn to the fourth Gospel in which the Holy
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The True Manner of Keeping Holy the Lord's Day.
Now the sanctifying of the Sabbath consists in two things--First, In resting from all servile and common business pertaining to our natural life; Secondly, In consecrating that rest wholly to the service of God, and the use of those holy means which belong to our spiritual life. For the First. 1. The servile and common works from which we are to cease are, generally, all civil works, from the least to the greatest (Exod. xxxi. 12, 13, 15, &c.) More particularly-- First, From all the works of our
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

That the Employing Of, and Associating with the Malignant Party, According as is Contained in the Public Resolutions, is Sinful and Unlawful.
That The Employing Of, And Associating With The Malignant Party, According As Is Contained In The Public Resolutions, Is Sinful And Unlawful. If there be in the land a malignant party of power and policy, and the exceptions contained in the Act of Levy do comprehend but few of that party, then there need be no more difficulty to prove, that the present public resolutions and proceedings do import an association and conjunction with a malignant party, than to gather a conclusion from clear premises.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Exercise of Mercy Optional with God.
ROMANS ix. 15.--"For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." This is a part of the description which God himself gave to Moses, of His own nature and attributes. The Hebrew legislator had said to Jehovah: "I beseech thee show me thy glory." He desired a clear understanding of the character of that Great Being, under whose guidance he was commissioned to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. God said to
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

The True Tabernacle, and Its Glory of Grace and Peace
THERE WAS A TIME when God freely communed with men. The voice of the Lord God was heard walking in the garden in the cool of the day. With unfallen Adam the great God dwelt in sweet and intimate fellowship; but sin came and not only destroyed the garden, but destroyed the intercourse of God with His creature man. A great gulf opened between man as evil, and God as infinitely pure; and had it not been for the amazing goodness of the most High, we must all of us forever have been banished from His
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 31: 1885

Because of his Importunity
"I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth."--LUKE xi. 8. "And He spake a parable unto them, to the end, they ought always to pray and not to faint.... Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry to Him day and night, and He is long-suffering with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily."--LUKE xviii. 1-8. Our Lord Jesus
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Formation of the Old Testament Canon
[Sidenote: Israel's literature at the beginning of the fourth century before Christ] Could we have studied the scriptures of the Israelitish race about 400 B.C., we should have classified them under four great divisions: (1) The prophetic writings, represented by the combined early Judean, Ephraimite, and late prophetic or Deuteronomic narratives, and their continuation in Samuel and Kings, together with the earlier and exilic prophecies; (2) the legal, represented by the majority of the Old Testament
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

That Deep Things Ought not to be Preached at all to Weak Souls.
But the preacher should know how to avoid drawing the mind of his hearer beyond its strength, lest, so to speak, the string of the soul, when stretched more than it can bear, should be broken. For all deep things should be covered up before a multitude of hearers, and scarcely opened to a few. For hence the Truth in person says, Who, thinkest thou, is the faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord has appointed over his household, to give them their measure of wheat in due season? (Luke xii. 42).
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Lord of Glory.
1 Cor. ii:8. OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom we shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1 Cor. ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." Eternally He is this because He is "the express image of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. i:3). He possessed Glory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glory was beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Glory and spake of Him"
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Moses the Type of Christ.
"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken."--Deut. xviii. 15. The history of Moses is valuable to Christians, not only as giving us a pattern of fidelity towards God, of great firmness, and great meekness, but also as affording us a type or figure of our Saviour Christ. No prophet arose in Israel like Moses, till Christ came, when the promise in the text was fulfilled--"The Lord thy God," says Moses, "shall
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

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