Only he [Moses] speaks to God, and he does so "face-to-face;" as friends speak to each other. All cultic activity takes place before the face of God (see the priestly blessing in Num 6:22-26). But the phrase "face-to-face" expresses a more intimate encounter of a direct and charismatic inspiration. Jacob realizes that he has seen God "face-to-face" only after he physically wrestles with God all night at the Jabbok River (Gen 32:30). Gideon comes to the same realization after his commission by the Messenger of Yahweh (Judg 6:22). Deuteronomy 5:4 attributes the same experience to the Israelite people, stating that they heard God speak the Decalogue to them "face-to-face," which is qualified in the following verse (5:5). It is Moses, however, who most clearly embodies the experience of speaking to God face-to-face, always within the tent of meeting. Deuteronomy 34:10 uses this experience to separate Moses from all other prophets, while Num 12:6-8 provides further commentary on Moses' unique status. God states: "With him [Moses] I speak face-to-face [lit. `mouth-to-mouth'], clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of Yahweh."
Thomas B. Dozeman. Exodus (Eerdmans Critical Commentary) (Kindle Locations 10671-10675). Kindle Edition.
Thomas B. Dozeman. Exodus (Eerdmans Critical Commentary) (Kindle Locations 10669-10671). Kindle Edition.
5 comments:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YKPTP5UFUhIC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=torah+mouth+to+mouth+not+the+same+face+to+face&source=bl&ots=Eq-BD0oyPG&sig=wLgelQ6J4j7bcFqgvCycl1g3w-g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHoOOVq6jZAhXILsAKHZivABAQ6AEIRDAK#v=onepage&q=torah%20mouth%20to%20mouth%20not%20the%20same%20face%20to%20face&f=false
https://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/otesources/02-exodus/text/articles/wessner-ex33face-rq.htm
See the form of Yahweh, very good simply in line with not actually seeing Jehovah himself.
As your posts indicate, much work has gone into explicating this metaphor, face to face/mouth to mouth. Michael Widmer distinguishes speaking "face to face" (Exod 33:11) from seeing "face to face" (Judg 6:22), but in any case, he admonishes us not to "press the language too much" in light of Exod 3:2-6; 33:19-23.
See https://books.google.com/books?id=eR8pBfFa7x4C&pg=PA74&dq=face+to+face+and+mouth+to+mouth+moses&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiissSUxKnZAhUBEWMKHf6NCBsQ6AEIVzAI#v=onepage&q=face%20to%20face%20and%20mouth%20to%20mouth%20moses&f=false
Genesis 18:16-33
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