Commentary on Exodus 34:29-35

Have you ever wondered why many artistic representations of Moses show two horns painted or sculpted on his forehead? The answer is found in Exodus 34:29–35.

What happened to Moses’ face?

According to Exodus 34:29–35, after spending 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain of Sinai, Moses finally came down carrying the two testimony tablets. Upon looking at Moses’ face, Aaron and the Israelites were afraid. Therefore, they did not come near him. The Hebrew text describes the skin of the face of Moses in an obscure way: “and Moses did not know that his face skin shone [qāran] in his speaking with him” (34:29, 30, 35). Various interpretations have been suggested to explain this ambiguous description.

The first interpretation argues the face of Moses was shining and glorious. Some ancient Greek translations of the Old Testament translate the verb into dedoxastai, “it had become glorified” (in a similar vein, the Peshitta and Targumim render the phrase to mean “shone” or “radiant”).

In addition to these ancient translations, modern interpreters who advocate for this meaning appeal to Habakkuk 3:4 to support their argument. In that verse, the word qarnayim, “two horns,” parallels the words nōgah, “brightness,” and ’ôr, “light” (see also Psalm 22:1). Moses’ face shines as a result of encountering the divine glory. Moses’ shining face makes a glimpse of the divine light and brightness accessible to the people.

The second line of interpretation argues that the verb qāran should be understood in connection to the Hebrew noun qeren “horn,” thus the verb would mean “was horned.” Some ancient Greek and Latin translations of the Old Testament understand the clause to mean “became horned.” Based of these ancient versions and the fact that the hiphil maqrîn appears in Psalm 69:32, some interpreters defend the view that a horn grew out of Moses’ forehead. Other interpreters who follow this perspective suggest that the mask or veil Moses wore had horns on it.

Such an understanding is very curious, given the context of this narrative in which Moses destroys the golden calf. If, indeed, Moses had horns, this might be a criticism of Aaron’s involvement in molding the calf. Moses, who has access to YHWH’s glory, is redirecting the people away from idolatry toward YHWH, the God of their ancestors, who led them out of Egypt. The true prophet-leader points toward the God who is worthy of worship, not a minimized version of God that is manipulated by institutions, religious or political, as was the case with the golden calf (see 1 Kings 12).

A third interpretation is put forth by William Propp, who suggests that the phrase should be translated as “the skin of his face was burnt to the hardness of horn.”¹ Because Moses beheld YHWH (Exodus 33:18–23; 34:5–8) and spoke with YHWH face-to-face (Numbers 12:8; Deuteronomy 34:10), YHWH’s glory, which is like a “consuming fire” (Exodus 24:17), made his skin as hard as a horn. According to Propp, then, this tradition intends to communicate a paradoxical message about Moses: “Exod 34:29–34 describes the lawgiver’s disfigurement on the one hand and immunity on the other. The story honors Moses as the human most intimate with Yahweh, but it also specifies the price he paid.”²

Encountering the divine and the meaning of prophetic authority

Whatever the meaning of the word that describes Moses’ face, what happened to him resulted from speaking with YHWH (34:29). Aaron and the people were afraid of Moses because his face was shining or disfigured, but that fear did not turn into an opportunity for Moses to abuse his authority. He recognized his role as a mediator. Therefore, he called them.

The people drew closer. Moses, then, handed over to them everything that YHWH had commanded him to say (34:31–32). When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil on his face. Whenever he spoke with YHWH, whether on the mountain (34:32) or in the tent (33:11; 34:34), he would lift the veil. Thus, the veil was an instrument to cover Moses’ face only when he was not speaking to God or the people.

The veil is a solution that does not apply to two important occasions, which were likely repeated throughout Moses’ prophetic ministry. He takes the veil off when he speaks to God. This results in renewing his radiant face or hardened skin. Moses also takes the veil off when he speaks to the people. Taken as a metaphor, Moses’ authority relies on the divine encounter, and he cannot hide his face from this God as he did initially at his call in Exodus 3. Furthermore, Moses’ authority also depends on communicating clearly and transparently with the people. They may be terrified of his face, but they need to hear him communicate clearly, not from behind a veil.

The connection between encountering the divine glory and the authority of the word, commandments, or messages revealed through the mediator seems to be the same point in the New Testament passages. In the transfiguration story in Luke 9:28–36 and its reference in 2 Peter 1:16–21, the glory of Jesus is revealed, and his authority is confirmed by the divine voice.

These moments of encountering the divine in this clear way are not the constant experience of the faith community. When the faith community cannot encounter Moses or Jesus directly, they have access to divine revelation in the prophetic words and commandments found in scriptural traditions. The people of God, however, do not just dwell around abstract revelatory words or commandments. They get to work. In Exodus, the people go on to build a Tabernacle that will make the divine presence and guidance in the wilderness accessible (Exodus 35–40). In the New Testament, Jesus and the disciples go on to heal and feed the people (Luke 9:10–43).

The divine presence contains radiance and glory. Yet, given the brokenness of this world, there is also suffering. Thus, Moses’ face was disfigured, and Jesus died on the cross (Luke 9:22, 44). Encountering divine glory and holding prophetic authority are not about hegemony and control over others; communicating the divine will is not about strict commandments that are not life-giving. The prophetic word calls for those who have privileges to suffer for the sake of revealing the divine desire to heal this aching world.

Notes

1. William H. Propp, “The Skin of Moses’ Face—Transfigured or Disfigured?” CBQ 49 (1987): 375–86.
2. Propp, “The Skin of Moses’ Face.”

Bibliography

William H. Propp, “The Skin of Moses’ Face—Transfigured or Disfigured?” CBQ 49 (1987): 375–86.

William H. Propp, Exodus 19–40: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary Anchor Bible Commentary 2A (New York: Doubleday, 2006), 620–23.