As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he spoke with the Lord. 30 When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him. 31 Only after Moses called to them did Aaron and all the leaders of the community come back to him. Moses then spoke to them. 32 Later, all the Israelites came up to him, and he enjoined on them all that the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses entered the presence of the Lord to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out again. On coming out, he would tell the Israelites all that he had been commanded. 35 Then the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.
Moses descends from Mount Sinai after receiving the renewed tablets of the covenant, and his face is radiant because he has been in the presence of God. This transformation is so striking that the Israelites fear approaching him, leading him to wear a veil when not directly conveying God's message.
Moses' radiant face symbolizes the transformative effect of encountering God’s glory. His proximity to God imparts a visible sign of divine presence, prefiguring how communion with God brings about spiritual transformation; "Look to him and be radiant, and your faces may not blush for shame" (Ps. 34:6). His shining face reflects God's own glory, which in the Old Testament is often associated with divine majesty and holiness (Ex. 24:16–17; 2 Cor. 3:7–18).
Moses' shining face foreshadows Jesus’ Transfiguration, where Christ’s face "shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light" (Mt. 17:2). Unlike Moses, who merely reflected the divine presence, Jesus reveals the fullness of God’s glory because He is the eternal Son. As Hebrews 1:3 states, Christ is "the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being." The Transfiguration fulfills and surpasses the Sinai theophany. At Sinai, God’s glory was hidden in a cloud and revealed only partially through Moses. At the Transfiguration, Jesus unveils His divine glory in its fullness, no longer veiled but radiating from His very being. Jesus is not merely a mediator like Moses, but the divine Son who manifests God's presence directly (John 1:14; Heb. 1:3). The presence of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration further reinforces the connection between the Law (Moses), the Prophets (Elijah), and their fulfillment in Christ.
Moses’ radiant face signifies how God's covenant illuminates His people, yet remains veiled due to their hardness of heart (2 Cor. 3:13–16). Paul later contrasts Moses' veiling with the full revelation in Christ, stating that believers, through Christ, behold God’s glory unveiled and are transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18). This reflects God's plan to bring humanity into communion with Himself through Christ, who removes the veil of sin and enables direct access to the Father (Heb. 10:19–22).
Moses' radiance foreshadows how the new covenant in Christ will fully reveal God's glory and transform believers. Just as Moses descended from Sinai with the Law that guided Israel, Christ, the new Moses, brings not just a law but the fullness of divine truth and grace, making direct communion with God possible (John 1:17; Heb. 9:15)
Almighty God, You revealed Your glory to Moses on Mount Sinai and made his face radiant with Your presence. In the fullness of time, You unveiled Your divine splendor in Jesus Christ at His Transfiguration. Open our hearts to behold Your glory, that we may be transformed into the image of Your Son. Remove the veil from our eyes, and lead us ever closer to You. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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