Exodus 33:11
in Exodus 33Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his minister Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the Tent.
KJV
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 33
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe Lord spake unto Moses face to face - That there was no personal appearance here we may readily conceive; and that the communications made by God to Moses were not by visions, ecstasies, dreams, inward inspirations, or the mediation of angels, is sufficiently evident: we may therefore consider the passage as implying that familiarity and confidence with which the Divine Being treated his servant, and that he spake with him by articulate sounds in his own language, though no shape or similitude was then to be seen.
This site's exposition
face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend
Nine verses further on, the same chapter says thou canst not see my face, and Exodus lets both sentences stand. Numbers 12:8 uses mouth to mouth of this same relationship, and John 1:18 says that no man hath seen God at any time and that the only begotten Son hath declared him. The verse also leaves Joshua inside the tent after Moses goes back to the camp, the same Joshua who led the fighting against Amalek at 17:9.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Fasting these forty days and nights holy Moses too merited to speak with God, to stand and stay with him and to receive the precepts of the law from his hand. For although this human condition prevented him from seeing God, yet the grace of …
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity · Written before 523.
proposed
"But the young man Joshua departed not from the tent, but was there continually in the service of Moses;" and he that was free from going out and coming in among the multitude was especially nigh unto simplicity. If cunning and wickedness are gathered together …
The whole life of the saints and of the blessed, the example of the Lord himself while he was with us in the flesh, are aids to us in this matter. Moses, through long perseverance in fasting and prayer, received the law and heard the words of God, "as a man is inclined to speak to his friend."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But, because he intended speedily to return to the tabernacle of the congregation, he left Joshua there, for it was not fit that the place should be empty, so long as the cloud of glory stood at the door (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
‘SEE, THOU SAYEST UNTO ME: BRING UP THIS PEOPLE.’ This happened on Mount Sinai, when Moses went up there on the nineteenth of Tammuz.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
This took place after what is reported in the section beginning with the words, See, Thou sayest unto me (v.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְדִבֶּ֨ר | vediber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֙ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| פָּנִ֣ים | panim | face | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פָּנִ֔ים | panim | face | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֥ר | yedaber | he speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| רֵעֵ֑הוּ | reehu | companion his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| וְשָׁב֙ | veshav | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וּמְשָׁ֨רְת֜וֹ | umeshareto | and servant his | H8334 → | 97 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֤עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| בִּן־ | bin- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נוּן֙ | nun | Nun | H5126 → | |
| נַ֔עַר | naar | a young man | H5288 → | 239 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמִ֖ישׁ | yamish | he departed | H4185 → | |
| מִתּ֥וֹךְ | mitokh | from [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הָאֹֽהֶל׃ ס | haohel | the tent | H168 → | 345 times |
וְדִבֶּ֨רand he spoke
vediberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁה֙Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
פָּנִ֣יםface
panimH6440 →2123 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פָּנִ֔יםface
panimH6440 →2123 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יְדַבֵּ֥רhe speaks
yedaberH1696 →1141 times
אִ֖ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
רֵעֵ֑הוּcompanion his
reehuH7453 →188 times
וְשָׁב֙and he returned
veshavH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
וּמְשָׁ֨רְת֜וֹand servant his
umesharetoH8334 →97 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֤עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
בִּן־[the] son of
bin-H1121 →4930 times
נוּן֙Nun
nunH5126 →
נַ֔עַרa young man
naarH5288 →239 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָמִ֖ישׁhe departed
yamishH4185 →
מִתּ֥וֹךְfrom [the] midst of
mitokhH8432 →418 times
הָאֹֽהֶל׃ סthe tent
haohelH168 →345 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 12:8I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 34:10
Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face—
- 1 Corinthians 13:12
Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
- Exodus 24:10–11
and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
- Exodus 33:23
Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
- Luke 10:16
Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
- Deuteronomy 34:10
Through
Deuteronomy 34:10Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face—
it leads to
- Numbers 12:6–8
He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
- Numbers 12:6–8
Through
Exodus 33:9As Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance, and the LORD would speak with Moses.
it leads to
- Psalms 99:7
He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.
- Psalms 99:7
Through
Exodus 24:13So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God.
it leads to
- Numbers 11:28
Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
- Numbers 11:28
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Prayer34 verses
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Basil of Caesarea, THE LONG RULES 16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Maximus of Turin, SERMON 35.3 and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity.