to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
thee
נָ֖אna'
H4994
'I pray' · interjection
shew
הַרְאֵ֥נִיhar.'E.ni
H7200
to see · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
glory
כְּבֹדֶֽךָke.vo.De.kha
H3519
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light the…
Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Exodus 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
1 Timothy 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and p…
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God…
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by th…
Psalms 4:6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Exodus 33:12–end
Moses, having returned to the door of the tabernacle, becomes a humble and importunate supplicant there for two very great favours, and as a prince he has power with God, and prevails for both: herein he was a type of Christ the great intercessor, whom the Father heareth always.
I. He is very earnest with God for a grant of his presence with Israel in the rest of their march to Canaan, notwithstanding their provocations. The people had by their sin deserved the wrath of God, and for the turning away of that Moses had already prevailed, Exo 32:14. But they had likewise forfeited God's favourable presence, and all the benefit and comfort of that, and this Moses is here begging for the return o…
I beseech thee, show me thy glory--This is one of the most mysterious scenes described in the Bible: he had, for his comfort and encouragement, a splendid and full display of the divine majesty, not in its unveiled effulgence, but as far as the weakness of humanity would admit. The face, hand, back parts, are to be understood figuratively.
Next: Exodus Chapter 34
Adam Clarke on Exodus 33:18
Show me thy glory - Moses probably desired to see that which constitutes the peculiar glory or excellence of the Divine nature as it stands in reference to man. By many this is thought to signify his eternal mercy in sending Christ Jesus into the world. Moses perceived that what God was now doing had the most important and gracious designs which at present he could not distinctly discover; therefore he desires God to show him his glory. God graciously promises to indulge him in this request as far as possible, by proclaiming his name, and making all his goodness pass before him, Exo 33:19. But at the same time he assures him that he could not see his face - the fullness of his perfections an…
And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Not any visible lustre, splendour, and brightness, as a symbol of the divine Presence, that he had seen, Exodus 16:7 nor the glorious essence of God, as Maimonides (b), which is invisible and cannot be seen, and of which Moses could not be ignorant; nor the glory of the heavenly state, which also he must know he could not see until he came thither; but he seems to mean some visible glorious representation of God, such as he had never seen, though he had been with him so long on the mount in the cloud, and heard his voice, and saw some appearances of brightness and glory, yet not in any form that he could frame any idea of; perhaps he may mean t…
The Church Fathers
This is why love which longs to see God, even if it lacks judgment, does have the spirit of devotion. This is why Moses dares to say, "If I have found favor in your sight, show me your face." This is why another man says, "Show us your face." Finally, this is why the Gentiles fashioned idols. In their errors they wanted to see with their eyes what they were worshiping.
The saintly Moses, his faithful servant, showed the flame of this desire of his when he said to God, with whom he spoke face to face as to a friend: "If I have found favor before you, show me yourself." What, then? Was it not himself? If it were not himself, he would not have said "Show me yourself" but "Show me God"; yet, if he really beheld his very nature and substance, he would have been far from saying "Show me yourself." It was himself, therefore, under that aspect in which he willed to appear (but he did not appear in his own very nature) which Moses longed to see, inasmuch as that is promised to the saints in another life. Hence the answer made to Moses is true that no one can see the face of God and live; that is, no one living in this life can see him as fully as he is. Many have seen, but they saw what his will chose, not what his nature formed … when he willed … not in his nature under which he lies hidden within himself even when he is seen.
When Moses asked the Lord: Show me your glory, the Lord answered him: I will come before you with my glory and I will call with the name of the Lord in your presence: and I will have mercy on whom I will have pity, and I will have mercy on whom I have had mercy (Ex 33,19) , even though the Lord had told you shortly before: I myself will pass before you and give you rest (Ex 33,14). The expression: I will pass in front of you seems to be that Moses understood it in the sense that God would not be present with him and with the people during the trip, and that is why he says: If you do not come with us, do not make me leave from here (Ex 33,15), etc. However, God did not deny him this, but said to him: I will do to you also what you have asked me (Ex 33,17). Therefore, when Moses said to him: Show me your glory, how does it seem to say to you again: I myself will pass before you, implying that I was going to precede you and I was not going to accompany you, unless it is something else? Because it is understood that he speaks to him and says: I will pass before you, the same one who says the gospel: The time has come to pass Jesus from this world to the Father (Jn 13,1). This step or transit is often interpreted as Easter. It is, therefore, a very great prophecy. For he, Jesus, before all the saints passed from this world to the Father to prepare the mansions of the kingdom of heaven, which he will give them in the resurrection of the dead, because he, who was to pass before all, became in the firstborn among the dead (Cf Col 1,18). At the same time he highlights his grace, saying: And I will call with the name of the Lord in your presence. As if it were done in the presence of the people of Israel, whose image represented Moses when he heard these words. Christ the Lord is called in all nations in the presence of his own nation scattered everywhere. And it is said: I will call (vocabo) and I will not be called (vocabor). The verb becomes active and not passive, using a genre of unusual expression, in which there is undoubtedly a great hidden sense. With this expression perhaps he wanted to indicate that he himself does this, that is to say, he does with his grace that the Lord be called (invoked) in all nations. And I will take pity on whom I will have pity and I will have mercy on whom I will have had mercy. By adding these words, he manifests in a much…
Communion With God · Exemplified: Moses — Exemplified: Moses
Condescension Of God · Indulges Moses’ prayer to behold his glory — Indulges Moses’ prayer to behold his glory
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · God’s glory shown to Moses — God’s glory shown to Moses
Glory Of God, The · Exhibited to: Moses — Exhibited to: Moses
Prayer · .By Moses, suppli — .By Moses, suppli
Vision · .Of the glory of Go — .Of the glory of Go
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory Thus far the desires of Moses had been confined within the limits of moderation and sobriety, but now he is carried beyond due bounds, and longs for more than is lawful or expedient; for it is plain from his repulse that he had inconsiderately proceeded further than He should. He desires that God should be revealed to him more closely, and in a more manifest form than before. Still it is not foolish curiosity that impels him to this, which so often tickles men's minds, so that they daringly attempt to penetrate into the deepest secrets of heaven; for he had no other design than to be animated to confidence, whereby he might more cheerfully go on…
Moses was emboldened by this, and now prayed to the Lord, "Let me see Thy glory." What Moses desired to see, as the answer of God clearly shows, must have been something surpassing all former revelations of the glory of Jehovah (Exo 16:7, Exo 16:10; Exo 24:16-17), and even going beyond Jehovah's talking with him face to face (Exo 33:11). When God talked with him face to face, or mouth to mouth, he merely saw a "similitude of Jehovah" (Num 12:8), a form which rendered the invisible being of God visible to the human eye, i.e., a manifestation of the divine glory in a certain form, and not the direct or essential glory of Jehovah, whilst the people saw this glory under the veil of a dark cloud,…
Moses asked for confirmation of God’s promises. He asked to see God’s glorious presence (literally glory). He was asking for an experience of seeing the very essence of God (see study note on 16:7).
Rashi on Exodus 33:18
ויאמר הראני נא את כבדך AND HE SAID I BESEECH THEE, SHOW ME THY GLORY — Moses saw that the hour was propitious and that his petitions were being favourably received, he therefore made a further request — that God should let him behold a reflection of His Glory.
