We are not like MosesThis phrase contrasts the ministry of Paul and the apostles with that of Moses. Moses, a central figure in the Old Testament, was the mediator of the Old Covenant, which was characterized by the Law given at Mount Sinai. The New Covenant, mediated by Christ, is marked by grace and truth (
John 1:17). The apostles' ministry is one of boldness and openness, unlike the veiled approach of Moses.
who would put a veil over his face
Moses wore a veil after descending from Mount Sinai because his face shone with the glory of God (Exodus 34:29-35). The veil symbolized the separation between God and the people due to their sinfulness. In the New Testament, the veil is often seen as a metaphor for spiritual blindness or the inability to fully perceive God's glory without Christ (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).
to keep the Israelites from gazing
The Israelites were unable to look directly at the glory reflected in Moses' face, which signifies their inability to fully comprehend the glory of the Old Covenant. This reflects the broader theme of humanity's struggle to understand divine revelation without the illumination provided by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).
at the end of what was fading away
The glory on Moses' face was temporary, symbolizing the transient nature of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant, in contrast, is eternal and surpasses the old in glory (Hebrews 8:13). This fading glory points to the ultimate fulfillment and surpassing glory found in Christ, who is the radiance of God's glory (Hebrews 1:3).
Persons / Places / Events
1.
MosesA central figure in the Old Testament, Moses was the leader of the Israelites who received the Law from God on Mount Sinai. He wore a veil to cover his face after speaking with God because his face shone with glory.
2.
IsraelitesThe descendants of Jacob, also known as the children of Israel, who were led by Moses out of Egypt and through the wilderness.
3.
Mount SinaiThe mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. It is a significant place of divine revelation and covenant.
4.
The VeilA physical covering Moses used to shield the Israelites from the glory of God reflected on his face, symbolizing the temporary and fading nature of the old covenant.
5.
Paul the ApostleThe author of 2 Corinthians, who contrasts the old covenant of the Law with the new covenant of grace through Jesus Christ.
Teaching Points
The Temporary Nature of the Old CovenantThe veil symbolizes the temporary and fading glory of the old covenant. As believers, we are called to embrace the new covenant, which is eternal and glorious.
The Unveiled Life in ChristUnlike Moses, believers in Christ live with unveiled faces, reflecting the glory of the Lord. This signifies openness, transparency, and transformation through the Spirit.
Transformation Through the SpiritThe new covenant brings transformation by the Spirit, changing us into the image of Christ. This ongoing process is a key aspect of Christian life and sanctification.
Boldness in the New CovenantPaul contrasts the boldness we have in Christ with the veiled approach of the old covenant. This boldness comes from the confidence in the finished work of Christ.
Living as Reflections of God's GloryAs Christians, we are called to reflect God's glory in our daily lives, living as testimonies of His grace and truth to the world around us.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of 2 Corinthians 3:13?
2.How does Moses' veil in 2 Corinthians 3:13 relate to spiritual blindness today?
3.What does 2 Corinthians 3:13 teach about transparency in sharing the Gospel?
4.How can we avoid "hiding" our faith like Moses' veil in 2 Corinthians 3:13?
5.Compare the veil in 2 Corinthians 3:13 with the veil in Exodus 34.
6.How can we reflect God's glory without a "veil" in our daily lives?
7.What does 2 Corinthians 3:13 mean by "Moses put a veil over his face"?
8.How does the veil in 2 Corinthians 3:13 relate to spiritual blindness?
9.Why did Paul reference Moses' veil in 2 Corinthians 3:13?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from 2 Corinthians 3?
11.What truths does 'Unveiled Face' reveal about identity?
12.Why did Moses cover his face with a veil?
13.In 1 Corinthians 10:2, what does it mean for the Israelites to be 'baptized into Moses,' and how does this align with historical accounts of their exodus?
14.What is the plot of Chosen Generation?What Does 2 Corinthians 3:13 Mean
We are not like Moses2 Corinthians 3:13 opens with Paul contrasting his ministry to Moses’.
• Moses represented the old covenant written on stone (2 Corinthians 3:7).
• Paul’s ministry proclaims the new covenant written on believers’ hearts (Jeremiah 31:33;2 Corinthians 3:3).
• Because the gospel grants unveiled access to God through Christ (Hebrews 10:19-20), Paul can speak openly, with no need to hide glory or truth.
who would put a veil over his faceExodus 34:29-35 recounts how Moses covered his shining face after speaking with the LORD.
• The veil was literal, shielding Israel from the brilliance produced by God’s presence.
• Spiritually, it pictured the separation sin creates between holy God and fallen people (Isaiah 59:2).
• Paul’s readers are reminded that, through Christ, “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16).
to keep the Israelites from gazingMoses’ veil limited what Israel could see.
• Their limited vision anticipated their limited understanding; hearts remained dull (2 Corinthians 3:14).
• By contrast, the gospel invites believers to “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and behold God’s glory without restriction (2 Corinthians 3:18).
• Paul therefore refuses any concealment of truth, choosing plain, forthright proclamation (2 Corinthians 4:2).
at the endThe phrase points to a conclusion—both of Moses’ radiant face and of the covenant he represented.
• Christ is “the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).
• The law’s purpose reaches fulfillment in Him; its temporary glory gives way to a permanent one (Matthew 5:17;2 Corinthians 3:11).
• Paul preaches the unveiled gospel so listeners can see that glorious climax.
of what was fading awayMoses’ glory diminished; the old covenant was never meant to be permanent.
•Hebrews 8:13 affirms that the first covenant was “obsolete and aging,” ready to disappear.
• Paul contrasts fading glory with the ever-increasing glory believers experience in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
• Because the Spirit imparts lasting transformation (Ezekiel 36:26-27), Paul’s ministry remains open and confident.
summaryPaul uses Moses’ veiled face to highlight the vast superiority of the new covenant. Moses hid a glory that was temporary; Paul unveils a glory that is eternal in Christ. The veil is gone, access is granted, and believers can gaze freely on God’s unending glory and be changed by it.
(13)
And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face.--The Apostle, it must be remembered, has in his thoughts either the LXX. version of
Exodus 34:33, or an interpretation of the Hebrew answering to that version. (See Note on
2Corinthians 3:7.) What was the object of this putting on of the veil? The English version of that text suggests that it was to hide the brightness from which they shrank. But the interpretation which St. Paul follows presents a very different view. Moses put the veil over his face that
they might not see the end, the fading away of that transitory glory. For them it was as though it were permanent and unfading. They did not see--this is St. Paul's way of allegorising the fact stated--that the whole system of the Law, as symbolised by that brightness, had but a fugitive and temporary being.
Could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.--Better,look on the end of that which was perishing. Literally, the words state the fact, they could not see how the perishing glory ended. In the interpretation of the parable St. Paul seems to say that what was true of those older Israelites was true also of their descendants. They could not see the true end of the perishing system of the Law, its aim, purport, consummation. There is, perhaps, though most recent commentators have refused to recognise it, a half-allusive reference to the thought expressed inRomans 10:4, that "Christ is theend of the law for righteousness;" or, in1Timothy 1:5, that "theend of the commandment is love out of a pure heart." Had their eyes been open, they would have seen in the fading away of the old glory of the decaying "letter" the dawn of a glory that excelled it. And in the thought that this was the true "end" of the Law we find the ground for the Apostle's assertion that he used great plainness of speech. He had no need to veil his face or his meaning, for he had no fear lest the glory of the gospel of which he was a minister should fade away.
Verse 13. -
And not as Moses. We need not act, as Moses was obliged to do, by putting any veil upon our faces while we speak. And here the image of "the veil" as completely seizes St. Paul's imagination as the image of the letter does in the first verses.
Put a veil; literally,
was putting, or,
used to put, a veil on his face when he had finished speaking to the people.
That the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished; rather,
that the children of Israel might not gaze on the end of what was passing away. The object of the veil, according to St. Paul, was to prevent the Israelites from gazing on
the last gleam of the covenant. In other words, he did not wish them to be witnesses of a
fading glory. It is preposterous to imagine that St. Paul is here casting any blame on the conduct of Moses, as though he acted fraudulently or delusively. Moses was aware, and even told the people, float his legislation was not final (
Deuteronomy 18:15 -19), but it would be quite natural that he should not wish the people to witness the gradual dimming of the lustre which, in St. Paul's view, was typical of that transitoriness. It seems, however, that St. Paul is here either
(1) following a different reading or rendering ofExodus 34:33; or
(2) is adopting some Jewishhagadah; or
(3) is giving his own turn to the narrative, as the rabbis habitually did, by way ofmidrash, or exposition. For from the narrative of Exodus we should not gather that it was the object of Moses to hide the disappearance of the splendour, but rather to render the light endurable. In our Authorized Version the verse runs, "till Moses had done speaking with them he put a veil on his face;" but the meaning of the original may be, "after he had done speaking with them," as the LXX. takes it and the Vulgate.The end. To interpret this ofChrist, because ofRomans 10:4, is an instance of the superstitious and unintelligent way in which systems are made out of a mosaic of broken texts. The foolish character of the interpretation is shown when we consider that it involves the inference that Moses put a veil on his face in order to prevent the Israelites from seeing Christi But this attempt to illustrate Scripture by catching at a similar, expression applied in a wholly different way in another part of Scripture, is one of the normal follies of scriptural interpretation.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
[We are]καὶ(kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.notοὐ(ou)Adverb
Strong's 3756:No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.likeκαθάπερ(kathaper)Adverb
Strong's 2509:Even as, just as. From katha and per; exactly as.Moses,Μωϋσῆς(Mōusēs)Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3475:Or Moses, or Mouses of Hebrew origin; Moseus, Moses, or Mouses, the Hebrew lawgiver.[who] would putἐτίθει(etithei)Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5087:To put, place, lay, set, fix, establish. A prolonged form of a primary theo to place.a veilκάλυμμα(kalymma)Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2571:A covering, especially a covering of head and face, a veil. From kalupto; a cover, i.e. Veil.overἐπὶ(epi)Preposition
Strong's 1909:On, to, against, on the basis of, at.hisαὐτοῦ(autou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.faceπρόσωπον(prosōpon)Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4383:From pros and ops; the front, i.e. The countenance, aspect, appearance, surface; by implication, presence, person.to keepπρὸς(pros)Preposition
Strong's 4314:To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.theτοὺς(tous)Article - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.IsraelitesἸσραὴλ(Israēl)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2474:Of Hebrew origin; Israel, the adopted name of Jacob, including his descendants.[from]μὴ(mē)Adverb
Strong's 3361:Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.gazingἀτενίσαι(atenisai)Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 816:To direct my gaze, look steadily. From a compound of a and teino; to gaze intently.atεἰς(eis)Preposition
Strong's 1519:A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.theτὸ(to)Article - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.endτέλος(telos)Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5056:(a) an end, (b) event or issue, (c) the principal end, aim, purpose, (d) a tax.of whatτοῦ(tou)Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.was fading away.καταργουμένου(katargoumenou)Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 2673:From kata and argeo; to be entirely idle, literally or figuratively.
Links
2 Corinthians 3:13 NIV2 Corinthians 3:13 NLT2 Corinthians 3:13 ESV2 Corinthians 3:13 NASB2 Corinthians 3:13 KJV
2 Corinthians 3:13 BibleApps.com2 Corinthians 3:13 Biblia Paralela2 Corinthians 3:13 Chinese Bible2 Corinthians 3:13 French Bible2 Corinthians 3:13 Catholic Bible
NT Letters: 2 Corinthians 3:13 And not as Moses who put (2 Cor. 2C iiC 2Cor ii cor iicor) 
