Keluaran 19:11

19:11 and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Keluaran 33:23

33:23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back, ¹  but my face must not be seen.” ² 

Keluaran 37:9

37:9 The cherubim were spreading their wings ³  upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim ⁴  faced each other, ⁵  looking toward the atonement lid. ⁶ 

[33:23]  ¹ tn The plural “my backs” is according to Gesenius an extension plural (compare “face,” a dual in Hebrew). The word denotes a locality in general, but that is composed of numerous parts (see GKC 397 §124.b). W. C. Kaiser says that since God is a spirit, the meaning of this word could just as easily be rendered “after effects” of his presence (“Exodus,” EBC 2:484). As S. R. Driver says, though, while this may indicate just the “afterglow” that he leaves behind him, it was enough to suggest what the full brilliancy of his presence must be (Exodus, 363; see also Job 26:14).

[33:23]  ² tn The Niphal imperfect could simply be rendered “will not be seen,” but given the emphasis of the preceding verses, it is more binding than that, and so a negated obligatory imperfect fits better: “it must not be seen.” It would also be possible to render it with a potential imperfect tense: “it cannot be seen.”

[37:9]  ³ tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings” – “spreaders of wings.”

[37:9]  ⁴ tn “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.

[37:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”

[37:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”