Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Exodus 33:23 "Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 33:23 "Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen." |
Subject: Exodus 33:11 vs. Ex. 33:1-22? |
Bible Note: Hi, Ray -- There is a nuance of meaning inherent in the word 'anthropomorphic' which makes it perfectly acceptable to use in the context in which Makarios used it. When God is anthropomorphised in the manner that Exodus 33 describes, it merely means attributing human form in a non-literal sense to God, who is in no wise human. God Himself is the one who used the words 'hand', 'back' and face in Exodus 33. In expressing His love for Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16:8, He uses the descriptive term, "I spread My wing over you." Is God anthromorphizing Himself so that Jerusalem will think He's a chicken? No, He is clothing His language in human terms so that human beings will better understand Him and His message. And so He did with Moses in the closing verses of Exodus 33. The reference to God's wings in Ezekiel and to His hand, back and face in Exodus is, of course, metaphorical and the entire context of Scripture leads the reader to view it as such, since the clear teaching of Scripture is emphatic that God is Spirit. ..... There is a sense in which one should never think of God as being anthropomorphic and that sense is this: when we put God on the same plane as pagan gods who are envisioned by pagan worshipers as being merely an extension of human beings with supernatural powers. False gods are created in the image of man. They are frequently referred to as anthropomorphic gods. Man is created in the image of God, who is transcendent and has no peer. The sense in which we refer to God's metaphoric references to Himself as having wings in Ezekiel and hands, back, and face in Exodus as being anthropomorphisms is a much different thing than saying that God is, like the pagan gods, an anthropomorphic god. --Hank |