Reading for July 29, Memorial: St Martha, Disciple of the Lord

Wednesday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Exodus 34:29-35

Moses' Shining Face
[29] When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. [30] And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. [31] But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. [32] And afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. [33] And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; [34] but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off, until lie came out; and when he came out, and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, [35] the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
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Commentary:
34:29-35. The account of the events at Sinai ends with Moses in sharp focus, his face reflecting the glory of God.

"His face shone" (vv. 29,30, 35). The Hebrew word "qaran", which means "to shine, to be radiant", is very similar to "qeren", which means "horn". Hence St Jerome's translation in the Vulgate: "And his face turned with bright horns", which has had its influence on Christian tradition and art. Michelangelo, for example, gave his famous statue of Moses two bright lights, one on each side of his forehead. Anyway, the sacred author's point is that Moses was transformed due to the fact that he had been so near God. The veil covering his face emphasizes the transcendence of God: not only can the Israelites not see God; they cannot even look at the face of Moses, his closest intermediary.

St Paul refers to this episode in order to show the radical superiority of the New Covenant and the meaning of apostolic ministry, for with the coming of Christ all has been revealed and man has direct access to the Father (cf. 2 Cor 3:7-18).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.