Bible Strands
Exodus 33:20
But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses speaks to God, who responds directly to Moses' request to see His glory. This occurs immediately after God promises to display His goodness and proclaim His name.
The words — לֹ֥א תוּכַ֖ל (lo' tu.khal) translates literally as "you will not be able," establishing an absolute limitation on human capacity. פָּנָ֑/י (pa.Na/i) means "my face," specifying the exact aspect of God that remains inaccessible.
The thread — The impossibility of beholding God directly echoes in Genesis 32:30, where Jacob survives a face-to-face encounter only by divine sparing. Later texts reinforce this boundary in John 1:18 and 1 Timothy 6:16 by stating that no one has seen or can see God.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment of the boundary between divine presence and human mortality. It requires the reader to accept that proximity to God does not grant the capacity to endure His full manifestation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
Cross-references
- Genesis 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- 1 Timothy 6:16 He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
- Isaiah 6:5 Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”
- Judges 6:22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
- Judges 13:22 “We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”
- Deuteronomy 5:24 and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.
- Exodus 24:10 and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
- Revelation 1:16 He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
- Hebrews 1:13 Yet to which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?