מַסְוֶה

From the study of Exodus 34:33

Range of meaning

A covering for the face. It occurs only three times, all in this paragraph (Exod 34:33, 34, 35), so its meaning comes almost entirely from context: something Moses puts on and takes off his face. Its origin is uncertain. Older lexicons (BDB) file it under a root possibly related to the rare word sut, 'garment', in Genesis 49:11. That link is possible but not proven.

Against the English

Every major English version says 'veil' (KJV 'vail'). The word is serviceable, but to modern readers 'veil' suggests a thin, see-through bridal veil or a woman's head covering. The Hebrew says nothing about how thin it was or what it was made of. The context implies it hid the shining face from view.

How it drifted

The Greek Septuagint's kalymma ('covering') became Latin velamen and then English 'vail/veil'. Over the centuries 'veil' has narrowed toward bridal and religious women's dress, which the Hebrew word does not suggest.

Used elsewhere in the period

Not found elsewhere in biblical Hebrew. The Septuagint translates it kalymma, 'covering'. Paul uses the same Greek word for it in 2 Corinthians 3:13–16. Some scholars (e.g. Gressmann; more recently Dozeman, JBL 2000; Propp, Anchor Bible) compare masks worn by priests or mediators in ancient Near Eastern worship. This is a suggestive parallel, not a demonstrated background.

From the study of Exodus 34:34

Range of meaning

A face-covering. The word appears only three times in the Bible, all in Exodus 34:33–35, so its meaning has to be worked out from this passage alone. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'veil, covering'. Some scholars think it was a mask rather than a cloth. The root is uncertain.

Against the English

Every major English version says 'veil' (KJV 'vail'). The word is acceptable, but English readers tend to picture a sheer bridal veil, or link it with 'the veil of the temple'. That second link is a different Hebrew word (parokhet, the Tabernacle curtain) and a different idea.

How it drifted

Two later uses of 'veil' lie over this word. One is the Gospels' 'veil of the temple was torn' (KJV Matthew 27:51), which merges in readers' minds with Moses' veil. The other is Paul's use of the Greek word for 'covering' (kalymma) in 2 Corinthians 3:13–18 as a metaphor for a hardened mind. Neither idea is present in Exodus.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) renders it kalymma, 'covering', and Paul takes that word over in 2 Corinthians 3. The Latin Vulgate uses velamen. In the ancient Near East, priests are known to have worn masks representing gods in ritual. T. B. Dozeman (JBL 2000) and others suggest the Exodus picture deliberately reverses that custom. Moses removes his covering in God's presence, and his own transformed face, not a mask, displays the divine.