What is the meaning of “face”?

The scriptures are full of rich words and phrases that conveyed much more information to those who wrote them than they do to those who read them today. One such word is “face.” In modern English, the noun means the front part of a head and the verb means to confront or orient oneself towards something. Such narrow definitions make it nearly impossible to extract the power and clarity of ancient phrases that describe our relationship with God, his relationship with us, and even the purpose of life.

The Hebrew and Greek counterparts¹²⁴⁹ extend beyond the English definition of face in interesting and important ways. To face something is not just to turn or pay attention to, but also to return to, to approach, to dawn, to clear away, and to prepare for. The noun form is not just used for the front of someone’s head or a surface,¹²⁵⁰ but also someone’s

expression,¹²⁵¹ attitude,¹²⁵² attention,¹²⁵³ presence,¹²⁵⁴ aura of presence,¹²⁵⁵ direction of travel or progression,¹²⁵⁶ and priority in time¹²⁵⁷ or attention.¹²⁵⁸ While these extended meanings are intriguing in and of themselves, they have clear, interesting, and important overlap with the concepts of desire, purpose, motive, and character.