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 counterparts1 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,2 but also someone’s
expression,3 attitude,4 attention,5 presence,6 aura of presence,7 direction of travel or progression,8 and priority in time9 or attention.10 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.
Footnotes
- 1. Panim (Strong’s Hebrew 6440), panah (Strong’s Hebrew 6437), and prosópon (Strong’s Greek 4383). ↩
- 2. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:29) ↩
- 3. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (Genesis 4:5-6) ↩
- 4. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.... And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. (Genesis 31:2, 5) ↩
- 5. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. (Revelation 12:14) ↩
- 6. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8) ↩
- 7. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. (Genesis 45:3) ↩
- 8. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. (Genesis 31:21) ↩
- 9. And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. (Genesis 29:26) ↩
- 10. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. (Genesis 48:20) ↩