NT Text: 2 Corinthians 3:7-18
OT Source(s):
Source: Beale & Carson (eds.), Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (2007); Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Typology + Contrast
Significance: This is Paul's most sustained OT exposition in his letters. Key interpretive moves: (1) Moses' glory was "fading" (katalygoumenēn)—Paul reads temporariness into the narrative; (2) The veil concealed this fading from Israel; (3) "That same veil" now lies over Israel's hearts when Scripture is read; (4) The veil is removed "when one turns to the Lord" (echoing Exod 34:34); (5) New covenant ministry surpasses old through a fortiori: if the ministry that condemns had glory, how much more the ministry that gives righteousness! (6) Believers now have "unveiled faces" beholding God's glory and being progressively transformed. Christologically: Christ's face is where God's glory is supremely revealed (cf. 4:6), surpassing Moses whose reflected glory faded.
NT Use Pattern: Ironic / Inverted — Moses's veil — originally to protect Israel from the fading glory of his face — is reread by Paul as a veil that obscures the gospel for unbelieving Israel. The protective function is inverted into a hardening function.