Exo 34:27-35

27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

Gittin 60b:2

The Gemara continues its discussion concerning the writing of the law: Rabbi Elazar says: The majority of the law was transmitted in writing, while the minority was transmitted orally, as it is stated: “I wrote for him the greater part of my law; they were reckoned a strange thing” (Hos 8:12), meaning that the majority of the law was transmitted in written form. And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The majority of the law was transmitted orally [al peh], while the minority was transmitted in writing, as it is stated with regard to the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai: “For on the basis of [al pi] these matters I have made a covenant with you and with Israel” (Exo 34:27), which indicates that the greater part of the Sinaitic covenant was taught orally.

Gittin 60b:5

Rabbi Yehuda bar Naḥmani, the disseminator for Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, expounded as follows: It is written: “Write you these matters” (Exo 34:27), and it is written later in that same verse: “For on the basis of [al pi] these matters.” How can these texts be reconciled? They mean to teach: Matters that were written you may not express them orally [al peh], and matters that were taught orally you may not express them in writing. The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The word “these” in the commandment recorded in the verse “Write you these matters” is used here in an emphatic sense: These matters, i.e., those recorded in the Written Law, you may write, but you may not write halakhot, i.e., the mishnayot and the rest of the Oral Law.

Gittin 60b:6

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The Holy One, blessed be he, made a covenant with the Jewish people only for the sake of the matters that were transmitted orally [be’al peh], as it is stated: “For on the basis of [al pi] these matters I have made a covenant with you and with Israel” (Exo 34:27).

Nedarim 32a:6

Alternatively, so great is the commandment of circumcision that it is equal to all the commandments of the law, as it is stated at the giving of the law: “For in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel” (Exo 34:27), and “covenant” refers to circumcision. Alternatively, so great is the commandment of circumcision that if not for circumcision heaven and earth would not have been established, as it is stated: “If I have not established my covenant with day and night, I would not have established the fixed order of heaven and earth” (Jer 33:25), and the covenant that exists day and night is the covenant of circumcision, as it is always found on the person’s body.

Rashi

These words—But you are not permitted to write down the “Oral Law” (Gittin 60b).

Temurah 14b:3

Before resolving the difficulty, the Gemara further discusses the prohibition of writing down the law: Rabbi Yehuda bar Naḥmani, the disseminator for Reish Lakish, expounded as follows: One verse says: “Write you these words,” and one verse says, i.e., it states later in that same verse: “For by the mouth of these words” (Exo 34:27). These phrases serve to say to you: Words that were taught orally you may not recite in writing, and words that are written you may not recite orally, i.e., by heart.

28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Sotah 13b:25

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: Over an area of twelve mil by twelve mil, equivalent to the size of the camp of Israel, a divine voice proclaimed and said: And Moses, the great scribe of Israel, died. And some say: Moses did not actually die, as it is written here: “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there” (Deu 34:5), and it is written there: “So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights” (Exo 34:28). Just as there, where it says: “So he was there with the Lord,” it means that he was standing and serving before God; so too, here, when it says: “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there,” it means that he was standing and serving before God.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 2CO 3:7

The Shining Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

Beitzah 16a:6

Apropos the statements about honoring the Sabbath, the Gemara cites another statement on the same topic. Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: One who gives a gift to his friend need not inform him that he has given it to him, and he need not concern himself that the recipient might not realize who gave it to him. As it is stated: “And Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone” (Exo 34:29); Moses received this gift unawares.

Rashi

When Moses came down—When he brought the second tablets on the Day of Atonement.

That . . . shone—קָרַן is is an expression connected with the word קַרְנַיִם “horns” because light radiates and projects like a horn. And whence was Moses privileged to have the rays of glory? Our Rabbis said that they originated at the time when he was in the cave, for the Holy One, blessed be he, then put his hand upon his face, as it is said (Exo 33:22), “and I will cover you with my hand” (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 37).

Shabbat 10b:5

With regard to the halakha itself, the Gemara asks: Is that so? Didn’t Rav Ḥama bar Ḥanina say: One who gives a gift to his friend need not inform him, as God made Moses’ face glow, and nevertheless it is stated with regard to Moses: “And Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone when he spoke with God” (Exo 34:29)? The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. When Rav Ḥama bar Ḥanina said that he need not inform him, he was referring to a matter that is likely to be revealed. When Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that he needs to inform him, he was referring to a matter that is not likely to be revealed. The Gemara asked: If so, isn’t the Sabbath likely to be revealed, as it will be necessary to inform them of the Sabbath together with the other commandments? Why was Moses asked to inform them about the Sabbath separately? The Gemara answers: The giving of its reward is not likely to be revealed, and it was necessary to inform them about so extraordinary a gift.

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. MAT 17:2

For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. MAR 9:6

And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. MAR 14:40

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” LUK 2:49

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. JOH 5:13

And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. ACT 6:15

And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. ACT 12:9

And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” ACT 23:5

In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. REV 1:16

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. REV 10:1

31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.

Rashi

The leaders of the congregation—Lit., the leaders in the congregation, like the leaders of the congregation.

And Moses talked with them sharing the message of the Almighty. This whole section denotes frequentative action.

32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.

Rashi

Afterward . . . came near—After he (Moses) had taught the elders he used again to teach the section or the single halakha in question to the Israelites. The Rabbis have taught: How was the system of teaching? Moses used to learn the law from the mouth of the Almighty; Aaron entered and Moses taught him his lesson. Now Aaron moved away and took his seat to the left of Moses. Then his (Aaron’s) sons entered and Moses taught them their lesson. They moved away and Eleazar took his seat to the right of Moses, whilst Ithamar sat down at Aaron’s left. The elders then entered and Moses taught them their lesson. The elders moved away and took their seat at the side. Finally the whole people entered and Moses taught them their lesson. Consequently what was taught came into the possession of the whole people once, into the possession of the elders twice, into the possession of Aaron’s sons thrice and into Aaron’s possession four times etc.—as it is stated in Eruvin 54b.

33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. ROM 10:4

4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2CO 4:4-6

34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he left; then he would leave and told the people of Israel what he was commanded,

Rashi

And told the people of Israel . . . and they would see the rays of glory on his face; and when he would leave them.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 2CO 3:16

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. HEB 4:16

35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he would come again to speak with him.

Rashi

Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he would come again to speak with him—But when he came to speak with him, he would remove it from his face.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. MAT 5:16

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. MAT 13:43

He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. JOH 5:35

that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, PHP 2:15