FACE, in Scripture, is often used to denote tresence in the general sense, and, when applied to the Almighty, denotes such a complete mani festation of the divine presence, by sound or sight, as was equivalent, in the vividness of the impres sion, to the seeing of a fellow-creature ` face to face.' The face of God ' therefore denotes in Scripture any thing or manner by which God is wont to manifest himself to man. Thus, when it is said that Adam and Eve hid themselves from `the face of Jehovah,' we understand that they hid them selves from his presence, however manifested ; for inD fienim, not only signifies presence, as well as (literally)Ace, but it is the very word for pre sence, however manifested. There is no other word to denote presence in the IIebrew language. Whenever presence ' occurs in our translation, the word in the original is the same which is ren dered face ' in other places. This is very proper; and the respective terms face ' and presence' are usually applied in the A. V. with much propriety and discretion ; the latter term being employed wherever the effect of the word face ' might have seemed harsh or unseemly.
It was a very ancient and common opinion that our mortal frame could not survive the more sensible manifestations of the divine pre sence, or ` see God face to face and live ' (Gen. xxxii. 3o). Hence, in this passage, the gratitude and astonishment of Jacob, that he still lived after God had manifested himself to hint more sensibly than by dreams and visions. This impression was
confirmed to Moses, who was told, Thou canst not see my face : no man can see my face and live' (Exod. xxxiii. 20) ; which clearly signifies that no one can in this present state of being endure the view of that glory which belongs to Him. The ancient heathen entertained the same notion, which 'is remarkably expressed in the celebrated mytholo gical story of Semele, who, having prevailed on the reluctant Jove to appear to her in his heavenly splen dour, was struck dead by the lightnings of his pre. sence (1 Cor. xiii. 12 ; 1 John iii. 2 ; Rev. xxii. 4).
It is to be borne in mind that God is usually re presented to us in Scripture under a human form ; and it is indeed difficult for even more spiritualized minds than those of the Hebrews to conceive of Him apart from the form and attributes of the highest nature actually known to us. The Scrip ture sanctions this concession to the weakness of our intellect, and hence arise the anthropomor phous phrases which speak of the face, the eyes, the arm of God. The appearances of the angels in the O. T. times were generally in the human form (Judg. xiii. 6, etc.) ; and from this cause alone it would have been natural, in the imagina tion, to transfer the form of the messengers to IIim by whom they were sent [ANTHROPOMORPHISM].