Does God have a face? The philosophers tell us no, but in this week's reading He does, at least idiomatically.
First, some background.
This reading contains the earliest biblical text that we have. I don't mean the earliest to be written—that is something we may never know for sure—but the oldest artifact with biblical words on it. The artifact is a piece of silver dating to 600 B.C.E. and containing a text from Numbers 6. The silver was originally rolled up into a tiny scroll, no doubt to be worn on a cord around the neck as an amulet. The words inscribed on it are the three well-known verses that comprise the "priestly blessing." In the King James translation:
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6:24–26)
The words are lovely, but they are not as simple as they seem. Even "blessing," "keeping," and "giving peace" are open to interpretation. The blessing that God "be gracious" to you does not refer to etiquette; God is the Lord of Hosts, not the host with the most. But it's the two expressions with "face" that I want to address here. (For the second, the King James translators substitute "countenance," but the Hebrew word is the same.) What does it mean in biblical Hebrew to "make one's face shine" and "to lift up one's face"?
The first phrase is illuminated by Mayer Gruber, now of Ben-Gurion University, who has studied nonverbal communication in the ancient Near East. To understand it, you need only think of expressions that we continue to use in English: "she brightened up," "his face lit up." They mean, of course, that he or she smiled.
God's smiling, though, is not simply an indication of His good mood, or that He is happy to see you. Rather, like the comparable English wish that fortune smile upon you, it is a wish that He grant you good luck.
That certainly makes sense as a blessing. More complicated, though, is what it means for God to "lift up His face" to you. Two related biblical expressions may shed some light.
The first: lifting up someone else's face. Like the light in one's own face, this too may suggest a smile of happiness. But in biblical Hebrew, to lift up someone's face implies more than that. It indicates that you are extending consideration that an individual does not strictly deserve, tipping the scales of justice in his or her favor. As Leviticus 19:15 warns judges: "You must not render an unfair judgment. Do not lift up the face of the poor or honor the face of the rich."
The other expression that sheds light on our verse has to do with something that God is regularly said to do with His own face: He hides it. His worshippers seek some sign of His presence, some recognition of their needs, some indication that God cares—but there is none:
Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress;
Incline Your ear to me when I call.
Hurry! Answer me! (Psalms 102:3)
We can now understand more precisely what the wish that God "lift up His face to you" would have meant to the ancient Israelites receiving this blessing from the priests, and what the wearer of the amulet hoped for: a friend in high places. It is a mighty thing to be able to feel that God acknowledges you as a person. That is what this blessing asks for, and more—that He put a thumb on the scales and tip them in your favor.
In a human judge, this would be considered a deviation from the justice demanded by a strict adherence to truth. But a longstanding Jewish tradition insists that the world cannot continue to exist if justice (din) is not tempered by compassion (rahamim). In plain English, the wish that God "lift up His face" to you is a request that, rather than holding you to the strict letter of the law, He cut you some slack.
And this is also what it means for God to "be gracious unto you." Grace—God's free gift of something humanity desires but does not deserve—is usually regarded as more a Christian concept than a Jewish one. But the ancient text of the priestly benediction belies that stereotype. In it, God commands Aaron to bless the Israelites by enjoining from Him the favor of undeserved grace. Along with the granting of peace, it is a favor all of us can pray for.
Michael Carasik is the creator of The Commentators' Bible and of the Torah Talk podcast. He teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.
COMMENTS
David Aharon Lindzon on June 2, 2011 10:15 am:
It is interesting in that 2 things:
a} the blessing are given after a woman has been disgraced [laws of Sota] to prove her innocence and the section of a NAZIR [the one who consecrates himself to be pure] and the comes the command for aharon and his descendents to bless people of Israel with these words.
b] we are to look at the undeserved grace in that Hashem does not deal with us as if we are on our merits given the goodness of hashem. Indeed the Navi tells us that we earned all of the goodness that hashem does for us constantly .. as undeserved.see the prayer nishmat kol chai where we acknowledge that even if our mouths were full and we were swift lke deer it would be almost impossible to praise hashem enough for 1 thousandth of a thousanth of only one of the things he does for us every single day.
American on June 2, 2011 11:44 am:
We are made in the image of G-d,which mean we are his copy,which mean He looks like us.
David Aharon Lindzon on June 2, 2011 02:53 pm:
Not Quite, American .. Man is created with a soul that G-d put into man. When the Psalmist say is it possible that G-d does not hear or see if he gave man a set of ears and eyes to hear and see ... see Psalm 94.
Maimonides explains and all the Jewish sages concur that G-d is not Corporeal [meaning physical].
Of course my remarks here are only a fraction of the explanation. that when G-d is using an "outstretched arm" to cause the sea to split and Israel saw the "hand" of G-d it means they saw the power manifested to do the work at the Yam Suf.
Man is created in the Shadow of G-d. So that he has the ability and the free will to do in a finite way either good or bad [that which he breaks is my understanding of such words as evil, bad ,terrible etc.]
American on June 2, 2011 04:02 pm:
David, Genesis 1:27
Please coment.
David Ahaharon Lindzon on June 2, 2011 05:34 pm:
the 2 verses Gen 1:26 and 1:27 can be explained as follows:
The Christian claim that it is a reference to the Trinity concept expounded by their scholars.
The Jewish sages reject this opinion in their understanding Gd created a being [ADAM] that would contain all the characteristics that were found in the animals and birds see the book of Mishlei ... where Shlomo Hamelech tells a lazy man to study the ant... I personally remember an incident I witnessed of a single ant attempting to kill an insect 3 times its size... its speed in killing it as well as its persistence in working "on the job" until it took the prized dead insect away.
In addition this man received all the qualities in a finite way from the heavenly created angelic beings ... lovingkindness from angel Michael, Strength from Gavriel and so on.
there is a famous dispute between 2 sages in the talmud Rabbi Akiva and ben Azai as to which is the Klal gadol Batorah the fundamental teaching of Judaism
Rabbi Akivah says v'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha [love your fellow man as yourself [you need to read the whole section from verse 9 until verse 18] at the beginning of Parshat Kedoshim in Leviticus to get thhe real taste of the meaning of love your neighbour]
Ben Azai postulates it is Genesis 1:27 Vayivra Elokim es Ha-adam b'tzalmo, b'tzelem elokim bara osoh z'char u'nkeiva bara osam. - And G-d created man in his likeness [with all his powers of free choice] In the shadow od G-d was man created, Male [the active power] and female [the receiving poeer]created he[g-d] them.
In verse 27 here you begin to see the ability of man to be a co-creator [see all the inventions of the past 50 years] if he chooses - they just did not happen haphhazardly ... Edison invented the light bulb after over 1000 different tries to get it right. each time he failed, he did not quit, but instead rejected that particular combination as being the way to make the bulb light up.
As you are aware, man has the power to destroy - the is still the tzelem elokim with his free choice.
i realize this is a very lengthy explanation but I ask the editors not to modify or shorten this.
Pat Nemmers on December 8, 2011 09:06 am:
Michael, I stumbled across your article while considering the expression "lift up" in Scripture. I so appreciated the article's simplicity and insight. What's more, as a Christian, I found your understanding of God lifting up His face to be parallel to the New Testament's view of grace, affirming to my understanding of God's immutability. He never changes. (Mal 3:6). For me, the grace of God in the Old Testament is gloriously amplified in the New. Thank you for helping me in my grasp of God.
American on December 9, 2011 10:05 am:
But Genesis 3:8 says, "And they heard the voice of the Lord God "walking" n the garden in the cool of the day. Only someone who is like a man can walk.
American on December 9, 2011 10:15 am:
I still don't understand how God can "walk" in the garden and even ask where Adam is. Isn't it clear enough that He has taken a human form in this case?