Exodus 33:20

Summary

The verse records a divine statement that no one can see God's face and continue to live. It presents a general rule (introduced by ki) explaining why the addressee is denied the ability to see the divine "face" mentioned just before.

Key words

tukhal ("you will be able", H3201) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing capacity or possibility in an ongoing/future sense: "you are not able" / "you will not be able."

panai ("my face", H6440 + H9020) — the noun panim ("face") is grammatically plural but functions as a singular concept in Hebrew; here it appears in construct form with the first-person suffix -i ("my"), producing "my face."

ki ("for/because", H3588) — a subordinating particle introducing the reason for the preceding statement; it links the prohibition ("you cannot see my face") to its explanation ("for no man sees me and lives").

yir'ani ("he will see me", H7200 + H9030) — qal imperfect third person masculine singular with a first-person object suffix, referring to a hypothetical or general "man" (ha-adam) rather than the addressee specifically.

vachai ("and he will live", H2421) — a sequential form (vav + perfect) continuing the verbal chain begun by yir'ani; it expresses the consequence "and [then] live," joined to the preceding verb as part of a single conditional-like sequence: seeing and surviving.

What the text says

The verse divides into two clauses joined by ki ("for," H3588). The first clause, lo tukhal lir'ot et-panai ("you will not be able to see my face"), uses the negated imperfect tukhal (H3201) governing the infinitive lir'ot ("to see," H7200) with the object marker et before panai ("my face," H6440+H9020). This construction expresses inability rather than mere prohibition — the grammar frames it as something outside the addressee's capacity, not simply forbidden.

The second clause shifts subject to ha-adam ("the man/person," H0120), a generic singular noun with the definite article, functioning here as a general term ("a person," "anyone") rather than a specific individual. The verb yir'ani (H7200) is imperfect, again suggesting a general or repeated condition: "no person sees me." The final word vachai (H2421) is a sequential form attached to the preceding verb, producing the sense "and lives" — i.e., survives the act of seeing. The two verbs (yir'ani and vachai) are grammatically bound together, so the negation lo at the start of the clause applies to the whole sequence: "no one sees me and lives," rather than two separate independent statements.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders panai ("my face") with the Greek to prosōpon mou, matching the Hebrew singular concept despite the Hebrew plural form. The Vulgate's faciem meam similarly renders it as singular. In the second clause, the LXX uses anthrōpos ("man") for ha-adam, and the Vulgate uses homo, both matching the Hebrew generic singular noun without the specific "no one" of some modern translations like BSB and SBLIBRE, which use "no one" instead of "man/person."