Exodus 33:18

“And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.] Not any visible lustre, splendour, and brightness, as a symbol of the divine Presence, that he had seen, (<021607>Exodus 16:7,10) nor the glorious essence of God, as Maimonides f964, which is invisible and cannot be seen, and of which Moses could not be ignorant; nor the glory of the heavenly state, which also he must know he could not see until he came thither; but he seems to mean some visible glorious representation of God, such as he had never seen, though he had been with him so long on the mount in the cloud, and heard his voice, and saw some appearances of brightness and glory, yet not in any form that he could frame any idea of;…”

“I beseech thee, show me thy glory--This is one of the most mysterious scenes described in the Bible: he had, for his comfort and encouragement, a splendid and full display of the divine majesty, not in its unveiled effulgence, but as far as the weakness of humanity would admit. The face, hand, back parts, are to be understood figuratively. Next: Exodus Chapter 34”

“Shew me thy glory - The faithful servant of Yahweh, now assured by the success of his mediation, yearns, with the proper tendency of a devout spirit, for a more intimate communion with his divine Master than he had yet enjoyed. He seeks for something surpassing all former revelations. return to 'Top of Page'”

“I beseech thee shew me thy glory - Moses had lately been in the mount with God, and had had as intimate communion with God, as ever any man had on this side heaven, and yet he is still desiring a farther acquaintance. Shew me thy glory - Make me to see it; so the word is: make it some way or other visible, and enable me to bear the sight of it. Not that he was so ignorant as to think God's essence could be seen with bodily eyes, but having hitherto only heard a voice out of a pillar of cloud or fire, he desired to see some representation of the divine glory, such as God saw fit to gratify him with. Exodus 33:20”

“33:18 Moses asked for confirmation of God’s promises. He asked to see God’s glorious presence (literally glory). He was asking for an experience of seeing the very essence of God (see study note on 16:7).”

“Exo 33:20; Psa 4:6; Joh 1:18; Co2 3:18, Co2 4:6; Ti1 6:16; Tit 2:13; Rev 21:23 Exodus 33:19”

“Moses was emboldened by this, and now prayed to the Lord, "Let me see Thy glory." What Moses desired to see, as the answer of God clearly shows, must have been something surpassing all former revelations of the glory of Jehovah ( Exo 16:7, Exo 16:10; Exo 24:16-17), and even going beyond Jehovah's talking with him face to face ( Exo 33:11). When God talked with him face to face, or mouth to mouth, he merely saw a "similitude of Jehovah" ( Num 12:8), a form which rendered the invisible being of God visible to the human eye, i.e., a manifestation of the divine glory in a certain form, and not the direct or essential glory of Jehovah, whilst the people saw this glory under the veil of a dark…”