Face
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Prosōpon is the Greek word for face, but it carries a range of meaning that English 'face' does not fully capture. In the New Testament it functions as the literal face (the physical countenance of a person), the presence of a person (to see someone's face is to be in their presence), and the front or outer appearance of something.
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Full entry for πρόσωπον (G4383) · Open the biblical lexicon
Prosōpon is the Greek word for face, but it carries a range of meaning that English 'face' does not fully capture. In the New Testament it functions as the literal face (the physical countenance of a person), the presence of a person (to see someone's face is to be in their presence), and the front or outer appearance of something.
The BSB source-word alignment has 76 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (19), face (17), [the] face (4), [the] presence (4), facedown (4).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:16. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (13), 2 Corinthians (12), Acts (12), Matthew (10).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Prosōpon is the Greek word for face, but it carries a range of meaning that English 'face' does not fully capture. In the New Testament it functions as the literal face (the physical countenance of a person), the presence of a person (to see someone's face is to be in their presence), and the front or outer appearance of something. The word's theological richness comes from its use in contexts where the face of God — or the face seen in a mirror, or the face of another person — carries covenantal and eschatological weight.
Moses' face shone after encountering God's presence (Ex. 34. 35); the Aaronic blessing speaks of the Lord lifting his face upon Israel (Num. 6. 25-26, translated prosōpon in the LXX). Paul uses prosōpon in 2 Corinthians 3-4 to develop one of the most concentrated theological passages in his letters: we behold the glory of God in the face (prosōpon) of Jesus Christ (4.
6). The eschatological vision of 1 Corinthians 13:12 promises that we will see not dimly in a mirror but 'face to face' — prosōpon pros prosōpon. The face that was lifted toward Israel in blessing, that shone on Moses on the mountain, that the Psalms begged to see and not turn away — is the face that Paul says shines in the face of the one who is the image of God.
Prosōpon appears 76 times in the New Testament across all major writers. Its literal uses are common (falling on one's face, face to face conversation, a person's countenance). Its theologically concentrated uses cluster in Paul's Corinthian letters, the eschatological face-to-face vision of 1 Corinthians 13, and Jesus' teaching on not covering the disfigured face in prayer. The word translates the Hebrew panim (face/presence) in the LXX, inheriting all of panim's theological weight.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Paul's climactic declaration in a passage that runs from 3.7 through 4.6: the glory that shone on Moses' face, now unveiled, is seen in the prosōpon of Jesus Christ. The new covenant's surpassing glory is the face of the Son. This is the theological peak of prosōpon in the NT.
Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
The eschatological face-to-face (prosōpon pros prosōpon) is the ultimate knowing — the completion of the covenant relationship in full presence. Paul borrows the image from Moses' unique face-to-face access to God (Deut.34.10). The resurrection hope includes this: direct, unmediated presence with God.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
Jesus' instruction about fasting: do not make your prosōpon visible as a signal of piety. The face here is the outer indicator of inner state. Jesus contrasts the performed prosōpon (disfigured faces of the hypocrites) with the washed face of the person who fasts before God alone. The face can be a vehicle of authentic devotion or theatrical performance.
They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
The eschatological completion: to see God's prosōpon is the promised reward of the pure in heart (Matt.5.8). The beatific vision — seeing the face of God — is the fullest biblical expression of covenant relationship achieved. What Moses glimpsed only partially (Ex.33.23), what the Psalms begged for (Ps.27.8), the redeemed will see directly.
When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
Paul's confrontation with Peter is kata prosōpon — openly, directly, face to face. The word here marks the contrast with the private pressure of 'those from James.' Authentic confrontation happens in the presence of the one confronted, not behind the face.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Face or presence; idiomatically means personal appearance, condition, or showing favoritism based on external circumstances.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 78 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
the face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read versethe face, countenance, surface
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 76 lexical occurrence verses.
πρόσωπον is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Prosōpon is the word of direct encounter — the face as the place where relationship becomes personal, where presence is registered, where turning away is a statement and returning is a restoration. The Aaronic blessing's 'may the Lord make his face shine upon you' (panim in Hebrew, prosōpon in LXX) is one of the oldest prayers in the Bible, and it expresses the fundamental human longing: to know that God is turned toward us, that his face is lifted toward our face, that we are not avoided or hidden from.
The Psalms return to this longing repeatedly: do not hide your face from me (Ps. 27. 9), I shall behold your face in righteousness (Ps. 17. 15). The New Testament's answer to that longing is Paul's declaration in 2 Corinthians 4:6: the face of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. All the scattered requests to see God's face, the partial revelations and veiled glories, the burning of Moses' face after encountering the divine — all of it converges on the prosōpon of the Son.
He is the face of God made accessible to human beings without consuming them. The eschatological face-to-face of 1 Corinthians 13 and Revelation 22 is not a metaphor. It is the promise of unmediated presence, the completion of what every covenant relationship was always reaching toward. Teachers who work with prosōpon help their congregations understand that the gospel is not primarily a transaction but an encounter — the God who turned his face toward sinners in the person of his Son, and will one day turn his face toward his people in unmediated glory.
2Cor.4.6
Prosōpon is composed of pros (toward, in front of) and ōps (eye, face — related to horaō, to see). The word literally means 'what is in front of the eye' — the visible front of a person or thing. In Greek theatrical usage prosōpon also referred to the mask an actor wore, a sense that fed into the later Latin persona (mask, person) and its theological debates about the person of Christ.
The LXX uses prosōpon extensively to translate Hebrew panim (which appears roughly 2,100 times in the OT), carrying all of panim's range: physical face, divine presence, the face of the earth (surface), the face turned toward or away from someone.
The Old Testament panim theology is dense and pervasive. To seek the face of the Lord (Ps. 27. 8) is to pursue covenant relationship. The Lord turning his face away (Ps. 27. 9, 88. 14) is covenant abandonment experienced as desolation. Moses' face-to-face access to God (Ex. 33. 11, Num. 12. 8) is the unique sign of his prophetic status. The Aaronic blessing's shining face (Num.
6. 25) Is God's grace expressed in the direction of his attention. All of this flows into the New Testament's prosōpon theology. 2 Corinthians 3-4 explicitly compares Moses' shining face (a reflected glory now fading) with the unveiled glory in the face of Christ (a direct glory now permanent). Revelation 22:4 completes the arc that began with Israel's prayer for God's face not to be hidden: the redeemed see his face.
The face that was veiled in the sanctuary, glimpsed by prophets, shone on Moses, and revealed in Christ — is finally, fully seen.
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