2 Corinthians 3:7

Analysis

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: Paul begins his argument from the lesser to the greater (Hebrew qal wahomer reasoning). The Mosaic law is called the ministration of death (Greek hē diakonia tou thanatou, ἡ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου)—not because the law itself is evil, but because it pronounces death on lawbreakers without providing power to obey. Written and engraven in stones (Greek en grammata entupōmena lithois, ἐν γράμματα ἐντυπωμένη λίθοις) clearly identifies this as the Decalogue given at Sinai (Exodus 31:18; 34:1).

Yet even this covenant of death was glorious (Greek egenēthē en doxē, ἐγενήθη ἐν δόξῃ). Paul references Exodus 34:29-35, where Moses' face shone with reflected divine glory (doxa, δόξα) after receiving the second tablets, so intensely that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold (atenisai, ἀτενίσαι, "to gaze intently") it. The qualifier which glory was to be done away (Greek tēn katargoumenēn, τὴν καταργουμένην, "being abolished" or "fading") indicates the temporary nature of that Sinaitic glory. Paul will build on this: if the fading, death-dealing old covenant had glory, how much more the permanent, life-giving new covenant.

Historical Context

The Exodus 34 account describes Moses descending Sinai with the second set of stone tablets after Israel's golden calf apostasy. His face radiated God's glory so brightly that the people feared to approach. This physical manifestation testified to the law's divine origin and holiness. However, Paul interprets the fading of this glory as prophetically significant: the old covenant was never meant to be permanent. Jewish tradition highly honored Moses and the giving of the law; Paul's argument that this glory "was to be done away" would be shocking to Jewish ears, yet he grounds it in Scripture itself.

Reflection

• How does Paul's description of the law as the "ministration of death" help you understand why salvation cannot come through law-keeping?
• If even the temporary, condemning old covenant was glorious, what does this say about God's holiness and the seriousness of sin?
• How does recognizing that the old covenant glory was designed to fade help you embrace the permanent glory of the new covenant?