Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 3:16
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
16. when it shall turn to the Lord ] The A. V. makes (1) Israel’s heart the nominative to the verb in this sentence. Wiclif and the other Protestant translators (2) make Israel itself the nominative, while (3) the Rhemish version makes Moses the nominative, referring to the fact that in the narrative in Exodus 34 he is said in almost the same words as here, to remove the veil when he turns to God. Origen (4) would supply any one. Each rendering is defended by commentators of note, but the first seems preferable. Cf. Rom 11:23; Rom 11:26; Rom 11:32.
the vail shall be taken away ] The tense in the original is present, not future, and may be interpreted, (1) with Bp. Wordsworth, ‘is in process of removal,’ or perhaps better, (2) with Dean Alford, is there and then removed, i.e. at the moment when the heart turns to the Lord, just as Moses took off the veil when he turned to speak to God. See also Isa 25:7. It is to be observed that these words are a quotation of the LXX. of Exo 34:34, substituting, however, the present for the past tense.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Nevertheless – This is not always to continue. The time is coming when they shall understand their own Scriptures, and see their true beauty.
When it shall turn to the Lord – When the Jewish people shall be converted. The word it here refers undoubtedly to Israel in 2Co 3:13; and the sense is, that their blindness is not always to remain; there is to be a period when they shall turn to God, and shall understand his promises, and become acquainted with the true nature of their own religion. This subject the apostle has discussed at much greater length in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans; see the notes on that chapter.
The vail shall be taken away – They shall then understand the true meaning of the prophecies, and the true nature of their own institutions. They shall see that they refer to the Lord Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, and the true Messiah. The genuine sense of their sacred oracles shall break upon their view with full and irresistible light. There may be an allusion in the language here to the declaration in Isa 25:7, And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. This verse teaches:
(1) That the time will come when the Jews shall be converted to Christianity; expressed here by their turning unto the Lord, that is, the Lord Jesus; see the note, Act 1:24.
(2) It seems to be implied that their conversion will be a conversion of the people at large; a conversion that shall be nearly simultaneous; a conversion en masse. Such a conversion we have reason to anticipate of the Jewish nation.
(3) The effect of this will be to make them acquainted with the true sense of their own Scriptures, and the light and beauty of the sayings of their own prophets, Now they are in deep darkness on the sub ject; then they will see how entirely they meet and harmonize in the Lord Jesus.
(4) The true and only way of having a correct and full meaning of the Bible is by turning unto God. Love to Him, and a disposition to do His will, is the best means of interpreting the Bible.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. When it shall turn to the Lord] When the Israelitish nation shall turn to the LORD Jesus, the veil shall be taken away; the true light shall shine; and they shall see all things clearly.
There is an evident allusion here to the case of Moses, mentioned Ex 34:34. When he came from the Lord, and spoke to the Israelites, he put the veil over his face; but when he returned to speak with the Lord, then he took off the veil. So, when the Israelitish nation shall return to speak with and pray to the Lord Jesus, the veil of darkness and ignorance shall be taken away from their hearts; but never before that time. The words seem to imply:
1. That there will be a conversion of the Jews to Christianity; and,
2. That this conversion will be en masse; that a time will come when the whole nation of the Jews, in every place, shall turn to Christ; and then the Gentiles and Jews make one fold, under one Shepherd and Bishop of all souls.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
When it shall turn, may be understood of the whole, or of the generality (at least) of the Jews; when they shall be converted to the faith of Christ, or when any particular person shall be converted to Christ, then
the veil shall be taken away; not the veil with which God covered and veiled the mysteries of the gospel, (that was already taken away upon Christs coming in the flesh), but the veil of blindness, which they had drawn over their own souls. Though the light of the gospel shineth clearly, and Christ be unveiled, yet until men, by a true faith, receive Christ, and turn from sinful courses to the obedience of the gospel, they see little or nothing of Christ. The taking away of this veil, and the turning to the Lord, are things done in souls at the same time; therefore nothing is to be concluded here, from the apostles naming the removal of the impediment, after the effect of which that is a cause.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. Moses took off the veil onentering into the presence of the Lord. So as to the Israelites whomMoses represents, “whensoever their heart (it) turns (notas English Version, ‘shall turn’) to the Lord, the veil is (bythe very fact; not as English Version, ‘shall be‘)taken away.” Ex 34:34 isthe allusion; not Exo 34:30;Exo 34:31, as ALFORDthinks. Whenever the Israelites turn to the Lord, who is the Spiritof the law, the veil is taken off their hearts in the presence of theLord: as the literal veil was taken off by Moses in going before God:no longer resting on the dead letter, the veil, they by theSpirit commune with God and with the inner spirit of the Mosaiccovenant (which answers to the glory of Moses’ face unveiledin God’s presence).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord,…. The heart, upon which the veil now is; or the body of the Jewish nation, as in the latter day; when they “shall turn”, or “be turned”, by the Spirit, power, and grace of God, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn, and embrace him as the true Messiah and only Saviour:
the veil shall be taken away; the veil of blindness and ignorance, respecting themselves, case, state, and condition, and the way of salvation by Christ; the veil of unbelief, with regard to his person, offices, and grace, and of error in points of the greatest moment and importance; then all the darkness and obscurity that is upon the books of Moses and the prophets, and which is now upon their hearts in reading them, will be gone. The prophecies of the Old Testament will be seen in their proper light, and to be evidently fulfilled in Christ; the true nature, use, and end of the law, will be discovered; and both they and that will be freed from all darkness that now attends them. The Jews themselves acknowledge, that though the law is light, yet there is an obscurity in it, by reason of the several ways of interpreting it; and therefore,
“he that studies in it, has need to remove, , “veil after veil”, which is upon the face of it, in order to come at the light of it g:”
and intimate, that the veil on Moses’s face was an emblem of this obscurity, which agrees with what the apostle hints in this context; and also own, that there is now upon them a veil of ignorance; and, say they h, God has promised to remove, , perhaps it should be , “the veil of folly off of our understanding”, referring, as is thought, to Isa 25:7.
g R. Abraham Seba in Tzeror Hammor, fol. 90. 2. h Chobat Halebabot, par. 1. c. 3. apud L. Capell. in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
It shall turn (). The heart of Israel.
The veil is taken away ( ). Present passive indicative of , old verb, to take from around, as of anchors (Ac 27:40), to cut loose (Ac 28:13), for hope to be taken away (Ac 27:20). Here Paul has in mind Ex 34:34 where we find of Moses that (the veil was taken from around his face) whenever he went before the Lord. After the ceremony the veil is taken from around (–) the face of the bride.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
It shall turn. The heart of Israel.
Shall be taken away [] . Rev., correctly, is taken away. The verb occurs twice in Acts (xxvii. 20, 40) of the taking away of hope, and of the unfastening of the anchors in Paul ‘s shipwreck; and in Heb 10:11, of the taking away of sins. There is an allusion here to the removal of the veil from Moses ‘ face whenever he returned to commune with God. See Exo 34:34.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord,” (henika de ean epistrepse pros kurion) “yet whenever it (the nation of Israel) turns to the Lord;” For they shall return, Exo 34:34; Rom 11:23; Rom 11:26. They shall return in penitence, Jer 31:33-34; Zec 12:10.
2) “The vail shall be taken away,” (perioureitai to kalumma) “(then is taken away the veil;)” This removal of the veil is prophecied, Isa 25:7. All unbelievers in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, are aliens from God, even I till today through ignorance of the word, and blindness of their own hearts by Satan, the god of this world, Joh 8:44; Eph 4:18.
DISCOVERY OF BLINDNESS
I was in the Eye Infirmary the other day, when a woman came in with a beautiful babe. The woman said to the doctor; “Doctor, my child has not had its eyes open for a few days, and I have come to see if there can be something done for him. I did not like to open them, for it seemed to hurt him.” The doctor, thereupon, pulled down the eyelids of the child, and the child gave a loud scream of pain. But he went on and made an examination, and then, turning to the poor woman, said: “Your child is blind of that eye.” He then opened the other and said, “Yes, and this one too; your child will never see again.” And it seemed to burst upon the woman so suddenly and so unexpectedly, that she screamed out at the top of her voice: “Oh, will my darling child never see me again? Oh, my darling child! oh, my darling child!” She pressed the child to her bosom, and I had to weep, too. Don’t you sympathize with that poor mother? Don’t you suppose I sympathize with her? Yes; but if I know my heart, I would rather lose my sight – have my eyes dug out as Samson’s were – than to lose my soul. What is sight to the soul? Yes, I would a thousand times rather lose my sight on earth and see God in heaven than have my light here and darkness beyond the grave.
–Moody
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
16. But when he shall have turned to the Lord. This passage has hitherto been badly rendered, for both Greek and Latin writers have thought that the word Israel was to be understood, whereas Paul is speaking of Moses. He had said, that a veil is upon the hearts of the Jews, when Moses is read. He immediately adds, As soon as he will have turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. Who does not see, that this is said of Moses, that is, of the law? For as Christ is the end (407) of it, (Rom 10:4,) to which it ought to be referred, it was turned away in another direction, when the Jews shut out Christ from it. Hence, as in the law (408) they wander into by-paths, so the law, too, becomes to them involved like a labyrinth, until it is brought to refer to its end, that is, Christ. If, accordingly, the Jews seek Christ in the law, the truth of God will be distinctly seen by them, (409) but so long as they think to be wise without Christ, they will wander in darkness, and will never arrive at a right understanding of the law. Now what is said of the law applies to all Scripture — that where it is not taken as referring to Christ as its one aim, it is mistakingly twisted and perverted. (410)
(407) “ La fin et l’accomplissement d’icelle;” — “The end and accomplishment of it.”
(408) “ En lisant la Loy;” — “In reading the Law.”
(409) “ Ils y trouuerout clairement la pure verité de Dieu;” — “They will clearly discover in it the pure truth of God.”
(410) “ C’est la destourner hops de son droit sens et du tout la peruertir;” — “This is to turn it away from its right meaning, and altogether to pervert it.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Appleburys Comments
Transformed
Scripture
2Co. 3:16-18. But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.
Comments
turn to the Lord.The only way to remove that veil is to make an honest investigation of the claims of Christ as set forth in the gospel which was preached by the inspired apostles. When it, the veiled heart, turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. Then one can see that God has spoken with finality through the Son in the New Covenant. The veil kept the Jews from seeing that the Law of Moses was supplanted by the gospel. They did not know that God was speaking through Christ, not Moses. See Deu. 18:15. The veil, which Moses removed when he was in the presence of God or speaking to the children of Israel, is taken out of the way when one realizes that God did speak with finality through Christ.
Now the Lord is the Spirit.The word spirit in this verse is rendered Spirit, assuming that Paul was referring to the Holy Spirit. The Lord is Jesus Christ. See 2Co. 4:5. See also comment on 2Co. 1:3. But this is to identify the Lord with the Holy Spirit. We are well aware of the fact that Scripture makes it clear that there is an intimate unity between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But why should Paul refer to this unity at this point? He had already made it clear that the New Covenant came into being through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit as he directed the minds of those who wrote down the message of the New Covenant. He had also indicated that spirit stood as a symbol of the New Covenant. Since in this context he is contrasting the reading of Moses, that is the Old Covenant, with the boldness of Pauls speech in connection with the New Covenant, it is possible that he is speaking about the Lord who is identified with that spirit-covenant. It is to the Lord that the veiled heart was to turn. And that was to be done by the reading of the New Covenant which was symbolized by spirit rather than letter. The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the Old.
where the Spirit of the Lord is.While this could refer to the Holy Spirit through whom the New Covenant came into being, consistency would suggest that the reference is still to spirit as the symbol of the New Covenant. Where the spirit-covenant of the Lord is, there is liberty.
there is liberty.This is the very issue that Paul discussed with the Galatians in chapters four and five. The New Covenant is represented by Sarah, and the Christian by Isaac. Paul concludes, Wherefore brethren we are not children of the handmaid but of the free woman (Gal. 4:31). Again Paul says, For freedom, did Christ set us free. Stand fast therefore and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1). This freedom in Christ is within the regulation of the Law of Christ. Bear ye one anothers burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). See also Rom. 8:1-4.
But we all, with unveiled face.The reading of the Old Covenant is here contrasted with the reading of the New Covenant. While the Jew read with a veil upon his heart, the Christianthe one who turned to the Lordis aware that the New Covenant is the abiding message of Christ.
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord.See James use of the mirror as a symbol of the perfect law of liberty, that is, the gospel or the New Covenant. Jas. 1:23-24. It is the glorious, abiding New Covenant that reveals the glory of the Lord. It reveals His deity, His majesty, His power and His authority. It reveals His work as Prophet, Priest, and King. It reveals Him as our example, in whose footsteps we should follow. See 1Pe. 2:21. It reveals Him as the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. See 1Pe. 1:25. It reveals Him as the One coming again for those who wait for Him unto salvation. Gods children will be like Him for they will see Him as He is. See 1Jn. 3:2.
transformed into the same image.The tragic failure of the Jews under the Old Covenant is indicated by the fact that they were not transformed into Gods children. Though they claimed God as their Father, the simple truth was that they were filled with hatred for His Son and disregard for His Word. Therefore Jesus called them children of their father, the devil. See Joh. 8:39-44.
Will Christ tolerate anything less than genuine transformation into Christlikeness under the New Covenant? Paul wrote to the Romans and said, Be not fashioned according to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds so that ye may approve the will of God, the thing that is good, and acceptable in His sight, and complete (Rom. 12:2). How tragic that many of the Corinthians had failed to see this. Their sin of division was destroying the temple of the Holy Spirit, their immoral conduct defiled the body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and their unchristian conduct made it impossible to keep the memorial feast of the Lords Supper.
from glory to glory.The image into which those who turn to the Lord are to be transformed is that of the glorious Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing short of Christlikeness in character and conduct meets this demand. Paul had written to the Corinthians to say, Imitate me as I am also an imitator of Christ (1Co. 11:1). Guidelines to follow in this matter may be found in 1Co. 13:4-8. Christ demonstrated in His life the meaning of every one of these characteristics of love. Love is the crowning virtue of the Christian life. So the glory of Christ is to be seen in the glorious life of His church. He cleansed it by the washing of the water with the Word that He might present the church into Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle of any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:26-27).
even as from the Lord the Spirit.This glorious transformation comes from the Lord of the spirit-covenant. Again some assume that Spirit is in apposition to Lord thus identifying the Lord with the Holy Spirit. The point that Paul is making is that the Lord has spoken through the New Covenant in contrast with the fact that Moses spoke through the Old Covenant as God revealed it to him.
Summary
Following the claim to be equal to the task of proclaiming the message of the gospel which was a message of life and death, Paul asked two questions: (1) Is this self-commendation? and (2) We do not need, as some do, letters of commendation to you or from you, do we?
He began his answers by saying, You are our epistle. Others might need letters of commendation, but Paul didnt. He knew that they had become Christians through his preaching. He had an abiding love for them. They, then, were like a letter written on his heart, known and read by everyone. They knew of his love for them and that they had become new creatures in Christ. Indeed, they were like a letter that Christ had written through his ministers who had preached the gospel to them. It was written on living heartsthe understanding and affectionsnot stone tablets as if it affected external conduct only. It was not an ordinary letter written with ink, but one written by the Spirit of the living God. Paul was confident of all this because he knew that it had Gods approval. God alone had made him equal to the task of being a minister of the New Covenant. This led to a contrast between the Old Covenantthe Ten Commandments given at Mt. Sinaiand the New Covenantthe gospel covenant given in fullness on the Day of Pentecost. He spoke of the Old Covenant as a letter covenant, and the New Covenant as a spirit covenant.
To many, the letter-covenant was not obeyed out of love for God. It became a thing that killed, because death was the penalty for breaking it. The spirit-covenant, because it was intelligently, willingly, and lovingly obeyed, was a thing that made alive those who were dead in sin. The spirit-covenant was revealed by the Holy Spirit, but for that matter, so was the letter-covenant, and in some respects it too was spiritual. See Rom. 7:12-14. The expression, the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life has nothing to do with the literal interpretation of the Scriptures as opposed to a spiritual interpretation.
Paul contrasted the glory of these two covenants, that is, the Old Covenant which kills and the New that brings life. The Old brought condemnation to the disobedient, but the New brings forgiveness to those who willingly obey it. The glory of the Old was such that the sons of Israel could not look steadfastly at the face of Moses which shone with a brilliant light because he had talked with God who had given him the covenant for Israel. But the glory of the New Covenant excells the Old just as forgiveness excells condemnation. The glory of the Old could not equal the surpassing glory of the New. Even the glory on Moses face faded away, a symbol of the fact that the Old Covenant was to be replaced by the New which is permanent. As a minister of the New Covenant, Paul spoke with great boldness.
Moses put a veil on his face to keep the people from seeing the end of the glory with which it shone. Moses wanted them to remember the glory as a symbol of the fact that God had spoken to them through Him. This kept them from seeing that the Old Covenant had been done away. Even in Pauls time, a mental picture of that veil remained in the minds of readers of the Law because they were not aware that the veil had been done away by the New Covenant of Christ. It was done away whenever the veiled heart turned to the Lord through whom God spoke with finality, completeness, and authority. See Heb. 1:1-2. The Lord is the Lord of the spirit-covenant. The message of the New Covenant is forever fresh just as if one were speaking to God face to face. Where the spirit-covenant of the Lord is, there is liberty. With unveiled faces because we are talking to the Lord, we look as into a mirror when we read the New Covenant and see the glory of the Lord.
As we behold this glorious image of the Lord, we are transformed into the glorious likeness of the Lord of the spirit-covenant.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(16) Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord.Better, But when it shall turn. The allegorising process is still carried on. Moses removed the veil when he went into the tabernacle to commune with the Lord (Exo. 34:35); so, in the interpretation of the parable, the veil shall be taken away when the heart of Israel shall turn, in the might of a real conversion, to the Lord of Israel. The very word for turn is taken from the same context: Moses called them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation turned to him (Exo. 34:31).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. Nevertheless St. Paul relieves the dark view with a ray of light. As the vail was once upon Moses, so it is now on the Jewish heart; but as when Moses went in to the Lord the vail “was taken off,” (Exo 34:34,) so when the Jewish heart shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But whenever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away.’
Here we have to interpret ‘it’. So, it could mean ‘but whenever the heart (referring back to 2Co 3:15) of a man turns to the Lord’, or ‘whenever there is a turning to the Lord’ or ‘whenever a person turns to the Lord’, the veil is taken away. The overall idea is the same and the verb gives the impression of the swiftness of it. The person looks and lives.
‘To the Lord.’ Taken in context we would expect ‘the Lord’ to mean Jesus Christ (compare 2Co 1:2-3; 2Co 1:14 ; 2Co 4:5; 2Co 4:10; 2Co 4:14; 2Co 11:17 and see 1Co 8:6 and Paul’s regular unquestionable references to Jesus Christ in that letter as ‘the Lord’ ( 1Co 2:8 ; 1Co 4:5; 1Co 6:14; 1Co 10:21 ; 1Co 11:20; 1Co 11:26-27; 1Co 11:29; 1Co 12:3 ; 1Co 12:5; 1Co 15:47). Then the idea would be the general one that all men have a veil over their hearts, and when they turn to the Lord Jesus Christ it results in the veil being taken away (see 2Co 4:4).
But strictly the veil is in context said to be over the hearts of those who hear ‘Moses’. So alternately it may mean ‘whenever anyone (who is listening to the reading of the Law) turns to the Lord the veil is taken away’ signifying those who listen to the reading of ‘Moses’ (2Co 3:15). It is then declaring that any such who genuinely reach out to the Lord, here referring back to the Lord of the Old Testament, (Who however is Jesus Christ) will in that be enlightened, with the necessary result that they turn to Jesus Christ. The corollary is that those who cling to Moses are still veiled.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Co 3:16 . When, however, it shall have turned to the Lord , shall have come to believe on Christ, the veil , which lies on their heart (2Co 3:15 ), is taken away; i.e. , when Moses is read before them, it will no longer remain unperceived by them that the Old Covenant ceases in Christ. The subject to is , 2Co 3:15 (Luther in the gloss, Beza, Grotius, Bengel, and several others, including Billroth, Olshausen, de Wette, Hofmann), not (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Pelagius, Erasmus, and many others, including Osiander), nor (Calvin, Estius [173] ), nor the general (Origen, Storr, Flatt).
The common supposition, that in 2Co 3:16 there is an allegorical reference to Moses, who, returning from the people to God, conversed unveiled with God (Exo 34:34 ), is in itself probable from the context, and is confirmed even by the choice of the words (Ex. l.c. : . ), though the same veil with which Moses was veiled ( . , 2Co 3:14 ) is no longer spoken of, but a veil on the hearts of the Jew.
with and the subjunctive aorist [174] denotes: then, when it shall have turned (Luther wrongly: when it turned itself), and that as something conceived, thought of, not as an unconditioned fact. The , however, does not affirm: to God , who is now revealed in the Lord (Hofmann), but, in simple accordance with of 2Co 3:15 : to Christ . The conversion of Israel which Paul has in view is, now that it is wholly relegated to the experience of the future, the conversion as a whole , Rom 11:25 . It was, however, obvious of itself that what is affirmed finds its application to all individual cases which had already occurred and were still to be expecte.
. has the emphasis, both of its important position at the head of the clause ( removed is the veil) and of the future realized as present. The passive is all the more to be retained, seeing that the subject of . is the heart ; the sense of self-liberation (Hofmann) may not be imported on account of Exo 34:34 . The conversion and deliverance of Israel is God’s work. See 2Co 3:17 and Rom 11:26 f. The compound corresponds to the conception of the veil covering the heart round about . Comp. Plato, Polit. p. 288 E: , Dem. 125,26: , 802, 5 : , Jdt 10:3 : , Bar 4:34 ; Bar 6:58 ; Act 27:40 .
[173] Calvin thinks that Moses is here tantamount in meaning to the law , and that the sense is: When the law is referred to Christ, when Christ is sought in the law by the Jews, then will the truth dawn upon them. Estius, who refers to God, says: “Moses conversus ad Dominmuatque retectam habens faciem, typum gessit populi Christiani ad Deum conversi et revelata cordis facie salutis mysteria contemplantis.”
[174] See Ellendt, Lex. Soph . I. p. 773.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
Ver. 16. When it shall turn ] Of the Jews’ conversion, and what hinders it. See Trapp on “ Rom 11:7 “ See Trapp on “ Rom 11:8 “ See Trapp on “ Rom 11:25 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16 .] Here, the tertium comparationis is, the having on a vail, and taking it off on going into the presence of the Lord . This Moses did; and the choice of the same words as those of the LXX, shews the closeness of the comparison; , . This shall likewise be done in the case of the Israelites: when it (i.e. , not Israel , as Chrys., Theod., Theophyl., Erasm., al., nor Moses , as Calv., Estius, nor , as Orig [4] , al.) shall turn to the Lord (here again is carefully chosen, being the very expression of the LXX, when the Israelites, having been afraid of the glory of the face of Moses, returned to him after being summoned by him: , . , and appears to be used for the same reason) the vail is taken away (not, shall be, because is the subject, and thus the taking away becomes an individual matter, happening whenever and wherever conversion takes place). Let me restate this, as it is all-important towards the understanding of 2Co 3:17-18 . ‘When their heart goes in to speak with God , ceases to contemplate the dead letter, and begins to commune with the Spirit of the old covenant (the Spirit of God), then the vail is removed, as it was from the face of Moses.’
[4] Origen, b. 185, d. 254
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Co 3:16 . . . .: but whensoever it, i.e. , Israel, shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away ; a paraphrase of Exo 34:34 , , .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
it. i.e. the heart of Israel.
turn. Greek. epistrepho. Often translated “return”, or be converted”. See Mat 13:15. Joh 12:40. Act 3:19; Act 28:27.
Lord. App-98.
taken away. Greek periaireo. See Act 27:20.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16.] Here, the tertium comparationis is, the having on a vail, and taking it off on going into the presence of the Lord. This Moses did; and the choice of the same words as those of the LXX, shews the closeness of the comparison; , . This shall likewise be done in the case of the Israelites: when it (i.e. ,-not Israel, as Chrys., Theod., Theophyl., Erasm., al.,-nor Moses, as Calv., Estius,-nor , as Orig[4], al.) shall turn to the Lord (here again is carefully chosen, being the very expression of the LXX, when the Israelites, having been afraid of the glory of the face of Moses, returned to him after being summoned by him:- , .,-and appears to be used for the same reason) the vail is taken away (not, shall be, because is the subject, and thus the taking away becomes an individual matter, happening whenever and wherever conversion takes place). Let me restate this,-as it is all-important towards the understanding of 2Co 3:17-18. When their heart goes in to speak with God,-ceases to contemplate the dead letter, and begins to commune with the Spirit of the old covenant (the Spirit of God), then the vail is removed, as it was from the face of Moses.
[4] Origen, b. 185, d. 254
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Co 3:16. – , but when the veil is taken away) This is a paraphrase on Exo 34:34, . But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak to Him, the veil was taken away. Therefore , meaning not if, but when, evidently affirms, as in the preceding verse, and frequently in the LXX., , , Gen 24:41; Gen 27:40; Exo 1:10; Exo 34:24; Lev 6:4; Lev 10:9; Deu 25:19. , Exo 33:8; Exo 33:22; Exo 40:36.-, shall be turned) namely their heart. The truth is acknowledged by repentance, 2Ti 2:25. The method, not of disputation, but of conversion, is to be applied to the Jews.- , to the Lord) Christ, 2Co 3:14. A distinguished appellation, 2Co 4:5.-) is passive, Act 27:20, and in the LXX., Lev 4:31; Lev 4:35; but middle very often in the LXX., and that too in the very passage to which Paul refers. The antithesis of 2Co 3:15-16 shows, however, that here the signification is passive. The veil lies [, 2Co 3:15]; the veil is taken away. The present, is [that moment, and by that very fact] taken away, is emphatic [not as Engl. shall be taken away.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Co 3:16
2Co 3:16
But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away.-When they shall sleek to know God and his will, the veil that prevents their seeing that Jesus is the Christ will be taken away.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
when: Exo 34:34, Deu 4:30, Deu 30:10, Lam 3:40, Hos 3:4, Hos 3:5, Rom 11:25-27
the veil: Isa 25:7, Isa 29:18, Isa 54:13, Jer 31:34, Joh 6:45, Joh 6:46
Reciprocal: Lev 26:45 – for their Deu 30:2 – return unto Isa 11:11 – set his hand Act 9:35 – turned Act 26:20 – turn Rom 11:23 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Co 3:16. The pronoun it stands for the heart in the preceding verse. Of course the heart and mind of a man are the same, meaning the mental faculty by which he either believes or disbelieves a truth proposed to him. Paul here plainly predicts that the heart of the Jewish nation will some day turn to the Lord. That is the same truth that is taught in Rom 11:26. (See the comments on that passage in Volume 1 of the New Testament Commentary.) The removal of this vail of unbelief is predicted in Isa 25:7, where the connection clearly shows the prophet is making a prediction of the Gospel Dispensation. It all means that the Jews as a nation will finally give up their rejection of Christ, and will recognize Him as the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Co 3:16. But whensoever it (i.e. their heart) shall turn to the Lordto the Lord Christthe veil is taken awaythe present tense, here used, signifying that it vanishes at once on their looking on Him whom they pierced.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. [The word “end” in 2Co 3:13 is the bone of contention in this passage. It has two meanings: (1) The termination or stopping-point. (2) The purpose, design or ultimate result. Macknight, Alford and others give it the first meaning, and construe Paul as saying that Moses covered his face that the children of Israel might not see the termination of the glory, as it faded from his face. But this construction limits the typical concealment to the mere fact that the Mosaic dispensation was to pass away, and is not large enough for Paul’s thought, as is shown by the context. Cameron, Barnes, etc., give it the second meaning, which we have embodied in the following paraphrase: “In dealing with the glory of our ministration we do not veil our meaning in types and shadows, as Moses showed that he did with his ministration, when he typically concealed the glory of his face by putting a veil upon it. He concealed the meaning of his ministration that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on Christ, the end or fulfillment of that dispensation or law which was typically passing away in the fading glory of Moses’ face (now, Christ is thus the end of Moses’ law– Rom 10:4); but the true hindrance was not the typical veil worn by Moses, but the real veil on the minds of the people, who were dull of understanding and sinfully hardened, so that from the very beginning they understood not his dispensation, nor do they yet, for even now when the law is read the great truth is not revealed to them that it is all done away, having ended in Christ. But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil is upon their heart, and they do not see that Moses preaches Christ. But whensoever the Jewish nation shall turn to the Lord, then the veil is taken away, and they see that the end or purpose of the law is to lead to Christ.”– Gal 3:24]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 16
When it shall turn; that is, when the heart of the children of Israel shall turn.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Only when the light of the glory of God shines on a person from Jesus Christ (i.e., he or she perceives the gospel) can that individual fully understand that revelation. Before God removes that veil that person cannot perceive it clearly. This applies to all people, but in the context Paul was speaking of Jews particularly. Whenever a person comprehends that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Mosaic Law (Rom 10:4), that one then understands that the dispensation of grace has superseded the dispensation of the law (Joh 1:17). [Note: Harris, p. 338.] "Turns to the Lord," means conversion to Jesus Christ.