And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
We use no disguise, 'as Moses put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel might not look stedfastly upon the end of that which was to be done away,' (Billroth, Olshausen, Alford, Ellicott, etc.) The Septuagint view of Exodus 34:30-35, is thus adopted by Paul, that Moses going in to speak to God removed the veil until he came out and spake to the people; then when he had done speaking he put on the veil, that they might not look on the end, or the fading, of his transitory glory. But this view does not accord with 2 Corinthians 3:7: the Israelites 'could not look stedfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance.' Plainly the history (Exodus 34:1-35) implies that Moses' veil was put on because of their not having been able to 'look stedfastly at him.' Paul here (2 Corinthians 3:13) passes from the literal fact to the truth symbolized, the blindness of Jews and Judaizers to the ultimate end of the law: stating that Moses put on the veil that they might not look stedfastly at (Christ, Romans 10:4; the Spirit, 2 Corinthians 3:17) the end of that (law in its mere letter) which (like Moses' glory) is done away. Not that Moses had this purpose; but often God attributes to His prophets the purpose which He has Himself. Because the Jews would not see, God judicially gave them up so as not to see. They would only see Moses under a legal veil, so that they could not see Christ the end of the mere letter law-veil done away in Him. The glory of Moses' face is antitypically Christ's glory shining behind the veil of legal ordinances (John 5:45-47). The veil, taken off to the believer, is left on to the unbelieving Jew, so that he should not see (Isaiah 6:10; Acts 28:26-27). He stops short at the letter, not seeing the end. The evangelical glory of the law, like the shining of Moses' face, cannot be borne by a carnal people, and therefore remains veiled to them until the Spirit takes away the veil (2 Corinthians 3:14-17).