'Faces' in the Bible
So Shem and Japheth took a robe and put it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Jacob separated the lambs, and [as he had done with the peeled branches] he made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the dark or black in the [new] flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart by themselves and did not put them [where they could breed] with Laban’s flock.
Now Joseph was the ruler over the land, and he was the one who sold [grain] to all the people of the land; and Joseph’s [half] brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.
The cherubim spread out their wings upward, covering and protecting the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward each other; the faces of the cherubim were [looking downward] toward the mercy seat.
Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites.
But they fell on their faces [before the Lord], and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh! When one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”
“Get away from among this congregation, so that I may consume them immediately.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces [in silence before the Lord].
Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and fell on their faces [before the Lord in prayer]. Then the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared to them;
Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt (Dead) Sea, from the bay that turns southward.
For when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the altar flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this they fell on their faces to the ground.
Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have put all your servants to shame who this day have saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and concubines.
When all the people saw it, they fell face downward; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
Courageous men from the Gadites came over to David in the stronghold in the wilderness, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and who were swift as gazelles on the mountains.
Then David raised his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, their faces toward the Holy Place (the main room).
When all the people of Israel saw how the fire came down and saw the glory and brilliance of the Lord upon the house, they bowed down on the stone pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and praised the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever.”
For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they have abandoned Him and have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have turned their backs [toward Him].
Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; and they knelt down and worshiped the Lord with their faces toward the ground.
“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?
For You will make them turn their backs [in defeat];You will aim Your bowstring [of divine justice] at their faces.
They looked to Him and were radiant;Their faces will never blush in shame or confusion.
Fill their faces with shame and disgrace,That they may [persistently] seek Your name, O Lord.
For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment],And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
“What do you mean by crushing My peopleAnd grinding the face of the poor?”Declares the Lord God of hosts.
They [of Babylon] will be shocked and terrified,Pains and anguish will grip them;They will be in pain like a woman in childbirth.They will stare aghast and horrified at one another,Their faces aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].
He will swallow up death [and abolish it] for all time.And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,And He will take away the disgrace of His people from all the earth;For the Lord has spoken.
“Kings will be your attendants,And their princesses your nurses.They will bow down to you with their faces to the earthAnd lick the dust of your feet;And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the Lord;For they shall not be put to shame who wait and hope expectantly for Me.
He was despised and rejected by men,A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief;And like One from whom men hide their facesHe was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him.
“Do not be afraid of them [or their hostile faces],For I am with you [always] to protect you and deliver you,” says the Lord.
But you [Jeremiah], gird up your loins [in preparation]! Get up and tell them all which I command you. Do not be distraught and break down at the sight of their [hostile] faces, or I will bewilder you before them and allow you to be overcome.
Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’For they have turned their backs to Me,And not their faces;But in the time of their trouble they will say,‘Arise [O Lord] and save us.’
O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?You [have seen their faithless heart and] have stricken them,But they did not weaken;You have consumed them,But they refused to take correction or instruction.They have made their faces harder than rock;They have refused to repent and return to You.
‘Ask now, and seeWhether a man can give birth [to a child].Why then do I see every manWith his hands on his loins, as a woman in labor?Why have all faces turned pale?
They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them repeatedly, yet they would not listen and receive instruction.
So all the men who set their mind to go to Egypt to reside there [temporarily] will die by the sword, by famine and by virulent disease; none of them will remain or survive the disaster that I am going to bring on them.”’”
And I will take the remnant of Judah who have decided to go into the land of Egypt to live there [instead of surrendering to the Chaldeans as directed], and they will all fall and die in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or perish by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword or by famine; and they will become detestable, an object of horror, a curse, and a disgrace.
They will ask the way to Zion, with their faces in that direction, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.’
We are perplexed and ashamed, for we have heard reproach;Disgrace has covered our faces,For foreigners [from Babylon] have comeInto the [most] sacred parts of the sanctuary of the Lord [even those places forbidden to all but the appointed priest].
Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them,
Regarding the form and appearance of their faces: they [each] had the face of a man [in front], and each had the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the left side; all four also had the face of an eagle [at the back of their heads].
Such were their faces. Their wings were stretched out upward; two [wings] of each one were touching another [the wings of the beings on either side of it], and [the remaining] two [wings of each being] were covering their bodies.
Now as I looked at the living beings, I saw one wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.
Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
They will also cover themselves with sackcloth; horror will overwhelm them, and shame will be on all faces and baldness on all their heads [as evidence of grief].
He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol (image) of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.
So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch (vestibule, portico) and the [bronze] altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing down toward the east and worshiping the sun.
Behold, six men [angelic beings] came from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with his battle-axe in his hand; and among them was a certain man clothed in linen, with a scribe’s writing case at his side. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.
When they moved, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went; but they followed in the direction which they faced, without turning as they went.
And each one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
Each one had four faces and each one had four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands.
As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the River Chebar. Each one went straight forward.
Moreover, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the Lord’s house, which faced eastward. And behold, at the entrance of the gate there were twenty-five men; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
“Son of man, these men have set up [and honored] their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the [vile] stumbling block of their wickedness and guilt; should I [permit Myself to] be consulted by them at all?
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your disgusting and vile acts.
and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every one of your green trees, as well as every one of your dry trees. The blazing flame will not be quenched and the whole surface from the south to the north will be burned by it.
‘All the inhabitants of the coastlandsAre aghast and appalled at you,And their kings are horribly frightened and shudder;Their faces twitch and pale.
Its windows and its porches and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as the gate that faced toward the east. It was reached by going up seven steps, and its porch was in front of them.
It was carved with [figures of] cherubim and palm trees; so that a palm decoration was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces,
Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out toward the gate which faced east and measured the outer area all around.
Then he (the angel) led me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.
Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut.
‘Thus says the Lord God, “The gate of the inner courtyard that faces east shall be shut during the six working days, but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon.
When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.
Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by the way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was spurting out from the south side [of the gate].
and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has prearranged your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the young men who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.”
Before them the people are in anguish;All faces become pale [with terror].
She is emptied! She is desolate and waste!Hearts melting [in fear] and knees knocking!Anguish is in the whole body,And the faces of all grow pale!
“They all come for violence;Their horde of faces moves [eagerly] forward,They gather prisoners like sand.
Behold, I am going to rebuke your seed, and I will spread the refuse on your faces, the refuse from the festival offerings; and you will be taken away with it [in disgrace].
When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were terrified.
“But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.
and as the women were terrified and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead?
The locusts resembled horses prepared and equipped for battle; and on their heads appeared to be [something like] golden crowns, and their faces resembled human faces.