2 Corinthians 3:14 - Exposition

Their minds . This word is rendered" devices" in 2 Corinthians 2:11 ; "minds" in 2 Corinthians 3:14 and 2 Corinthians 4:4 ; and "thought" in 2 Corinthians 10:5 . It means that their powers of reason were, so to speak, petrified. Were blinded; rather, were hardened . The verb cannot mean" to blind." By whom were their minds hardened? It would be equally correct to say by themselves ( Hebrews 3:8 ), or by Satan ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ), or by God ( Romans 11:7 , Romans 11:8 ). The same veil. Of course the meaning is "a veil of which the veil of Moses is an exact type." The veil which prevented them from seeing the evanescence of the light which shone on the face of Moses was symbolically identical with that which prevented them also from seeing the transitory character of his Law. It had been as it were taken from his face and laid on their hearts (see Acts 13:27-29 ; Romans 11:1-36 .). Many commentators have seen in this verse a reference to the Jewish custom of covering the head with the tallith, a four-cornered veil, when they were in the synagogues. But this is doubtful, since the tallith did not cover the eyes. More probably his metaphor may have been suggested by Isaiah 25:7 , "And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast ever all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations." Untaken away. There are two other ways of rendering this verse: