Divine body parts other than eyes are
mentioned in the Bible. The most curious example and one that has caused amusing
speculation, is the mention of God’s “backside” in Exodus 33:23. Moses asks to
see God’s glory. God agrees but tells Moses it is too much for him to see the
divine face. If he did, he would die. God tells Moses he can see his back (‘ăḫorāy).
What precisely Moses saw is a matter of considerable debate. Some say God’s “backside”
was just that, the back of God’s torso. However, others, including me, think it
refers to God’s buttocks. The face is the most individual and defining feature
of a person’s body. In many ways, a face is the person. It projects one’s
personality into the world. The buttocks is, perhaps, a person’s most humble
body part. It is the place out of which waste is expelled. God seems to be
saying to Moses; You cannot handle my most radiant feature, so I will show you
the most lackluster part of me (Charles Halton, A Human-Shaped God: Theology
of an Embodied God [Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2021], 111)
Further Reading
Lynn Wilder vs. Latter-day Saint (and Biblical) Theology on Divine Embodiment
