Two specific things
distinguish Moses from even a prophet. First, as the servant of Yahweh he is ‘faithful
in all my house’ (Num. 12:7). The Hebrew verb rendered ‘is faithful’ is the same
verb (‘āman) used in Exodus 14:31, where the people are said to believe in
Yahweh and his servant Moses. By demonstrating his faithfulness to Yahweh Moses
demonstrates he is a worthy object of the people’s faith. The use
of household imagery portrays Moses as the one to whom God has entrusted the
oversight of his people. Second, Yahweh speaks to Moses ‘mouth to mouth’ and
Moses ‘behold the form of the LORD’. Exodus 33:11 has already noted that Yahweh
‘used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend’. Although
God had told Moses that no one could see his face and live (Exod. 33:20), he
allows Moses to see his back (Exod. 33:21-34:10). Both expressions stress the
unparalleled personal intimacy that Moses the servant has with Yahweh. By
contrast, the Lord speaks to prophets in the form of visions, dreams and
riddles. The picture is of direct and intimate communication. As the servant,
Moses has direct and intimate access to Yahweh himself rather than the mediated
forms of communication that God uses with his prophets. (Matthew S. Harmon, The
Servant of the Lord and His Servant People: Tracing a biblical theme through
the canon [New Studies in Biblical Theology; London: Apollos, 2020], 51-52,
emphasis added)
