“Back” or “back parts” may refer to the far side or rear of a place. When God’s “back” is mentioned, the expression is an anthropomorphic way of describing a limited glimpse or afterglow of His divine glory.
Definition
Back or back parts may denote the rear, far side, hinder part, or reverse side of something. In biblical language the term can describe a remote area behind a wilderness, a position toward the west, or the back of a written roll. When applied to God, “back” is an anthropomorphic expression for a limited perception of divine radiance.
Biblical Usage
The expression describes Moses seeing God’s “back,” understood as the afterglow or faint reflection of God’s essential glory. Other biblical uses refer to a wilderness area, geographical direction, and writing on the reverse or back portion of a roll.
Historical Background
The term represents several Hebrew and Greek expressions with different senses, including “back side,” “hinder part,” and “behind.” The discussion of the written roll distinguishes its back from the reverse side of a modern book.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>(1) 'achar, ("back side" as in the King James Version): "He led the flock to the back of the wilderness" (Ex 3:1), i.e. "to the pasture-lands on the other side of the desert from the Midianite encampments."</p><p>(2) 'achor, ("hinder part," "the West"): Used of God in an anthropomorphic sense ("Thou shalt see my back," Ex 33:23) to signify "the after-glow of the Divine radiance," the faint reflection of God's essential glory. See also Isa 38:17 and compare 1Ki 14:9 and Ne 9:26.</p><p>(3) opisthen, ("back side"): "A book written within and on the back" (Re 5:1), "but the back of a book is not the same as the reverse side of a roll. John was struck, not only with the fact that the roll was sealed, but also with the amount of writing it contained" (HDB, I, 231). Compare Eze 2:10.</p><p>M. O. Evans</p>
