Bible Lexicons

πρόσωπον, προσώπου, τό (from πρός and ὤψ, cf. μέτωπον), from Homer down; the Sept. hundreds of times for פָּנִים, also for אַפַיִם, etc.;

1.

a. the face, i. e. the anterior part of the human head: Matthew 6:16, 17; Matthew 17:2; Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; Luke (); (T Tr WH omit; Lachmann brackets the clause); Acts 6:15; 2 Corinthians 3:7, 13, 18; (); Revelation 4:7; Revelation 9:7; Revelation 10:1; τό πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως, the face with which one is born (A. V. his natural face), James 1:23; πίπτειν ἐπί πρόσωπον (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 27, 1 n.; 122 (116)) and ἐπί τό πρόσωπον, Matthew 17:6; Matthew 26:39; Luke 5:12; Luke 17:16; 1 Corinthians 14:25; (Revelation 7:11 Rec.; ἔπεσαν ἐπί τά πρόσωπα, Revelation 11:16; Revelation 7:11 G L T Tr WH); ἀγνωυμενος τίνι τῷ προσώπῳ, unknown to one by face, i. e. personally unknown, Galatians 1:22; bereaved of one προσώπῳ, οὐ καρδία (A. V. in presence, not in heart), 1 Thessalonians 2:17; κατά πρόσωπον, in or toward (i. e. so as to look into) the face, i. e. before, in the presence of (see κατά, II. 1 c.): opposed to ἀπών, 2 Corinthians 10:1; with τίνος added, before (the face of) one, Luke 2:31; Acts 3:13; ἔχω τινα κατά πρόσωπον, i. e. to have one present in person (A. V. face to face), Acts 25:16; ἀντέστην κατά πρόσωπον, I resisted him to the face (with a suggestion of fearlessness), Galatians 2:11 (κατά πρόσωπον λέγειν τούς λόγους, Polybius 25, 5, 2; add Job 16:8; but in Deuteronomy 7:24; Deuteronomy 9:2; Judges 2:14; 2 Chronicles 13:7, ἀντιστῆναι κατά πρόσωπον τίνος simply denotes to stand against, resist, withstand); τά κατά πρόσωπον the things before the face, i. e. open, known to all, 2 Corinthians 10:7. Expressions modelled after the Hebrew: ὁρᾶν τό πρόσωπον τίνος, to see one's face, see him personally, Acts 20:25; Colossians 2:1; ἰδεῖν, 1 Thessalonians 2:17; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; θεωρεῖν, Acts 20:38 (cf. θεωρέω, 2 a.); particularly, βλέπειν τό πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ (see βλέπω, 1 b. β.), Matthew 18:10; ὁρᾶν τό πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ (see ὁράω, 1), Revelation 22:4; ἐμφανισθῆναι τῷ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ, to appear before the face of God, spoken of Christ, the eternal priest, who has entered into the heavenly sanctuary, Hebrews 9:24; in imitation of the Hebrew אֵל־פָּנִים פָּנִים we have the phrase πρόσωπον πρός πρόσωπον, face (turned (see πρός, I. 1 a., p. 541b)) to face (εἶδον τινα, Genesis 32:30; Judges 6:22): tropically, βλέπω namely, τόν Θεόν, see God face to face, i. e. discern perfectly his nature, will, purposes, 1 Corinthians 13:12; a person is said to be sent or to go πρό προσώπου τίνος (פ לִפנֵי) (cf. Winers Grammar, § 65, 4 b. at the end; Buttmann, 319 (274)), i. e. before one, to announce his coming and remove the obstacles from his way, Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 1:76; Luke 7:27 (Malachi 3:1); ; πρό προσώπου τίνος (of time) before a thing, Acts 13:24 (so לִפְנֵי in Amos 1:1; Zechariah 8:10; where the Sept. simply πρό (cf. πρό, b., p. 536b bottom)). πρός φωτισμόν τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, that we may bring forth into the light the knowledge of the glory of God as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 4:6 (Paul really means, the majesty of God manifest in the person of Christ; but the signification of πρόσωπον is 'face,' and Paul is led to use the word by what he had said in of the brightness visible in the force of Moses).

b. countenance, look (Latinvultus), i. e. the face so far forth as it is the organ of sight, and (by its various movements and changes) the index of the inward thoughts and feelings: κλίνειν τό πρόσωπον εἰς τήν γῆν, to bow the face to the earth (a characteristic of fear and anxiety), Luke 24:5; Hebraistic phrases relating to the direction of the countenance, the look: τό πρόσωπον τοῦ κυρίου ἐπί τινα, namely, ἐστιν, the face of the Lord is (turned) upon one, i. e. he looks upon and watches him, 1 Peter 3:12 (from Psalm 33:17 ()); στηρίζειν τό πρόσωπον (Hebrew שׂוּם or פָּנִים נָתַן; cf. Gesenius, Thesaurus, ii., p. 1109 on the same form of expression in Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Turkish) τοῦ πορεύεσθαι εἰς with an accusative of the place (A. V. steadfastly to set one's face to go etc. (see στηρίζω, a.)), Luke 9:51; moreover, even τό πρόσωπον τίνος ἐστι πορευόμενον εἰς with the accusative of place, Luke 9:53 (τό πρόσωπον σου πορευόμενον ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, 2 Samuel 17:11); ἀπό προσώπου τίνος φεύγειν, to flee in terror from the face (German Anblick) of one enraged, Revelation 20:11; κρύπτειν τινα etc. (see κρύπτω, a.), Revelation 6:16; ἀνάψυξις ἀπό προσώπου Θεοῦ, the refreshing which comes from the bright and smiling countenance of God to one seeking comfort, Acts 3:20 (19); on 2 Thessalonians 1:9 see ἀπό, p. 59a middle; μετά τοῦ προσώπου σου, namely, ὄντα, in the presence of thy joyous countenance (see μετά, I. 2 b. β'.), Acts 2:28 (from Psalm 15:11 ()); εἰς πρόσωπον τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, turned unto (i. e. in (R. V.)) the face of the churches as the witnesses of your zeal, 2 Corinthians 8:24; ἵνα ἐκ πολλῶν προσώπων ... διά πολλῶν εὐχαριστηθῇ, that from many faces (turned toward God and expressing the devout and grateful feelings of the soul) thanks may be rendered by many (accordingly, both ἐκ πολλῶν προσώπων and διά πολλῶν belong to εὐχαριστηθῇ (cf. Meyer ad loc.; see below)), 2 Corinthians 1:11. ἀπό προσώπου τίνος (פ מִפְּנֵי),from the sight or presence of one, Acts 5:41; Acts 7:45 (here A. V. before the face; Revelation 12:14); ἐν προσώπῳ Χριστοῦ, in the presence of Christ, i. e. Christ looking on (and approving), 2 Corinthians 2:10 (Proverbs 8:30); (some would render πρόσωπον here and in above person (cf. R. V.): — here nearly equivalent to on the part of (Vulg. in persona Christi); there equivalent to 'an individual' (Plutarch, de garrul. 13, p. 509 b.; Epictetus diss. 1, 2, 7; Polybius 8, 13, 5; 12, 27, 10; 27, 6, 4; Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 1, 1 [ET]; 47, 6 [ET]; Phryn., p. 379, and Lobeck's note, p. 380)).

c. Hebraistically, the appearance one presents by his wealth or poverty, his rank or low condition; outward circumstances, external condition; so used in expressions which denote to regard the person in one's judgment and treatment of men: βλέπειν εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων, Matthew 22:16; Mark 12:14; θαυμάζειν πρόσωπα, Jude 1:16; λαμβάνειν πρόσωπον (τίνος), Luke 20:21; Galatians 2:6 (on which see βλέπω, 2 c., θαυμάζω λαμβάνω, I. 4). καυχᾶσθαι ἐν προσώπῳ καί οὐ καρδία, to glory in those things which they simulate in look, viz. piety, love, righteousness, although their heart is devoid of these virtues, 2 Corinthians 5:12, cf. 1 Samuel 16:7.

2. the outward appearance of inanimate things (A. V. face (except in James as below)): τοῦ ἄνθους, James 1:11; τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, τῆς γῆς, Matthew 16:3 (here T brackets; WH reject the passage); Luke 12:56 (Ps. 103(104):); (so in Latin, naturae vultus, Ovid. metam. 1, 6; maris facies, Vergil Aen. 5, 768; on this use of the nounfacies see Aulus Gellius, noctes atticae 13, 29); surface: τῆς γῆς, Luke 21:35; Acts 17:26 (on the omitted article here cf. πᾶς, I. 1 c.) (Genesis 2:6; Genesis 11:8).