I. Name
In quite a number of biblical texts the pānîm of YHWH is YHWH’s hypostatic Presence. Thus it serves the same function as Šēm‘Name’ in Deuteronomistic theology, Kābôd‘Glory’ in the Priestly tradition, and Shekinah in later Jewish writings. By recourse to such concepts, the ancient Israelites were able to speak of the deity’s simultaneous transcendence and immanence.
II. Identity
Elsewhere in the ancient Near East, pan ‘face’ or ‘presence’ is also used in the sense of the persona …