What is Moses asking for in Exodus 33 when he asks to see God's glory? When the Jewish scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek for Ptolemy II they chose not to use the Greek word for glory in this instance, they chose instead a word for "yourself." Moses is then asking to see God as He is. Given that Moses only gets a glimpse of God's glory but gets a fuller understanding of God via a sermon God gives him in Exodus 34, it seems that the translators got it right.
God's "self" was disclosed not in a visual way but in words. We need words for understanding and expression, we can't adequately communicate visions, what is seen. God is inexpressible in the way that joy is inexpressible, we can't truly describe joy to another, it is experienced not described. The limitation of words is significant and real and yet this is how God chose to reveal Himself to Moses and through the prophets. Because words have limits does that mean we can't use them or truly understand their meaning?
What Jesus shows us in his interaction with people, especially religious people, is that words can indeed be misunderstood or misinterpreted, but that they have value for communicating God's truth. What John picks up on in his description of Jesus as logos or the Word, is the embodiment of that truth. Jesus' life doesn't change the words God has spoken in any way, it interpreted them and shows us the way to live out the Word of God. What John said happened in the incarnation of Jesus was plain, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John saw in Jesus what Moses asked to see.
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