before the accused meets his accusers face to face

πρόσωπον, ου, τό (Hom.+; loanw. in rabb.).

① the front part of the head

ⓐ lit. face, countenance Mt 6:16f; 17:2; Mk 14:65; Lk 9:29 (s. εἶδος 1); Ac 6:15ab (Chariton 2, 2, 2 θαυμάζουσαι τὸ πρόσωπον ὡς θεῖον; Damasc., Vi. Isid. 80 Πρόκλος ἐθαύμαζε τὸ Ἰσιδώρου πρόσωπον, ὡς ἔνθεον ἦν; Marinus, Vi. Procli 23); 2 Cor 3:7 twice, 13 (JMorgenstern, Moses with the Shining Face: HUCA 2, 1925, 1–28); cp. vs. 18; 4:6; but in the last two passages there is a transition from the face of Moses to a symbolic use of πρ. (s. 1bβג below); Rv 4:7; 9:7ab; 10:1; IEph 15:3 (cp. 1bβו); MPol 12:1; Hv 3, 10, 1; B 5:14; GJs 17:2; 18:2 (codd.). ἐμβριθεῖ τῷ πρ. MPol 9:2 (s. ἐμβριθής). ποίῳ προσώπῳ GJs 13:1b. πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ the face he was born with Js 1:23 (γένεσις 2a). ἐμπτύειν εἰς τὸ πρ. τινος spit in someone’s face (s. ἐμπτύω) Mt 26:67. εἰς πρ. δέρειν τινά strike someone in the face 2 Cor 11:20. τύπτειν τὸ πρ. GJs 13:1a. συνέπεσεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ his face fell or became distorted 1 Cl 4:3; cp. vs. 4 (Gen 4:6 and 5; JosAs 13:8). πίπτειν ἐπὶ (τὸ; the art. is usu. lacking; B-D-F §255, 4; 259, 1; cp. Rob. 792) πρ. αὐτοῦ fall on one’s face as a sign of devotion (=נָפַל עַל פָּנָיו; cp. Gen 17:3; Ruth 2:10; TestAbr A 9 p. 86, 16 [Stone p. 20]; JosAs 14:4 al.; ApcSed 14:2) Mt 17:6; 26:39; Rv 7:11; 11:16. Without αὐτοῦ (Gen 17:17; Num 14:5; Jos., Ant. 10, 11) Lk 5:12; 17:16; 1 Cor 14:25.

ⓑ personal presence or relational circumstance, fig.

α. in all kinds of imagery which, in large part, represent OT usage, and in which the face is oft. to be taken as the seat of the faculty of seeing. Βλέπειν πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον to see face to face 1 Cor 13:12 (cp. Gen 32:31 [Jos., Ant. 1, 334 θεοῦ πρόσωπον]; Judg 6:22. See HRiesenfeld, ConNeot 5, ’41, 19; 21f [abstracts of four articles]). κλίνειν τὸ πρ. εἰς τὴν γῆν Lk 24:5 (κλίνω 1). πρ. κυρίου ἐπὶ ποιοῦντας κακά 1 Pt 3:12; 1 Cl 22:6 (both Ps 33:17). ἐπίφανον τὸ πρ. σου ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς (ἐπιφαίνω 1) 60:3 (s. Num 6:25). ἐμφανισθῆναι τῷ προσώπῳ τοῦ θεοῦ (ἐμφανίζω 1) Hb 9:24. βλέπειν τὸ πρ. τινος, i.e. of God (βλέπω 1a, ὁράω A1c and s. JBoehmer, Gottes Angesicht: BFCT 12, 1908, 321–47; EGulin, D. Antlitz Jahwes im AT: Annal. Acad. Scient. Fenn. 17, 3, 1923; FNötscher, ‘Das Anges. Gottes schauen’ nach bibl. u. babylon. Auffassung 1924) Mt 18:10; cp. Rv 22:4. ὁρᾶν, ἰδεῖν or θεωρεῖν τὸ πρ. τινος see someone’s face, i.e. see someone (present) in person (UPZ 70, 5 [152/151 B.C.] οὐκ ἄν με ἶδες τὸ πρόσωπον. See Gen 32:21; 43:3, 5; 46:30 al.) Ac 20:25, 38; 1 Th 2:17b; 3:10; IRo 1:1; s. IPol 1:1. τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐν σαρκί Col 2:1. τῷ προσώπῳ ἀγνοούμενος unknown by face, i.e. personally Gal 1:22 (ἀγνοέω 1b). ἀπορφανισθέντες ἀφʼ ὑμῶν προσώπῳ οὐ καρδίᾳ (dat. of specification) orphaned by separation from you in person, not in heart (or outwardly, not inwardly) 1 Th 2:17a. ἐκζητεῖν τὰ πρόσωπα τῶν ἁγίων (ἐκζητέω 1) B 19:10; D 4:2. ἀποστρέφειν τὸ πρ. ἀπό τινος (ἀποστρέφω 1) 1 Cl 18:9 (Ps 50:11); 16:3 (Is 53:3). στερεῖν τοῦ προσώπου τινός B 13:4 (Gen 48:11).—τὸ πρόσωπον στηρίζειν (s. στηρίζω 2 and cp. SAntoniades, Neotestamentica: Neophilologus 14, 1929, 129–35) Lk 9:51. τὸ πρ. αὐτοῦ ἦν πορευόμενον εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ his face was set toward Jerusalem vs. 53 (cp. 2 Km 17:11).—θαυμάζειν πρόσωπον flatter Jd 16 (PsSol 2:18; s. also θαυμάζω 1bα). λαμβάνειν πρόσωπον (=נָשָׂא פָנִים; cp. Sir 4:22; 35:13; 1 Esdr 4:39; s. Thackeray p. 43f; B-D-F p. 3, note 5; Rob. 94) show partiality or favoritism Lk 20:21; B 19:4; D 4:3. λαμβ. πρόσωπόν τινος (cp. Mal 1:8) Gal 2:6. S. PKatz, Kratylos 5, ’60, 161.

β. governed by prepositions, in usages where πρ. in many cases requires a dynamic equivalent

א. ἀπὸ προσώπου τινός from the presence of someone (JosAs 28:10; Just., A I, 36, 1; s. Vi. Aesopi W 104 v.l. p. 188 last line P. ἐπιστολὴ ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Αἰσώπου) Ac 3:20; (away) from someone or someth. (Ctesias: 688 Fgm. 9 Jac. φυγεῖν ἀπὸ προσώπου Κύρου; LXX; PsSol 4:8 al.; Herodas 8, 59 ἔρρʼ ἐκ προσώπου=get out of my sight; TestAbr A 2 p. 78, 11 [Stone p. 4] ἐκ προσώπου: here because of the compound ἐξέρχομαι) 5:41; 7:45; 2 Th 1:9; Rv 6:16 (Is 2:10, 19, 21); 12:14; 20:11 (cp. Ex 14:25; Josh 10:11; Sir 21:2; 1 Macc 5:34 and oft.) 1 Cl 4:8 (s. ἀποδιδράσκω), 10 (s. the passages cited for Rv 20:11 above); 18:11 (Ps 50:13; ἀπο[ρ]ρίπτω 2); 28:3 (Ps 138:7).

ב. εἰς πρόσωπον: (Aesop, Fab. 302 P.= εἰς Ζηνὸς πρόσωπον ἔρχεσθαι=before the face of Zeus) εἰς πρόσωπον τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν before (lit. ‘in the face of’) the congregations 2 Cor 8:24. τὰ φαινόμενά σου εἰς πρόσωπον what meets your eye, i.e. the visible world IPol 2:2. βλέπειν εἰς πρόσωπόν τινος Mt 22:16; Mk 12:14 (s. βλέπω 4). To one’s face i.e. when present Hv 3, 6, 3 cj. (cp. POxy 903, 2; BGU 909, 12).

ג. ἐν προσώπῳ (Maximus Tyr. 38, 1a) ἐν προσώπῳ Χριστοῦ before the face of Christ that looks down with approval 2 Cor 2:10 (cp. Pr 8:30; Sir 35:4), or as the representative of Christ (REB); difft. 4:6 on the face of Christ (s. 1a above).

ד. κατὰ πρόσωπον face to face, (present) in person (Polyb. 24, 15, 2; Diod S 19, 46, 2; Plut., Caesar 716 [17, 8]; IMagnMai 93b, 11; IPriene 41, 6; OGI 441, 66 [81 B.C.]; PLond II, 479, 6 p. 256 [III A.D.?]; POxy 1071, 1) B 15:1. (Opp. ἀπών) 2 Cor 10:1. Παῦλος, ὸ̔ς γενόμενος ἐν ὑμῖν κατὰ πρόσωπον Pol 3:2. πρὶν ἢ ὁ κατηγορούμενος κατὰ πρόσωπον ἔχοι τοὺς κατηγόρους before the accused meets his accusers face to face Ac 25:16, κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῷ ἀντέστην I opposed him to his face Gal 2:11 (cp. Diod S 40, 5a of an accusation κατὰ πρόσωπον; 2 Macc 7:6; Jos., Ant. 5, 46; 13, 278).—κατὰ πρόσωπον with partiality, in favoritism B 19:7; D 4:10.—τὰ κατὰ πρόσωπον what is before your eyes 2 Cor 10:7.—Used w. the gen. like a prep. (PPetr III, 1 II, 8 κατὰ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἱεροῦ; LXX; Jos., Ant. 3, 144; 9, 8) κατὰ πρ. τινος before or in the presence of someone (Jos., Ant. 11, 235) Lk 2:31; Ac 3:13; 16:9 D; 1 Cl 35:10 (Ps. 49:21).

ה. μετὰ προσώπου: πληρώσεις με εὐφροσύνης μετὰ τοῦ προσώπου σου Ac 2:28 (Ps 15:11); μετά A 2γ ג.

ו. πρὸ προσώπου τινός (LXX; TestAbr A 12 p. 91, 4 [Stone p. 30] πρὸ προσώπου τῆς τραπέζης; GrBar 1:4; s. Johannessohn, Präp. 184–86) before someone Mt 11:10; Mk 1:2; Lk 7:27 (on all three cp. Mal 3:1).—Lk 1:76 v.l. (s. Ex 32:34); 9:52 (s. Ex 23:20); 10:1; 1 Cl 34:3 (s. Is 62:11). IEph 15:3 (cp. 1a).—πρὸ προσώπου τῆς εἰσόδου αὐτοῦ Ac 13:24 (εἴσοδος 2).

② entire bodily presence, person (Polyb. 5, 107, 3; 8, 13, 5; 12, 27, 10; 27, 7, 4; Diod S 37, 12, 1; Plut., Mor. 509b; Epict. 1, 2, 7; Vett. Val. s. index; Just., A I, 36, 2; POxy 1672, 4 [37–41 A.D.] ξένοις προσώποις=to strangers; 237 VII, 34; PRyl 28, 88. Cp. Phryn. p. 379 Lob., also Lob.’s comment p. 380; KPraechter, Philol 63, 1904, 155f) ὀλίγα πρόσωπα a few persons 1 Cl 1:1; ἓν ἢ δύο πρ. 47:6. τὰ προγεγραμμένα πρ. the persons mentioned above IMg 6:1. Here is surely also the place for ἐκ πολλῶν προσώπων by many (persons) 2 Cor 1:11 (from Luther to NRSV et al.; ‘face’ is preferred by Heinrici, Plummer et al.—With this expr. cp. Diod S 15, 38, 4 ἐκ τρίτου προσώπου=[claims were raised] by a third ‘party’, i.e. Thebes, against Sparta and Athens).

③ the outer surface of someth., face= surface πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς (Gen 2:6; 7:23; 11:4, 8 al.) Lk 21:35; Ac 17:26; B 11:7 (Ps 1:4); and 6:9 prob. belongs here also.

④ that which is present in a certain form or character to a viewer, external things, appearance opp. καρδία (1 Km 16:7) 2 Cor 5:12. πρόσωπον εἰρήνης (opp. πονηρίαι … ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις) Hv 3, 6, 3. ἡ εὐπρέπεια τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ (i.e. of grass and flowers) Js 1:11. Of the appearance of the sky Mt 16:3; cp. Lk 12:56 (s. Ps 103:30).—SSchlossmann, Persona u. Πρόσωπον im röm. Recht u. christl. Dogma 1906; RHirzel, Die Person; Begriff u. Name derselben im Altertum: SBBayAk 1914, Heft 10; HRheinfelder, Das Wort ‘Persona’; Gesch. seiner Bed. 1928; FAltheim, Persona: ARW 27, 1929, 35–52; RAC I 437–40; BHHW I 93f. B. 216.—DELG. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.