This short chapter explains the apparent anthropomorphism in Numbers XII 8: “and the similitude (tavnit תבנית) of the Lord shall he behold”.

Considering the seemingly similar words الشكل (shakl) and الهيئة (hai’at), corresponding to the Hebrew words תמונה (tmunah) and תבנית (tavnit), Maimonides states that the word hai’at (هيئة) is never used in connection with God because the word refers to “the build and construction” of a thing. And the word shakl (شكل) , whose apparent meaning is the sense-perceptible form of an object, also admits (according to Maimonides) the meaning of ‘Form with a capital F’: “the true form of an object, which is perceived only by the intellect”. For Maimonides, this latter meaning is the only appropriate interpretation of Numbers XII 8.

The extant Arabic versions of Numbers XII:8 have the phrase “wa shibha rabbi yu’ayin وَشِبْهَ الرَّبِّ يُعَايِنُ” and do not use the word shakl. It seems that beholding the likeness, shibha (شِبْهَ), of God is much less theologically dangerous than beholding the form/face shakl (شكل) of God. The Arabic text of Numbers XII 8 used by Maimonides appears to have the phrase “و صورة رب يعاين”.