In the Quest for the Face of YHWH / The Lord: About the Meanings of Biqqesh Panim

In Psalm 27:8 from the Hebrew Bible,1 the syntagm biqqesh panim appears twice, with reference to the quest of the Face of YHWH / The Lord. Since the sphere of meaning of both terms reaches at a certain moment a point of convergence, the phrase acquires a strong significance. Is this a simple construction or can it be considered an idiom, whose meaning surpasses the cumulation of meanings of its term, acquiring the connotation of “striving for the divine Presence” or “intense desire to meet YHWH / The Lord face to face”? Our paper begins with the above question and aims to analyse the syntagm and its meanings in different contexts, to identify and to give possible arguments that would support its status of idiom and would open new research perspectives on it.