Misinterpretations often portray the Law as wholly negative or evil simply because it is called the 'ministration of death,' overlooking its holy, God-given role in revealing sin and restraining evil while possessing real glory that Paul acknowledges; others mistakenly assume the fading glory diminishes its validity entirely or apply it to devalue the entire Old Testament, whereas the passage actually elevates the New Covenant by comparison without disparaging the old's temporary purpose.
II Corinthians 3:7
King James Version (1769)
7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
Paul contrasts the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law written on stone tablets and termed the 'ministration of death' because it brought awareness of sin and condemnation, with its undeniable glory evidenced by the radiant face of Moses that the Israelites could not steadily behold, yet this splendor was transitory and destined to fade, setting the stage for the superior, permanent glory of the New Covenant through Christ that transforms believers inwardly.