Exodus 3
Commentary from 32 fathers
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in flaming fire out of the bush, and he sees that the bush burns with fire,-- but the bush was not consumed.
ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐν πυρὶ φλογὸς ἐκ τοῦ βάτου, καὶ ὁρᾷ ὅτι ὁ βάτος καίεται πυρί, ὁ δὲ βάτος οὐ κατεκαίετο.
Ꙗ҆ви́сѧ же є҆мꙋ̀ а҆́гг҃лъ гдⷭ҇ень въ пла́мени ѻ҆́гненнѣ и҆з̾ кꙋпины̀: и҆ ви́дитъ, ꙗ҆́кѡ кꙋпина̀ гори́тъ ѻ҆гне́мъ, кꙋпина́ же не сгара́ше.
When the almighty Lord of the universe began to legislate through the Word and decided to make his power visible to Moses, he sent Moses a divine vision with the appearance of light, in the burning bush. Now a bramble bush is full of thorns. So too when the Word was concluding his legislation and his stay among men as their Lord, again he permitted himself to be crowned with thorns as a mystic symbol. Returning to the place from which he had descended, the Word renewed that by which he had first come, appearing first in the bush of thorns and later being surrounded with thorns that he might show that all was the work of the same one power. He is one, and his Father is one, the eternal beginning and end.
The Instructor Book 2
And when an angel appears to Moses, Holy Scripture also makes it plain, saying, “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush.” But when it refers to the actual being who replies, it calls him God and Lord and no longer an angel. It is equally clear in its distinction between the angel and the Lord in the account of what happened at the Red Sea.
Proof of the Gospel 5.11.238
The vision and the voice are in the one place, nor is anyone else heard except the one who is seen. He who is an angel of God when he is seen is the same one who is the Lord when he is heard, but he himself who is the Lord when he is heard is recognized as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When he is called the angel of God, it is revealed that this is not his true nature and that he is not alone, for he is the angel of God. When he is called the Lord and God, he is proclaimed as possessing the glory and name of his own nature. Accordingly you have in an angel who appeared in the bush him who is also the Lord and God.
On the Trinity 4.32
The bush which was unsuitable even as an image of dead gods was able to depict within itself the mystery of the living God. Moses, this is a sign to you: as you saw God dwelling in the midst of fire, by fire must you serve the God who dwells in the fire.
Commentary on Exodus 3:2
What does this mean? The vision that is said to have appeared to Moses in the desert is sometimes called an angel, sometimes the Lord. It means this: he is called angel when he served by speaking externally, and Lord, because he ruled within and produced the conditions needed for speaking. For when the speaker is ruled from within, he is called both angel because of his service and Lord because of his inspiration. Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Exodus
It was the Word, breathed from the Father’s mouth, Who of the Virgin took a mortal frame. The human form that not yet in the flesh Appeared to Moses wore a brow like ours, Since God, who would by power of the Word Assume a body, made the face the same. Flames rose and seemed to burn the thorny bush. God moved amid the branches set with spines, And tresses of the flames swayed harmlessly, That he might shadow forth his Son’s descent Into our thorny members sin infests With teeming briers and fills with bitter woes. For tainted at its root that noxious shrub Had sprouted from its baneful sap a crop Of evil shoots beset with many thorns. The sterile branches suddenly grew bright As God enkindled with his mighty power The leafy boughs, nor harmed the tangled briers. He touched the scarlet berries, blood-red fruits, And grazed the twigs that grew from deadly wood, Shed by the tortured bush with cruel pangs.
The Divinity of Christ 49-70
And here he is first called the angel of the Lord and then God. Is the angel then the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? Therefore he may be rightly understood to be the Savior himself of whom the apostle says, “Whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed forever.” Hence even here he, who is the God blessed over all things forever, is not unreasonably understood to be himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. But why was he previously called the angel of the Lord when he appeared in the flame of fire from the bush? Was it because he was one of many angels but by a dispensation represented the person of his Lord? Or was something belonging to a creature assumed which might appear visibly for the task at hand and from which words might be uttered in an audible way, whereby the presence of the Lord would also become known to the bodily senses of man, as circumstances required, by means of a creature made subject to him? For if he was one of the angels, who can readily affirm whether the person given him to announce was that of the Son, or of the Holy Spirit, or of God the Father or of the Trinity itself altogether, who is the one and only God, in order that he might say, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”?For we cannot say that the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob is the Son of God and not the Father. Nor will anyone dare to deny that either the Holy Spirit or the Trinity itself, which we believe and understand to be the one God, is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For he who is not God is not the God of those fathers. Moreover … not only the Father is God, as all, even the heretics, admit, but the Son also, which willingly or not they are forced to confess, for the apostle says, “who is, over all things, God blessed forever,” and the Holy Spirit as well. The same apostle declares, “Therefore glorify God in your body,” when he had previously stated, “Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have from God?” And these three are one God, as the sound Catholic faith believes. It is not sufficiently clear which person in the Trinity that angel represented, assuming that he was one of the rest of the angels, and whether it was any person and not that of the Trinity itself.
The Trinity 2.13.23
It was not without reason, beloved brethren, nor without the signification of some mystery that there was a flame in the bush: “And the bush was not consumed.” Indeed, the bush was a genus of thorns. What the earth has produced for sinful man cannot be put in any kind of praise, for it was first said to man when he sinned: “Thorns and thistles shall the earth bring forth to you.” The fact that the bush was not burned, that is, was not seized by the flames, is understood to signify no good. In the flame is recognized the Holy Ghost; in the bush and thorns is represented the hard, haughty Jewish people.
Sermon 96.1
What does this mean? The vision that is said to have appeared to Moses in the desert is sometimes called an angel, sometimes the Lord. It means this: he is called angel when he served by speaking externally, and Lord, because he ruled within and produced the conditions needed for speaking. For when the speaker is ruled from within, he is called both angel because of his service and Lord because of his inspiration.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Exodus 7
2–5The attempt is not to escape from space and time and from my creaturely situation as a subject facing objects. It is more modest: to re-awake the awareness of that situation. If that can be done, there is no need to go anywhere else. This situation itself, is, at every moment, a possible theophany. Here is the holy ground; the Bush is burning now.
Of course this attempt may be attended with almost every degree of success or failure. The prayer preceding all prayers is, "May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou that I speak to." Infinitely various are the levels from which we pray. Emotional intensity is in itself no proof of spiritual depth. If we pray in terror we shall pray earnestly; it only proves that terror is an earnest emotion. Only God Himself can let the bucket down to the depths in us. And, on the other side, He must constantly work as the iconoclast. Every idea of Him we form, He must in mercy shatter.
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, Letter 15
It is well to have specifically holy places, and things, and days, for, without these focal points or reminders, the belief that all is holy and "big with God" will soon dwindle into a mere sentiment. But if these holy places, things, and days cease to remind us, if they obliterate our awareness that all ground is holy and every bush (could we but perceive it) a Burning Bush, then the hallows begin to do harm. Hence both the necessity, and the perennial danger, of "religion".
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, Letter 14
And Moses said, I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.
εἶπε δὲ Μωυσῆς· παρελθὼν ὄψομαι τὸ ὅραμα τὸ μέγα τοῦτο, ὅτι οὐ κατακαίεται ὁ βάτος.
Рече́ же мѡѷсе́й: мимоше́дъ ᲂу҆ви́ждꙋ видѣ́нїе вели́кое сїѐ, ꙗ҆́кѡ не сгара́етъ кꙋпина̀.
When Moses had seen the bush burning and not being consumed he was astonished at the sight and said, “I will cross over and see this sight.” He certainly also did not mean that he was about to cross over some earthly space, or to ascend mountains or to descend the steep sides of valleys. The vision was near him, in his countenance and in his eyes. But he says, “I will cross over,” that he might show that he, reminded forcefully by the heavenly vision, ought to ascend to a higher life and cross over to better things than those in which he was.
Homilies on Genesis 12.2
Moses, too, passing by things of this world, saw a great sight and said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight,” for had he been held by the fleeting pleasures of this world he would not have seen so great a mystery.
Concerning Repentance 1.14.74
Moses says, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight.” If he does not go over, that is, if he does not escape all vice, he cannot behold the great marvel.
Homilies on the Psalms 51
Hence Moses, when he was seeking the glory of heavenly contemplation, said, "I will now pass on, and see this great sight." For except he had withdrawn the footstep of the heart from the love of the world, he would never have been able to understand things above.
Morals on the Book of Job, Book 15, Section 68
And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying, Moses, Moses; and he said, What is it?
ὡς δὲ εἶδε Κύριος ὅτι προσάγει ἰδεῖν, ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος ἐκ τοῦ βάτου λέγων· Μωυσῆ, Μωυσῆ. ὁ δὲ εἶπε· τί ἐστι;
Є҆гда́ же ви́дѣ гдⷭ҇ь, ꙗ҆́кѡ пристꙋпа́етъ ви́дѣти, воззва̀ є҆го̀ гдⷭ҇ь и҆з̾ кꙋпины̀, гл҃ѧ: мѡѷсе́е, мѡѷсе́е. Ѻ҆́нъ же речѐ: что́ є҆сть, гдⷭ҇и;
Why should we despair that God should speak in men, who spoke in the thorn bush? God did not despise the bush. Would that he might also give light to my thorns. Perhaps some may wonder that there is some light even in our thorns. Some of our thorns will not burn. There will be some whose shoes shall be put off their feet at the sound of my voice, that the steps of the mind may be freed from bodily hindrances.
Concerning Virginity 1.1.2
Was the Lord speaking through an angel? Or was the Lord that angel who has been called the “angel of great counsel” and is understood to be Christ? For Scripture said above, “the angel of the Lord appeared to him.”
Questions on Exodus 3
This is why he summons Moses by his fatherly voice, addresses him with paternal love and invites him to be the liberator of his people. Why should I say more? He makes him a god; he sets him up as a god before Pharaoh. He makes him a god, fortifies him with signs, arms him with virtues, wins wars through mere commands, grants to him as a soldier victory gained by a mere word. By his orders he concedes him a triumph and leads him through all the crowns of virtues to his own friendship, gives him an opportunity to share in his heavenly kingdom and allows him to be a legislator. However, Moses received all this that he might love—that at length he might be so inflamed with the love of God that he would burn with it himself and encourage others to have it too.
Sermon 147
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
ὁ δὲ εἶπε· μή ἐγγίσῃς ὧδε. λῦσαι τὸ ὑπόδημα ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν σου· ὁ γὰρ τόπος, ἐν ᾧ σὺ ἕστηκας, γῆ ἁγία ἐστί.
Ѻ҆́нъ же речѐ: не приближа́йсѧ сѣ́мѡ: и҆зꙋ́й сапогѝ ѿ но́гъ твои́хъ: мѣ́сто бо, на не́мже ты̀ стои́ши, землѧ̀ ст҃а̀ є҆́сть.
And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abrham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. [Exodus 3:5] I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
“Remove your sandals” and go trample the Egyptians. See, it is thirty years past the time of their picking. Up to this point, Moses proceeded without fear. But when he saw a sight that was more than his eyes [could bear], he hid his face out of fear of looking at God the way he looked at the angel.
Commentary on Exodus 3:1
And as to shoes, let him who is about to touch the holy land which the feet of God have trodden, put them off, as Moses did upon the mount, that he may bring there nothing dead; nothing to come between man and God.
Oration 45.19
He willingly shook off his royal dignity like so much dust which is stripped off by the stomping of the feet. He banished himself from human society for forty years and lived alone, focusing steadfastly in undistracted solitude on the contemplation of invisible things. After this he was illuminated by the inexpressible light and freed the lower part of his soul from the dead garment made of skin.
On the Inscriptions of the Psalms 1.7.52
For it is said to Moses when he was desiring to draw nearer: “Put off your shoes from your feet,” how much more must we free the feet of our soul from the bonds of the body and clear our steps from all connection with this world.
Concerning Repentance 2.11.107
Pass by like Moses, that you may see the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob and that you may see a great vision. This is a great vision, but if you wish to see it, remove the sandals from your feet, remove every bond of iniquity, remove the bonds of the world, leave behind the sandals which are earthly. Likewise Jesus sent the apostles without sandals, without money, gold and silver, so that they would not carry earthly things with them. For the man who seeks the good is praised not for his sandals but for the swiftness and grace of his feet, as Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Therefore remove the sandals from your feet, that they may be beautiful for preaching the gospel.
Flight from the World 5.25
Such was Moses, of whom it is said: Take off the sandals from your feet (Exodus 3:5), so that he, in calling the people to the kingdom of God, might first lay aside the trappings of the flesh and walk with a naked spirit and the mark of the mind.
On Isaac and the Soul 4.16
Stand therefore firm in your hearts, that no one overthrow you, that no one be able to make you fall. The Apostle has taught us what it is "to stand," that is what was said to Moses: "The place whereon thou standest is holy ground;" for no one stands unless he stand by faith, unless he stands fixed in the determination of his own heart.
Epistle 63.41
If Moses, when he attempted to draw near the burning bush, was prohibited until he should remove the shoes from his feet, how should you not free yourself of every thought that is colored by passion seeing that you wish to see One who is beyond every thought and perception?
Chapters on Prayer 4
What are the shoes? Well, what are the shoes we wear? Leather from dead animals. The hides of dead animals are what we protect our feet with. So what are we being ordered to do? To give up dead works. This is symbolically what he instructs Moses to do in his honor, when the Lord says to him, “Take off your shoes. For the place you are standing in is holy ground.” There’s no holier ground than the church of God, is there? So as we stand in it let us take off our shoes, let us give up dead works.
Sermon 101.7
Finally see what the Lord said to Moses and Joshua: “Remove the strap of your shoe, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Can this be understood according to the letter, beloved brethren? How could that ground upon which they trod be holy, since doubtless it was like the rest of the earth? However, notice carefully what was said: “For the place whereon you stand is holy ground.” That is to say, Christ, whose figure you bear and of whom you seem to be a type, is holy ground. True holy ground is the body of our Lord Jesus Christ through whom everything heavenly and earthly is sanctified.
Sermon 96.4
The burning bush was an image of God’s mother, and when Moses was about to approach it, God said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Now if the ground where Moses saw an image of the Theotokos is holy ground, how much more holy is the image itself? Not only is it holy, I daresay, but the holy of holies.
On Divine Images 20
And he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraam, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God.
καὶ εἶπεν· ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ πατρός σου, Θεὸς ῾Αβραὰμ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ιακώβ. ἀπέστρεψε δὲ Μωυσῆς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ· εὐλαβεῖτο γὰρ κατεμβλέψαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
И҆ речѐ є҆мꙋ̀: а҆́зъ є҆́смь бг҃ъ ѻ҆тца̀ твоегѡ̀, бг҃ъ а҆враа́мовъ и҆ бг҃ъ і҆саа́ковъ и҆ бг҃ъ і҆а́кѡвль. Ѿврати́ же мѡѷсе́й лицѐ своѐ: бл҃гоговѣ́ѧше бо воззрѣ́ти пред̾ бг҃а.
Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise. And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? [Exodus 3:6] He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. [Exodus 3:6] And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.
And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abrham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. [Exodus 3:6]
For Abraham sets forth moral philosophy through obedience; his obedience was indeed so great, his adherence to orders so strict that when he heard the command “Go forth out of your country, and from your kindred, and out of your father’s house” he did not delay but did as he was told forthwith. And he did even more than that: on hearing that he was to sacrifice his son, he does not hesitate but complies with the command and, to give an example to those who should come after of the obedience in which moral philosophy consists, “he spared not his only son.” Isaac also is an exponent of natural philosophy when he digs wells and searches out the roots of things. And Jacob practices the inspective science in that he earned his name of Israel from his contemplation of the things of God, and saw the camps of heaven and beheld the house of God and the angel’s paths—the ladders reaching up from earth to heaven.
Commentary on the Song of Songs, Prologue 3
God has been recorded indeed to be the God “of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” He indeed who wishes the light to belong to none other than men (because it is said, “The life was the light of men”) will think, according to this analogy, that the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob is the God of no one except these three fathers alone. But he is at least also the God of Elijah, and, as Judith says, the God of her father Simeon, and he is God of the Hebrews. Wherefore, according to the analogy, if nothing prevents him from being the God of others also, nothing prevents the light of men from also being the light of other creatures besides men.
Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.143
If the God of the universe, having been made familiar to the saints, becomes their God, the being named the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, by how much more will it be possible for the Holy Spirit, having been made familiar to the prophets, to be called their spirit, that the Spirit might thus be said to be the spirit of Elijah and the spirit of Isaiah?
Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.68
For the name of Divinity is given for the highest honor in the world, and with whomsoever God is well pleased, he applies it to him. But however, the names of God are many and are venerable, as he delivered his names to Moses, saying to him, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto generations.” And he called his name “Ahiyah ashar Ahiyah,” “El Shaddai” and “Adonai Sabaoth.” By these names God is called. The great and honorable name of Godhead he withheld not from his righteous ones; even as, though he is the great king, without grudging he applied the great and honorable name of kingship to men who are his creatures.
Demonstrations 17.5
And when the holy One called Moses from the bush he said thus to him: “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob.” When Death heard this utterance, he trembled and feared and was terrified and perturbed and knew that he had not become king forever over the children of Adam. From the hour that he heard God saying to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob,” Death [struck] his hands together, for he learned that God is king of the dead and of the living and that it is appointed to the children of Adam to come forth from his darkness and arise with their bodies. And observe that our Redeemer Jesus also, when he repeated this utterance to the Sadducees, when they were disputing with him about the resurrection of the dead, thus said, “God is not [God] of the dead, for all are alive unto him.”
Demonstrations 22.2
Of the other titles, some are evidently names of his authority, others of his government of the world, and of this viewed under a twofold aspect: the one before, the other in, the incarnation. For instance, the Almighty, the King of Glory, or of the Ages, or of the Powers, or of the Beloved or of Kings. Or again, the Lord of Sabaoth, that is, of hosts, or of powers or of lords; these are clearly titles belonging to his authority. But the God either of salvation or of vengeance, or of peace, or of righteousness, or of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of all the spiritual Israel that sees God—these belong to his government. For since we are governed by these three things, the fear of punishment, the hope of salvation and of glory besides, and the practice of the virtues by which these are attained, the name of the God of vengeance governs fear, and that of the God of salvation our hope, and that of the God of virtues our practice; that whoever attains to any of these may, as carrying God in himself, press on yet more unto perfection and to that affinity which arises out of virtues. Now these are names common to the Godhead, but the proper name of the unoriginate is “Father,” and that of the unoriginately begotten is “Son” and that of the unbegottenly proceeding or going forth is “the Holy Ghost.”
Theological Oration 4:19
God gives witness and says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Were there not other patriarchs? Was not Noah a holy man before these, who alone in the whole human race together with his whole house deserved to be delivered from the flood, in whom and in his sons the church is represented? They escape the flood, with wood carrying them. And then afterwards [come] the great men whom we know, whom Holy Scripture commends, Moses faithful in all his house. And those three are named, as if they alone were deserving of him: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob; this is my name forever.”An enormous mystery! The Lord has the power to open both our mouths and your hearts that we may be able to speak as he has deigned to reveal and that you may be able to grasp as it is advantageous to you. Therefore those patriarchs are three: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You already know that the sons of Jacob were twelve and from them are the people of Israel because Jacob himself is Israel and the people of Israel are the twelve tribes belonging to the twelve sons of Israel. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, three fathers and one people. Three fathers, as it were, in the beginning of the people; three fathers in whom the people was prefigured. And the earlier people itself [is] the present people. For in the people of the Jews the people of the Christians was prefigured. There a figure, here the truth; there a shadow, here the body, as the apostle says, “Now these things happened to them in figure.” It is the apostle’s voice, and he says, “They were written for us, upon whom the end of the world has come.” Let your mind return to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In those three we find free women giving birth and bondwomen giving birth. We find there the progeny of free women; we find there also the progeny of bondwomen. The bondwoman signifies nothing good. “Cast out the bondwoman,” [Scripture] says, “and her son; for the son of the bondwoman will not be heir with the son of the free woman.” The apostle mentions this; and in these two sons of Abraham the apostle says was a figure of the two Testaments, Old and New. To the Old Testament belong the lovers of temporal things, the lovers of the world; to the New Testament belong the lovers of eternal life. Therefore that Jerusalem on earth was a shadow of the heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of us all, which is in heaven. And these are the apostle’s words. And about that city from which we are sojourners you know many things, you have already heard many things. Now we find something remarkable in these births, that is, in these offspring, in these procreations of free women and bondwomen, namely, four types of men. And in these four types of men is comprised the figure of the Christian people, so that what was said in regard to these three is not astonishing: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
Tractate on the Gospel of John 11.7.2-8.2
But the Savior also demonstrated the great ignorance of the Sadducees by bringing forward their own hierophant Moses, who was well and clearly acquainted with the resurrection of the dead. For he has set before us God, he says, as saying in the bush, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” But of whom is he God, if, according to their argument, these have ceased to live? For he is the God of the living; and therefore certainly and altogether they will rise, when his almighty right hand brings them thereunto; and not them only but also all who are upon the earth.
Homilies on the Gospel of Luke 136
And the Lord said to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry [caused] by their task-masters; for I know their affliction.
εἶπε δὲ Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν· ἰδὼν εἶδον τὴν κάκωσιν τοῦ λαοῦ μου τοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ τῆς κραυγῆς αὐτῶν ἀκήκοα ἀπὸ τῶν ἐργοδιωκτῶν· οἶδα γὰρ τὴν ὀδύνην αὐτῶν,
Рече́ же гдⷭ҇ь къ мѡѷсе́ю: ви́дѧ ви́дѣхъ ѡ҆ѕлобле́нїе люді́й мои́хъ, и҆̀же во є҆гѵ́птѣ, и҆ во́пль и҆́хъ ᲂу҆слы́шахъ ѿ дѣ́лъ приста́вникѡвъ: ᲂу҆вѣ́дѣхъ бо болѣ́знь и҆́хъ,
7–8And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abrham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. [Exodus 3:7-8] This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had showed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey, into the place of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Pherezites, and Gergesites, and Evites, and Jebusites.
καὶ κατέβην ἐξελέσθαι αὐτοὺς ἐκ χειρὸς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων καὶ ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης καὶ εἰσαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς γῆν ἀγαθὴν καὶ πολλήν, εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι, εἰς τὸν τόπον τῶν Χαναναίων καὶ Χετταίων καὶ ᾿Αμορραίων καὶ Φερεζαίων καὶ Γεργεσαίων καὶ Εὐαίων καὶ ᾿Ιεβουσαίων
и҆ снидо́хъ и҆з̾ѧ́ти и҆̀хъ ѿ рꙋкꙋ̀ є҆гѵ̑петскꙋ, и҆ и҆звестѝ ѧ҆̀ и҆з̾ землѝ тоѧ̀, и҆ ввестѝ и҆̀хъ въ зе́млю бла́гꙋ и҆ мно́гꙋ, въ зе́млю кипѧ́щꙋю млеко́мъ и҆ ме́домъ, въ мѣ́сто ханане́йско и҆ хетте́йско, и҆ а҆морре́йско и҆ ферезе́йско, и҆ гергесе́йско и҆ є҆ѵе́йско и҆ і҆евꙋсе́йско:
… Jesus Christ was to introduce the second people (which is composed of us nations, lingering deserted in the world previously) into the land of promise, “flowing with milk and honey” (that is, into the possession of eternal life, than which nothing is sweeter). This had to come about not through Moses (that is, not through the law’s discipline) but through Joshua (that is, through the new law’s grace), after our circumcision with “a knife of rock” (that is, with Christ’s precepts, for Christ is in many ways and figures predicted as a rock). Therefore the man who was being prepared to act as an image of this sacrament was inaugurated under the figure of the Lord’s name, even so as to be named Jesus.
Answer to the Jews 9.22
I ask whether we should take the land flowing with milk and honey spiritually, since, according to the proper sense, this phrase does not describe the land that was being given to the people of Israel. Or is it a figure of speech that is used to praise the richness and sweetness of the land?
Questions on Exodus 4
Indeed, unless that land which was styled the land that flowed with milk and honey signified something great, through which, as by a visible token, he was leading those who understood his wondrous works to invisible grace and the kingdom of heaven, they could not be blamed for scorning that land, whose temporal kingdom we also ought to esteem as nothing, that we may love that Jerusalem which is free, the mother of us all, which is in heaven, and truly to be desired.
Explanation of the Psalms 106.20
And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come to me, and I have seen the affliction with which the Egyptians afflict them.
καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ κραυγὴ τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ ἥκει πρός με, κἀγὼ ἑώρακα τὸν θλιμμόν, ὃν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι θλίβουσιν αὐτούς.
и҆ сѐ, нн҃ѣ во́пль сынѡ́въ і҆и҃левыхъ прїи́де ко мнѣ̀, и҆ а҆́зъ ви́дѣхъ тꙋгꙋ̀, є҆́юже є҆гѵ́птѧне стꙋжа́ютъ и҆̀мъ:
Clamor: not like the clamor of the Sodomites, which signified iniquity without fear or shame.
Questions on Exodus 5
And now come, I will send thee to Pharao king of Egypt, and thou shalt bring out my people the children of Israel from the land of Egypt.
καὶ νῦν δεῦρο ἀποστείλω σε πρὸς Φαραὼ βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ἐξάξεις τὸν λαόν μου τοὺς υἱοὺς ᾿Ισρὴλ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου.
и҆ нн҃ѣ грѧдѝ, да послю́ тѧ къ фараѡ́нꙋ царю̀ є҆гѵ́петскомꙋ, и҆ и҆зведе́ши лю́ди моѧ̑, сы́ны і҆и҃лєвы и҆з̾ землѝ є҆гѵ́петскїѧ.
And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharao king of Egypt, and that I should bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt?
καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· τίς εἰμι ἐγώ, ὅτι πορεύσομαι πρὸς Φαραὼ βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ὅτι ἐξάξω τοὺς υἱοὺς ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου;
И҆ речѐ мѡѷсе́й къ бг҃ꙋ: кто́ є҆смь а҆́зъ, ꙗ҆́кѡ да пойдꙋ̀ къ фараѡ́нꙋ царю̀ є҆гѵ́петскомꙋ, и҆ ꙗ҆́кѡ да и҆зведꙋ̀ сы́ны і҆и҃лєвы ѿ землѝ є҆гѵ́петскїѧ;
Moses said, “Who am I to go before Pharaoh?” Although I have a royal title, I will not be received by him. And now that I do the work of a simple shepherd, who will allow me to go before Pharaoh? And even if I were let in, what importance would he see in me to believe my words?
Commentary on Exodus 3:3
And God spoke to Moses, saying, I will be with thee, and this shall be the sign to thee that I shall send thee forth,-- when thou bringest out my people out of Egypt, then ye shall serve God in this mountain.
εἶπε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς Μωυσῇ λέγων· ὅτι ἔσομαι μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ τοῦτό σοι τὸ σημεῖον, ὅτι ἐγώ σε ἐξαποστέλλω ἐν τῷ ἐξαγαγεῖν σε τὸν λαόν μου ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ λατρεύσετε τῷ Θεῷ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ.
Рече́ же бг҃ъ къ мѡѷсе́ю, гл҃ѧ: ꙗ҆́кѡ бꙋ́дꙋ съ тобо́ю: и҆ сїѐ тебѣ̀ зна́менїе, ꙗ҆́кѡ а҆́зъ тѧ̀ посыла́ю: внегда̀ и҆звестѝ тебѣ̀ лю́ди моѧ̑ и҆з̾ є҆гѵ́пта, и҆ помо́литесѧ бг҃ꙋ въ горѣ̀ се́й.
Then said the high priest, Are these things so? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. [Exodus 3:12] And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. And the next day he showed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abrham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had showed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
And Moses said to God, Behold, I shall go forth to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of our fathers has sent me to you; and they will ask me, What is his name? What shall I say to them?
καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐξελεύσομαι πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ ἐρῶ πρὸς αὐτούς· ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ἀπέσταλκέ με πρὸς ὑμᾶς. ἐρωτήσουσί με· τί ὄνομα αὐτῷ; τί ἐρῶ πρὸς αὐτούς;
И҆ речѐ мѡѷсе́й къ бг҃ꙋ: сѐ, а҆́зъ пойдꙋ̀ къ сынѡ́мъ і҆и҃лєвымъ и҆ рекꙋ̀ къ ни̑мъ: бг҃ъ ѻ҆тє́цъ на́шихъ посла́ мѧ къ ва́мъ: и҆ а҆́ще вопро́сѧтъ мѧ̀, что̀ и҆́мѧ є҆мꙋ̀, что̀ рекꙋ̀ къ ни̑мъ;
And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING; and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you.
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων· ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν. καὶ εἶπεν· οὕτως ἐρεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραήλ· ὁ ὢν ἀπέσταλκέ με πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
И҆ речѐ бг҃ъ къ мѡѷсе́ю, гл҃ѧ: а҆́зъ є҆́смь сы́й. И҆ речѐ: та́кѡ рече́ши сынѡ́мъ і҆и҃лєвымъ: сы́й посла́ мѧ къ ва́мъ.
That the activity of the Father and the Son is to be found both in saints and in sinners is clear from the fact that all rational beings are partakers of the word of God, that is, of reason, and so have implanted within them some seeds, as it were, of wisdom and righteousness, which is Christ. And all things that exist derive their share of being from him who truly exists, who said through Moses, “I am that I am”; which participation in God the Father extends to all, both righteous and sinners, rational and irrational creatures and absolutely everything that exists.
On First Principles 1.3.6
Everything that has ever existed or now exists derives its being from the One, the only existent and preexistent being, who also said, “I am the existent.” … As the only being and the eternal being, he is himself the cause of existence to all those to whom he has imparted existence from himself by his will and his power and gives existence to all things and their powers and forms, richly and ungrudgingly from himself.
Proof of the Gospel 4.1
While therefore I was giving serious thought to these and many other similar problems, I chanced upon those books which according to Jewish tradition were written by Moses and the prophets. In them I found the testimony of God the Creator about himself expressed in the following manner: “I am who I am,” and again, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: He who is, has sent me to you.” I was filled with admiration at such a clear definition of God, which spoke of the incomprehensible nature in language most suitable to our human understanding. It is known that there is nothing more characteristic of God than to be, because that itself which is does not belong to those things which will one day end or to those which had a beginning. But that which combines eternity with the power of unending happiness could never not have been, nor is it possible that one day it will not be, because what is divine is not liable to destruction, nor does it have a beginning. And since the eternity of God will not be untrue to itself in anything, he has revealed to us in a fitting manner this fact alone, that he is, in order to render testimony to his everlasting eternity.
On the Trinity 1.5
As far then as we can reach, “He who is” and “God” are the special names of his essence; and of these especially “He who is,” not only because when he spoke to Moses in the mount, and Moses asked what his name was, this was what he called himself, bidding him say to the people, “I am has sent me,” but also because we find that this name is the more strictly appropriate. For the name theos [“God”], even if, as those who are skillful in these matters say, it were derived from theein [“to run”] or from aithein [“to blaze”], from continual motion, and because he consumes evil conditions of things (from which fact he is also called a consuming fire) would still be one of the relative names and not an absolute one, as again is the case with “Lord,” which also is called a name of God. “I am the Lord your God,” he says, “that is my name;” and “The Lord is his name.” But we are inquiring into a nature whose being is absolute and not [into being] bound up with something else. But being is in its proper sense peculiar to God and belongs to him entirely, and it is not limited or cut short by any before or after, for indeed in him there is no past or future.
Theological Oration 4:18
Christ therefore is and always is; for he who is, always is. And Christ always is, of whom Moses says, “He that is has sent me.”
Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.1.26
The Lord said, I am that I am, thou shalt say, I AM hath sent me unto you. This is the true Name of God -- Eternity.
Letter 8.8
This is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, who appeared to Moses in the bush, concerning whom Moses says, “He who is has sent me.” It was not the Father who spoke to Moses in the bush, or in the desert, but the Son.
Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.13.83
Moreover, do you wish to learn about his eternity? Listen to what Moses said about the Father. When he had inquired what he should answer if he should be asked by the Egyptians who it was that had sent him, he was bidden to say, “He who is sent me.” Now the words “he who is” mean that he exists always and is without beginning and that he really exists and exists as Lord and Master.
Homilies on the Gospel of John 15
There is one nature of God and one only; and this, and this alone, truly is. For absolute being is derived from no other source but is all its own. All things besides, that is, all things created, although they appear to be, soon are not. For there was a time when they were not, and that which once was not may again cease to be. God alone who is eternal, that is to say, who has no beginning, really deserves to be called an essence. Therefore also he says of him, “I am has sent me.” As the angels, the sky, the earth, the seas all existed at the time, it must have been as the absolute being that God claimed for himself that name of essence, which apparently was common to all. But because his nature alone is perfect and because in the three persons there subsists but one Godhead, which truly is and is one nature, whoever in the name of religion declares that there are in the Godhead three elements, three hypostases, that is, or essences, is striving really to predicate three natures of God.
Letter 15.4
Perhaps it was hard even for Moses himself, as it is much also for us, and much more for us, to understand what was said, “I am who I am” and “He who is has sent me to you.” And if by chance Moses understood, when would they to whom he was being sent understand? Therefore the Lord put aside what man could not grasp and added what he could grasp. For he added and said, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” This you can grasp. But what mind can grasp, “I am who I am”?
Tractate on the Gospel of John 38.8.3
But now the Lord speaks to Moses—you know all this, and I won’t keep you longer on it, for lack of time—”I am who I am; he who is sent me.” When he asked God’s name, you see, this is what was said: “I am who I am. And you shall say to the children of Israel, he who is sent me to you.” What’s this all about? O God, O Lord of ours, what are you called? “I am called He is,” he said. What does it mean, I am called He is? “That I abide forever, that I cannot change.” Things which change are not, because they do not last. What is, abides. But whatever changes was something and will be something; yet you cannot say it is, because it is changeable. So the unchangeableness of God was prepared to suggest itself by this phrase “I am who I am.”
Sermon 6.4
Magnificently and divinely, therefore, our God said to his servant: “I am that I am,” and “You shall say to the children of Israel, He who is sent me to you.” For he truly is because he is unchangeable. For every change makes what was not, to be. Therefore he truly is, who is unchangeable; but all other things that were made by him have received being from him each in its own measure.
On the Nature of the Good 19
He is the first and greatest existence, who is utterly unchangeable and who could say most perfectly, “I am who I am, and you shall say to them, “He who is has sent me to you.” As a result, the other things which exist could not exist except by him, and these things are good insofar as they have received the ability to be.
On Christian Teaching 1.32.35
Then too Plato’s definition of a philosopher—one who loves God—contains an idea which shines forth everywhere in Scripture. But the most palpable proof to my mind that he was conversant with the sacred books is this, that when Moses, informed by an angel that God wished him to deliver the Hebrews from Egypt, questioned the angel concerning the name of the one who had sent him, the answer received was this: “I am who I am. Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: he who is has sent me to you,” as though, in comparison with him who, being immutable, truly is, all mutable things are as if they were not. Now Plato had a passionate perception of this truth and was never tired of teaching it. Yet I doubt whether this idea can be found in any of the works of Plato’s predecessors except in the text “I am who I am, and you shall say to them, he who is has sent me to you.”
City of God 8.11
But God is without doubt a substance, or perhaps essence would be a better term, which the Greeks call ousia. For just as wisdom is so called from being wise and knowledge is so called from knowing, so essence is so called from being [esse]. And who possesses being in a higher degree than he, who said to his servant Moses, “I am who I am” and “He who is has sent me to you.” But all other things that are called essences or substances are susceptible of accidents, by which a change, whether great or small, is brought about in them. But there can be no accidents of this kind in God. Therefore only the essence of God, or the essence which God is, is unchangeable.
The Trinity 5.2.3
For although that immutable and ineffable nature does not admit of was and will be but only is (for it truly is, because it cannot be changed), and therefore it was proper for him to say, “I am who I am” and “You will say to the children of Israel, ‘He who is has sent me to you,’ ” nevertheless, on account of the changeableness of the times in which our mortality and our changeableness are involved, we do not falsely say was and will be and is. Was, in past ages; is, in present ones; will be, in future ones. Was, because he was never lacking; will be, because he will never be lacking; is, because he always is.
Tractate on the Gospel of John 99.5.2
Hold most firmly and never doubt that the holy Trinity, the only true God, just as it is eternal, is likewise the only one by nature unchangeable. He indicates this when he says to his servant Moses, “I am which I am.”
To Peter on the Faith 9.50
So in Genesis [sic] he bade Moses say of himself, “Go and say to the children of Israel, I am who I am. He who is has sent me to you.” So he wanted his eternity to be denoted by the present tense. This use of present time (“today”) is acknowledged to be peculiar to the divine Scriptures in the sense of perpetuity.
Exposition of the Psalms 2:8
The phrase “I am” belongs to the divinity. It does not change with time but is always there and remains eternal. So the reply to Moses was “I am who I am” and again “He who is has sent me.” But we must first investigate why God alone claims this term which denotes essence for himself. When it was spoken, there were angels, heavenly creatures and all earthly creatures as were decreed to exist. But because he is the only uncreated and eternal nature which did not begin in time and subsists as one divinity in three persons, God alone is rightly said to be, for he needs no one for his existence but ever abides by the strength of his own power. In it there is another mystery: a single syllable, sum (“I am”), is embraced by three letters, so we are taught that the holy Trinity is one God.
Exposition of the Psalms 49:7
The real terror was that if you seriously believed in even such a "God" or "Spirit" as I admitted, a wholly new situation developed. As the dry bones shook and came together in that dreadful valley of Ezekiel's, so now a philosophical theorem, cerebrally entertained, began to stir and heave and throw off its gravecloths, and stood upright and became a living presence. I was to be allowed to play at philosophy no longer. It might, as I say, still be true that my "Spirit" differed in some way from "the God of popular religion". My Adversary waived the point. It sank into utter unimportance. He would not argue about it. He only said, "I am the Lord"; "I am that I am"; "I am".
Surprised by Joy, Chapter 14: Checkmate
The commands were inexorable, but they were backed by no "sanctions". God was to be obeyed simply because he was God. Long since, through the gods of Asgard, and later through the notion of the Absolute, He had taught me how a thing can be revered not for what it can do to us but for what it is in itself. That is why, though it was a terror, it was no surprise to learn that God is to be obeyed because of what He is in Himself. If you ask why we should obey God, in the last resort the answer is, "I am." To know God is to know that our obedience is due to Him. In His nature His sovereignty de jure is revealed.
Surprised by Joy, Ch. 15: The Beginning
Finally, there was of course Bergson. Somehow or other (for it does not seem very clear when I re-open his books today) I found in him a refutation of the old haunting idea, Schopenhauer's idea, that the universe "might not have existed". In other words one Divine attribute, that of necessary existence, rose above my horizon. It was still, and long after, attached to the wrong subject; to the universe, not to God. But the mere attribute was itself of immense potency. When once one has dropped the absurd notion that reality is an arbitrary alternative to "nothing", one gives up being a pessimist (or even an optimist). There is no sense in blaming or praising the Whole, nor, indeed, in saying anything about it. Even if you persist in hurling Promethean or Hardyesque defiances at it, then, since you are part of it, it is only that same Whole which through you "quietly declaims the cursings of itself"--a futility which seems to me to vitiate Lord Russell's stirring essay on "The Worship of a Free Man". Cursings were as futile, and as immature, as dreams about the western garden. One must (like Carlyle's lady) "accept" the universe; totally, with no reservations, loyally. This sort of Stoical Monism was the philosophy of my New Look. And it gave me a great sense of peace. It was perhaps the nearest thing to a religious experience which I had had since my prep. school days. It ended (I hope forever) any idea of a treaty or compromise with reality. So much the perception of even one Divine attribute can do.
Surprised by Joy, Chapter 13: The New Look
As there is one Beginning and therefore one God, so one is that Essence and Subsistence which indeed and truly and really is. It is this One who said “I am that I am,” and not two, that there be not two Beginnings; and from the One, a Son in nature and truth, is its own Word, its Wisdom, its Power, and inseparable from it.
Fourth Oration Against the Arians 1
And God said again to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, The Lord God of our fathers, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name for ever, and my memorial to generations of generations.
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς πάλιν πρὸς Μωυσῆν· οὕτως ἐρεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραήλ· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, Θεὸς ῾Αβραὰμ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ιακὼβ ἀπέσταλκέ με πρὸς ὑμᾶς· τοῦτό μού ἐστιν ὄνομα αἰώνιον καὶ μνημόσυνον γενεῶν γενεαῖς.
И҆ речѐ бг҃ъ па́ки къ мѡѷсе́ю: та́кѡ рече́ши сынѡ́мъ і҆и҃лєвымъ: гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ ѻ҆тє́цъ на́шихъ, бг҃ъ а҆враа́мовъ и҆ бг҃ъ і҆саа́ковъ и҆ бг҃ъ і҆а́кѡвль, посла́ мѧ къ ва́мъ: сїѐ моѐ є҆́сть и҆́мѧ вѣ́чное и҆ па́мѧть родѡ́въ родѡ́мъ:
For God and Lord is a name of majesty, a name of power, even as God himself says, “The Lord is my name,” and as in another place the prophet declares, “The Lord almighty is his name.” He is God, therefore, and Lord, either because his rule is over all or because he beholds all things and is feared by all without exception.
Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.1.7
What does it mean then that later on he gave himself another name, where it says, “And the Lord said to Moses, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob: this is my name forever”? How is it that there I am called this name that shows “I am,” and lo and behold here is another name: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”? It means that while God is indeed unchangeable, he has done everything out of mercy, and so the Son of God himself was prepared to take on changeable flesh and thereby to come to man’s rescue while remaining what he is as the Word of God. Thus he who is clothed himself with mortal flesh, so that it could truly be said, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
Sermon 6.5
Go then and gather the elders of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God of our fathers has appeared to me, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, saying, I have surely looked upon you, and upon all the things which have happened to you in Egypt.
ἐλθὼν οὖν συνάγαγε τὴν γερουσίαν τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ὦπταί μοι, Θεὸς ᾿Αβραὰμ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ιακώβ, λέγων· ἐπισκοπῇ ἐπέσκεμμαι ὑμᾶς καὶ ὅσα συμβέβηκεν ὑμῖν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ.
прише́дъ ᲂу҆̀бо соберѝ ста́рцы сынѡ́въ і҆и҃левыхъ и҆ рцы̀ къ ни̑мъ: гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ ѻ҆тє́цъ на́шихъ ꙗ҆ви́сѧ мнѣ̀, бг҃ъ а҆враа́мовъ и҆ бг҃ъ і҆саа́ковъ и҆ бг҃ъ і҆а́кѡвль, гл҃ѧ: присѣще́нїемъ присѣти́хъ ва́съ, и҆ є҆ли̑ка слꙋчи́шасѧ ва́мъ во є҆гѵ́птѣ:
And he said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of the Egyptians to the land of the Chananites and the Chettites, and Amorites and Pherezites, and Gergesites, and Evites, and Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.
καὶ εἶπεν· ἀναβιβάσω ὑμᾶς ἐκ τῆς κακώσεως τῶν Αἰγυπτίων εἰς τὴν γῆν τῶν Χαναναίων καὶ Χετταίων καὶ ᾿Αμορραίων καὶ Φερεζαίων καὶ Γεργεσαίων καὶ Εὐαίων καὶ ᾿Ιεβουσαίων, εἰς γῆν ρέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι.
и҆ речѐ: и҆зведꙋ̀ ва́съ ѿ ѡ҆ѕлобле́нїѧ є҆гѵ́петскагѡ въ зе́млю ханане́йскꙋ и҆ хетте́йскꙋ, и҆ а҆морре́йскꙋ и҆ ферезе́йскꙋ, и҆ гергесе́йскꙋ и҆ є҆ѵе́йскꙋ и҆ і҆евꙋсе́йскꙋ, въ зе́млю кипѧ́щꙋю млеко́мъ и҆ ме́домъ:
And they shall hearken to thy voice, and thou and the elders of Israel shall go in to Pharao king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him, The God of the Hebrews has called us; we will go then a journey of three days into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to our God.
καὶ εἰσακούσονταί σου τῆς φωνῆς· καὶ εἰσελεύσῃ σὺ καὶ ἡ γερουσία ᾿Ισραὴλ πρὸς Φαραὼ βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτόν· ὁ Θεὸς τῶν ῾Εβραίων προσκέκληται ἡμᾶς· πορευσόμεθα οὖν ὁδὸν τριῶν ἡμερῶν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, ἵνα θύσωμεν τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν.
и҆ послꙋ́шаютъ гла́са твоегѡ̀, и҆ вни́деши ты̀ и҆ старѣ̑йшины і҆и҃лєвы къ фараѡ́нꙋ царю̀ є҆гѵ́петскомꙋ, и҆ рече́ши къ немꙋ̀: гдⷭ҇ь бг҃ъ є҆вре́йскїй воззва̀ на́съ: да по́йдемъ ᲂу҆̀бо пꙋте́мъ тре́хъ дні́й въ пꙋсты́ню, да пожре́мъ гдⷭ҇ꙋ бг҃ꙋ на́шемꙋ:
But I know that Pharao king of Egypt will not let you go, save with a mighty hand;
ἐγὼ δὲ οἶδα ὅτι οὐ προήσεται ὑμᾶς Φαραὼ βασιλεὺς Αἰγύπτου πορευθῆναι, ἐὰν μὴ μετὰ χειρὸς κραταιᾶς.
а҆́зъ же вѣ́мъ, ꙗ҆́кѡ не ѿпꙋ́ститъ ва́съ фараѡ́нъ ца́рь є҆гѵ́петскїй пойтѝ, а҆́ще не рꙋко́ю крѣ́пкою:
He said to Moses, “Go and speak to Pharaoh, that he may let my people go, but I know that he will not let them go.…” He manifests his divinity by foreseeing what is to happen and also his love for man by offering to the free will of man an opportunity to repent.
The Instructor Book 1
and I will stretch out my hand, and smite the Egyptians with all my wonders, which I shall work among them, and after that he will send you forth.
καὶ ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα πατάξω τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς θαυμασίοις μου, οἷς ποιήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξαποστελεῖ ὑμᾶς.
и҆ просте́ръ рꙋ́кꙋ мою̀, поражꙋ̀ є҆гѵ́птѧны всѣ́ми чꙋдесы̀ мои́ми, ꙗ҆̀же сотворю̀ въ ни́хъ: и҆ по си́хъ ѿпꙋ́ститъ вы̀,
And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and whenever ye shall escape, ye shall not depart empty.
καὶ δώσω χάριν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ ἐναντίον τῶν Αἰγυπτίων· ὅταν δὲ ἀποτρέχητε, οὐκ ἀπελεύσεσθε κενοί·
и҆ да́мъ блгⷣть лю́демъ си̑мъ пред̾ є҆гѵ̑птѧны: є҆гда́ же по́йдете, не ѿи́дете тщы̀:
But [every] woman shall ask of her neighbour and fellow lodger, articles of gold and silver, and apparel; and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters,-- and spoil ye the Egyptians.
ἀλλὰ αἰτήσει γυνὴ παρὰ γείτονος καὶ συσκήνου αὐτῆς σκεύη ἀργυρᾶ καὶ χρυσᾶ καὶ ἱματισμόν, καὶ ἐπιθήσετε ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν καὶ σκυλεύσετε τούς Αἰγυπτίους.
но да и҆спро́ситъ жена̀ ѿ сосѣ́ды и҆ подрꙋ́ги своеѧ̀ сосꙋ́ды срє́брѧны и҆ зла̑ты, и҆ ри̑зы: и҆ ᲂу҆краси́те сы́ны ва́шѧ и҆ дщє́ри ва́шѧ, и҆ ѡ҆бери́те є҆гѵ́птѧнъ.
The Egyptians put in a claim on the Hebrews for these gold and silver vessels. The Hebrews assert a counterclaim, alleging that by the bond of their respective fathers, attested by the written engagement of both parties, there were due to them the arrears of that laborious slavery of theirs for the bricks they had so painfully made and the cities and palaces which they had built.
Against Marcion 2.20.2
Whether then the reason was what I have said, or whether in the secret appointment of God there was some unknown reason for his telling the people by Moses to borrow things from the Egyptians and to take them away with them, this remains certain. This was said for some good reason and Moses could not lawfully have done otherwise than God told him, leaving to God the reason of the command, while the servant’s duty is to obey.
Against Faustus, a Manichaean 22.71
The Lord commanded the Hebrews through Moses to take gold and silver vessels and garments from the Egyptians, and he added, “And you will despoil them.” The judgment implied in this command cannot be unjust. For it is a commandment of God. It was not to be judged but obeyed. For God knew how just his command was. It pertains to the servant obediently to do what was commanded.
Questions on Exodus 6
Accordingly on the one hand the Egyptians deserved being deceived, and on the other the people of Israel were then situated at such a level of morality, because of the age of the human race, that it would not be unworthy of them to deceive an enemy. It therefore came about that God commanded them (or, rather, permitted them because of their desire) to ask of the Egyptians gold and silver implements which these seekers of a kingdom as yet earthly were gazing upon longingly, even though they were not going to return them, and to take them as if they were going to return them. God did not want to be unjust in the matter of the reward for such lengthy hardship and labor—a reward adapted to the level of such souls; nor did he want to be unjust in the matter of the punishments of the Egyptians, whom appropriately enough he caused to lose what they were under obligation to pay. And so God is not a deceiver.
On Eighty-three Varied Questions 53.2
And Moses was feeding the flock of Jothor his father-in-law, the priest of Madiam; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the mount of Choreb.
ΚΑΙ Μωυσῆς ἦν ποιμαίνων τὰ πρόβατα ᾿Ιοθόρ τοῦ γαμβροῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἱερέως Μαδιὰμ καὶ ἤγαγε τὰ πρόβατα ὑπὸ τὴν ἔρημον καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος Χωρήβ.
Мѡѷсе́й же бѧ́ше пасы́й ѻ҆́вцы і҆оѳо́ра те́стѧ своегѡ̀, свѧще́нника мадїа́мска: и҆ гна́ше ѻ҆́вцы въ пꙋсты́ню, и҆ прїи́де въ го́рꙋ бж҃їю хѡри́въ.