Chapter LXIII.—How God appeared to Moses.

And all the Jews even now teach that the nameless God spake to Moses; whence the Spirit of prophecy, accusing them by Isaiah the prophet mentioned above, said “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know Me, and My people do not understand.”131    Isa. i. 3. And Jesus the Christ, because the Jews knew not what the Father was, and what the Son, in like manner accused them; and Himself said, “No one knoweth the Father, but the Son; nor the Son, but the Father, and they to whom the Son revealeth Him.”132    Matt. xi. 27. Now the Word of God is His Son, as we have before said. And He is called Angel and Apostle; for He declares whatever we ought to know, and is sent forth to declare whatever is revealed; as our Lord Himself says, “He that heareth Me, heareth Him that sent Me.”133    Luke x. 16. From the writings of Moses also this will be manifest; for thus it is written in them, “And the Angel of God spake to Moses, in a flame of fire out of the bush, and said, I am that I am, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of thy fathers; go down into Egypt, and bring forth My people.”134    Ex. iii. 6. And if you wish to learn what follows, you can do so from the same writings; for it is impossible to relate the whole here. But so much is written for the sake of proving that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God and His Apostle, being of old the Word, and appearing sometimes in the form of fire, and sometimes in the likeness of angels; but now, by the will of God, having become man for the human race, He endured all the sufferings which the devils instigated the senseless Jews to inflict upon Him; who, though they have it expressly affirmed in the writings of Moses, “And the angel of God spake to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush, and said, I am that I am, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” yet maintain that He who said this was the Father and Creator of the universe. Whence also the Spirit of prophecy rebukes them, and says, “Israel doth not know Me, my people have not understood Me.”135    Isa. i. 3. And again, Jesus, as we have already shown, while He was with them, said, “No one knoweth the Father, but the Son; nor the Son but the Father, and those to whom the Son will reveal Him.”136    Matt. xi. 27. The Jews, accordingly, being throughout of opinion that it was the Father of the universe who spake to Moses, though He who spake to him was indeed the Son of God, who is called both Angel and Apostle, are justly charged, both by the Spirit of prophecy and by Christ Himself, with knowing neither the Father nor the Son. For they who affirm that the Son is the Father, are proved neither to have become acquainted with the Father, nor to know that the Father of the universe has a Son; who also, being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God. And of old He appeared in the shape of fire and in the likeness of an angel to Moses and to the other prophets; but now in the times of your reign,137    [Rather, “of your empire.”] having, as we before said, become Man by a virgin, according to the counsel of the Father, for the salvation of those who believe on Him, He endured both to be set at nought and to suffer, that by dying and rising again He might conquer death. And that which was said out of the bush to Moses, “I am that I am, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and the God of your fathers,”138    Ex. iii. 6. this signified that they, even though dead, are yet in existence, and are men belonging to Christ Himself. For they were the first of all men to busy themselves in the search after God; Abraham being the father of Isaac, and Isaac of Jacob, as Moses wrote.

[63] Ἰουδαῖοι δὲ πάντες καὶ νῦν διδάσκουσι τὸν ἀνωνόμαστον θεὸν λελαληκέναι τῷ Μωυσεῖ. ὅθεν τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα διὰ Ἠσαίου τοῦ προμεμηνυμένου προφήτου ἐλέγχον αὐτούς, ὡς προεγράψαμεν, εἶπεν: Ἔγνω βοῦς τὸν κτησάμενον καὶ ὄνος τὴν φάτνην τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, Ἰσραὴλ δέ με οὐκ ἔγνω καὶ ὁ λαός με οὐ συνῆκε. καὶ Ἰησοῦς δὲ ὁ Χριστός, ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν Ἰουδαῖοι τί πατὴρ καὶ τί υἱός, ὁμοίως ἐλέγχων αὐτοὺς καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπεν: Οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱός, οὐδὲ τὸν υἱὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ οἷς ἂν ἀποκαλύψῃ ὁ υἱός. ὁ λόγος δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ, ὡς προέφημεν. καὶ ἄγγελος δὲ καλεῖται καὶ ἀπόστολος: αὐτὸς γὰρ ἀπαγγέλλει ὅσα δεῖ γνωσθῆναι, καὶ ἀποστέλλεται, μηνύσων ὅσα ἀγγέλλεται, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν εἶπεν: Ὁ ἐμοῦ ἀκούων ἀκούει τοῦ ἀποστείλαντός με. καὶ ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Μωυσέως δὲ συγγραμμάτων φανερὸν τοῦτο γενήσεται. λέλεκται δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς οὕτως: Καὶ ἐλάλησε Μωυσεῖ ἄγγελος θεοῦ ἐν φλογὶ πυρὸς ἐκ τῆς βάτου καὶ εἶπεν: Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, θεὸς Ἀβραάμ, θεὸς Ἰσαάκ, θεὸς Ἰακώβ, ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων σου. κάτελθε εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ ἐξάγαγε τὸν λαόν μου. τὰ δ' ἑπόμενα ἐξ ἐκείνων βουλόμενοι μαθεῖν δύνασθε: οὐ γὰρ δυνατὸν ἐν τούτοις ἀναγράψαι πάντα. ἀλλ' εἰς ἀπόδειξιν γεγόνασιν οἵδε οἱ λόγοι ὅτι υἱὸς θεοῦ καὶ ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός ἐστι, πρότερον λόγος ὤν, καὶ ἐν ἰδέᾳ πυρὸς ποτὲ φανείς, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ ἐν εἰκόνι ἀσωμάτῳ: νῦν δὲ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου γένους ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος ὑπέμεινε καὶ παθεῖν ὅσα αὐτὸν ἐνήργησαν οἱ δαίμονες διατεθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνοήτων Ἰουδαίων. οἵτινες ἔχοντες ῥητῶς εἰρημένον ἐν τοῖς Μωυσέως συντάγμασι: Καὶ ἐλάλησεν ἄγγελος τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ Μωυσεῖ ἐν πυρὶ φλογὸς ἐν βάτῳ καὶ εἶπεν: Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰακώβ, τὸν τῶν ὅλων πατέρα καὶ δημιουργὸν τὸν ταῦτα εἰπόντα λέγουσιν εἶναι. ὅθεν καὶ τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα ἐλέγχον αὐτοὺς εἶπεν: Ἰσραὴλ δέ με οὐκ ἔγνω, καὶ ὁ λαός με οὐ συνῆκε. καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὡς ἐδηλώσαμεν, παρ' αὐτοῖς ὢν εἶπεν: Οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱός, οὐδὲ τὸν υἱὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ οἷς ἂν ὁ υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψῃ. Ἰουδαῖοι οὖν ἡγησάμενοι ἀεὶ τὸν πατέρα τῶν ὅλων λελαληκέναι τῷ Μωυσεῖ, τοῦ λαλήσαντος αὐτῷ ὄντος υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃς καὶ ἄγγελος καὶ ἀπόστολος κέκληται, δικαίως ἐλέγχονται καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὡς οὔτε τὸν πατέρα οὔτε τὸν υἱὸν ἔγνωσαν. οἱ γὰρ τὸν υἱὸν πατέρα φάσκοντες εἶναι ἐλέγχονται μήτε τὸν πατέρα ἐπιστάμενοι, μηθ' ὅτι ἐστὶν υἱὸς τῷ πατρὶ τῶν ὅλων γινώσκοντες: ὃς καὶ λόγος πρωτότοκος ὢν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ θεὸς ὑπάρχει. καὶ πρότερον διὰ τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς μορφῆς καὶ εἰκόνος ἀσωμάτου τῷ Μωυσεῖ καὶ τοῖς ἑτέροις προφήταις ἐφάνη: νῦν δ' ἐν χρόνοις τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀρχῆς, ὡς προείπομεν, διὰ παρθένου ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς βουλὴν ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας τῶν πιστευόντων αὐτῷ καὶ ἐξουθενηθῆναι καὶ παθεῖν ὑπέμεινεν, ἵνα ἀποθανὼν καὶ ἀναστὰς νικήσῃ τὸν θάνατον. τὸ δὲ εἰρημένον ἐκ βάτου τῷ Μωυσεῖ: Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰακὼβ καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων σου, σημαντικὸν τοῦ καὶ ἀποθανόντας ἐκείνους μένειν καὶ εἶναι αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀνθρώπους: καὶ γὰρ πρῶτοι τῶν πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐκεῖνοι περὶ θεοῦ ζήτησιν ἠσχολήθησαν, Ἀβραὰμ μὲν πατὴρ ὢν τοῦ Ἰσαάκ, Ἰσαὰκ δὲ τοῦ Ἰακώβ, ὡς καὶ Μωυσῆς ἀνέγραψε.