And the Lord said to him: Loose the shoes from thy feet: for the place wherein thou standest is holy ground.
ειπεν δε αυτω ο κυριος λυσον το υποδημα των ποδων σου ο γαρ τοπος εν ω εστηκας γη αγια εστιν
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
There is no temple, and yet this place is holy because of the manifestation and action of Christ. It is even more wondrous than the place in the Holy of Holies, for God never appeared there in this manner, and Moses was never so seized with trembling. Have you seen God's love for mankind? Then look also at His providential care.
"Put off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground." The place is holy because of the manifestation of Christ. It is worthy of greater wonder than the place in the Holy of Holies, for there was never such a manifestation there.
And when we give ourselves to this peaceful way of life, far from enmity, the Truth will shine upon us and illumine the eyes of our soul with His radiance. The Truth who appeared to Moses in ineffable light is God.
It will also not be useless to examine how this radiance, which illumined the prophet's soul, was united to the thornbush. If God is Truth, and Truth is Light, then the virtuous way of life leads us unhindered to the knowledge of that Light which descends to human nature.
Thus we understand the wonder that took place in the Virgin. The Light of the Godhead was born through her and shone forth in human life. Yet He preserved unharmed the bush with which He was united. The flower of virginity did not wither even in childbirth.
This Light teaches us what we must do in order to remain within the rays of the true Light. Feet wearing sandals cannot ascend to the height from which the true Light is seen.
First the step of our soul must be freed from the dead and earthly covering of skin that has clothed our nature since, by disobeying the divine commandment, we found ourselves naked.
After this there will at once follow the knowledge of the Truth, who Himself will reveal Himself to us. The knowledge of Him who Is becomes purification from false conceptions of what is not.
In order afterward to defend himself against the charge of insulting Moses and his law, he dwells at length on this great Old Testament figure (vv. 20-43). He strives to show all his reverence both for Moses and for the law given through him.
In God's special providence over Moses' salvation and destiny, his particular calling is already revealed (vv. 20-22). Stephen indicates that Moses, while still at Pharaoh's court, already foresaw this calling. He did so, of course, by reflecting on the extraordinary circumstances of his life. His calling was to be the deliverer of his people from the Egyptian yoke (v. 25).
Then the person of Moses is fully honored in his dignity and significance. This appears when Stephen describes his call by God to the work of Israel's deliverance (vv. 30-35), and the deliverance itself. It also appears in his leading Israel toward the promised land with many signs and wonders (v. 36).
To express still more fully the dignity of Moses, Stephen shows him as a type of the Messiah, as one who conversed with angels, and as mediator between God and Israel (vv. 37-38). By this alone Stephen's whole reverence for the Mosaic law is fully expressed. Yet it is expressed still more when he calls this law "living words" (v. 38).
At the same time, however, this speech is accusatory. In reading it, one cannot fail to notice that Stephen tries, wherever possible, to contrast the benefactions of the saving God with the ingratitude and unbelief of the Israelites.
Thus, even in the life of the patriarchs, he points to Joseph's suffering from the envy of his brothers, the forefathers of the Israelite people (v. 9). In Egypt, the descendants of these sons of Jacob reject the saving hand of Moses (vv. 25-28, 35). In the wilderness they reject Moses and God (vv. 39-43).
"Take off your sandals," and so forth: that is, the sandals. In the East, people entered, and still enter, temples and other sacred places barefoot. This is done as a sign of deep abasement before God and of purity, so that dust and uncleanness from the footwear may not be brought into a sacred place.
The rabbis say that the priests in the sanctuary of the Jerusalem temple also performed their service barefoot.
"There is no temple, and yet this place is holy because of Christ's manifestation and action. It is even more wondrous than the place in the Holy of Holies, because God never appeared there in this way" (Chrysostom; cf. Theophylact).
By the command to remove his sandals, the Lord prepares Moses, as it were, to draw near to Himself. The indication that this ground is holy is likewise a kind of indication of the means by which one approaches the Lord.
In the removal of the sandals, which come into contact with every impurity more than anything else, there was also an indication that Moses must leave behind everything binding him to this earth. This included its many charms and his new kinship in life.
"The place is holy because of the manifestation of Christ. It is worthy of greater wonder than the place in the Holy of Holies, because no such manifestation ever occurred there." Yet they say that even there "the priests performed their service barefoot."
In general, in the East people entered, and still enter, sacred places barefoot. This is a sign of deep abasement before God and of purity, so that dust and uncleanness from the footwear may not be brought into a sacred place.
According to Exodus (Ex 3:4-6), these words precede the preceding words. This insignificant difference is easily explained by Archdeacon Stephen's desire to place what was more essential first. This particular detail could have come to his mind and memory afterward.
Since he set all this forth in a swiftly moving word and in an interrupted historical discourse, he could not attach importance to the order. This is especially so because he does not say that God said one thing before and another afterward. He only reports what He said.
The following verse says the same. It clearly bears witness to the interrupted character of the speech. From verse 35 onward, the speech generally receives another form of exposition. It is no longer so much narrative and sequential as instructive, admonitory, or reasoned.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 20 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS