THEOSISEphraem the Syrian
Moses replied, “We offer sacrifices of bulls and sheep to the Lord, whereas you choose to worship them. If we were to present offerings to the deities of Egypt in front of the Egyptians, they would certainly put us to death.”
Exodus 8:26Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
And Moses said: It cannot be so: for we shall sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: now if we kill those things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence, they will stone us.
וַיֵּצֵ֥א מֹשֶׁ֖ה מֵעִ֣ם פַּרְעֹ֑ה וַיֶּעְתַּ֖ר אֶל־יְהוָֽה׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Ambrose of Milan
You have conveyed your concern regarding your readings: “That which is abominable to the Egyptians we will sacrifice to God.” However, there exists a resolution to your perplexity. In the Book of Genesis, it is stated that the Egyptians despised shepherds of cattle (See Genesis 46:34); they looked down upon these not as individuals but as those tending to livestock, as they cultivated the earth using plows. Yet, figures such as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David were shepherds who elevated this vocation to one of noble distinction. Therefore, the Egyptians detested the sacrifices offered by those with pure hearts, which signify the cultivation of virtues that are profound and filled with wisdom. Consequently, what the wicked find detestable is considered sacred and devout by the righteous.
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The effort to pursue virtue is scorned by the lazy, and the morally corrupt avoid it. Thus, the corporeal nature of the Egyptians, enamored with worldly pleasures, rejects the soul’s virtues and turns away from their strength and the teachings of righteousness. Hence, whatever an Egyptian spurns it is not humanity that you should embrace, but rather an understanding of human nature itself. What they seek and desire for themselves should be cast aside, for wisdom and folly cannot coexist. Consequently, as long as wisdom is forsaken and moderation is abandoned in favor of chaos and indulgence, every reckless and uncontrolled individual will lack what is bestowed upon the good and inherited by the wise and temperate.
Paterius of Brescia
The Egyptians detested the consumption of sheep's meat. However, that which is detestable to the Egyptians is presented to God by the Israelites. The sincere conscience, which the wicked view as inferior and scorn, is transformed by the righteous into an honorable offering. By perfecting the purity of truth and humility, they dedicate this sacrifice to God, while the unworthy, loathing it, dismiss it as folly.
Roshdestwenski W.G.
Moses declared that it was unacceptable, as it would be seen as blasphemy by the Egyptians. He urged that we should not invoke the name of the Lord our God before them; should we do so and reference their blasphemies, they would surely stone us. The narrative indicates that the Israelites sacrificed their Passover Lamb in Egypt, specifically noted as the Passover offering to the Lord, which protected the homes of the children of Israel during the time when the Egyptians suffered loss, ultimately sparing our households (Ex. 12:27). Additionally, the book of Wisdom provides insight into this matter (Prem. 18:9).
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The Paschal Lamb is associated with certain valid rites and sacrificial preparations, alluded to as a sacrifice in the aforementioned context due to its significant likeness to sacrifices and its typological connection to Christ’s ultimate Sacrifice and the shedding of His Blood upon the Cross. Nevertheless, in terms of its fundamental nature and essence, it was not a true sacrifice because it was not offered for the purpose of being burned, but rather for consumption, a fact that the current discussion supports.
Wlastow G.K.
Moses accurately portrays the threat posed by the Egyptians regarding the ritual sacrifice of animals they held sacred, such as the bull, which they revered as a deity, or the cow in all instances. Even Pharaoh finds it difficult to counter this concern.
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Gen 43:32And when it was set on, for Joseph apart, and for his brethren apart, for the Egyptians also that ate with him apart, (for it is unlawful for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews, and they think such a feast profane):
- Gen 46:34You shall answer: We, thy servants, are shepherds, from our infancy until now, both we and our fathers. And this you shall say, that you may dwell in the land of Gessen, because the Egyptians have all shepherds in abomination.
- Ex 3:18And they shall hear thy voice; and thou shalt go in, thou and the ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us; we will go three days' journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord our God.
- Deut 7:25Their graven things thou shalt burn with fire: thou shalt not covet the silver and gold of which they are made, neither shalt thou take to thee any thing thereof, lest thou offend, because it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.
- Deut 7:26Neither shalt thou bring any thing of the idol into thy house, lest thou become an anathema, like it. Thou shalt detest it as dung, and shalt utterly abhor it as uncleanness and filth, because it is an anathema.
- Deut 12:30Beware lest thou imitate them, after they are destroyed at thy coming in, and lest thou seek after their ceremonies, saying: As these nations have worshipped their gods, so will I also worship.
- Deut 12:31Thou shalt not do in like manner to the Lord thy God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations which the Lord abhorreth, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire.
- Isa 44:19They do not consider in their mind, nor know, nor have the thought to say: I have burnt part of it in the fire, and I have baked bread upon the coals thereof: I have broiled flesh and have eaten, and of the residue thereof shall I make an idol? shall I fall down before the stock of a tree?