Made ready to see God: Sinai and the circumcision of Abraham
Cyril: Well then, shall we not add this point to these as well?
Palladius: Which one?
Cyril: When God, who rules over all, was about to come down on Mount Sinai in the form of fire (Exodus 19:18), Moses was commanded to make Israel ready to see God. The manner of the preparation the Master of all laid down himself. For the Lord said to Moses: ‘Go down and solemnly charge the people, and purify them today and tomorrow; let them wash their garments, and let them be ready for the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai before all the people’ (Exodus 19:10–11). Those, then, who long for close fellowship with God, and whose aim is, as it were, to stand before him and serve him with strength and eagerness for every good thing, must first be purified. Such a person would then be quite fit even for this: that he too should already, in some way, behold God, according to the Savior’s word: ‘For blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’ (Matthew 5:8).
Again, if you wish, you will see the divine Abraham himself advanced to this same splendor. Come, let us recount in turn what concerns him. For it is written thus: ‘And the Lord said to Abraham: As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you, throughout their generations. And this is the covenant that you shall keep between me and you, and between your offspring after you, throughout their generations: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. A child of eight days shall be circumcised among you, every male, throughout your generations, both the one born in your house and the one bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. The one born in your house and the one bought with money shall surely be circumcised. And my covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul shall be utterly destroyed from its kindred, because he has broken my covenant’ (Genesis 17:9–14). Then it says: ‘And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all those born in his house, and all those bought with his money, and every male among the men of his house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, as God had spoken to him’ (Genesis 17:23).
What, then, was the reward of his obedience, and in what way did circumcision benefit him? We shall learn from what follows. ‘For God appeared to him,’ it says, ‘by the oak of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent at midday. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing near him. And when he saw them, he ran from the door of his tent to meet them, and bowed down to the ground (Genesis 18:1–2), and said…
Greek
{ΚΥΡ.} Τί δὲ, οὐχὶ κἀκεῖνο δὴ τουτοισὶν ἐποίσομεν ἄν;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Τὸ ποῖον;
{ΚΥΡ.} Καταφοιτήσειν μέλλοντος ἐν εἴδει πυρὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ Σινᾶ τοῦ πάντων κρατοῦντος Θεοῦ, προσετάττετο Μωσῆς εὐτρεπῆ πρὸς θεοπτίαν ἀποφῆναι τὸν Ἰσραήλ. Τόν γε μὴν τῆς ἑτοιμασίας τρόπον, αὐτὸς ὁ πάντων ἐθεσμοδότει Δεσπότης. Εἶπε γὰρ Κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν· «Καταβὰς, διαμάρτυρε τῷ λαῷ, καὶ ἅγνισον αὐτοὺς σήμερον, καὶ αὔριον, καὶ πλυνάτωσαν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν, καὶ ἕτοιμοι ἔστωσαν εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν τρίτην· τῇ γὰρ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ, καταβήσεται Κύριος ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τὸ Σινᾶ, ἐναντίον παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ.» Προαγνίζεσθαι δὴ οὖν ἀναγκαῖον τοὺς οἵπερ ἂν εἶεν τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν οἰκειότητος ἐρασταὶ, καὶ οἷς ἂν γένοιτο σκοπὸς τὸ οἱονεὶ παρεστάναι καὶ λειτουργεῖν αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς εἰς πᾶν ἀγαθὸν ἀλκῆς τε καὶ προθυμίας. Εἴη δ' ἂν ὁ τοιόσδε λοιπὸν, οὐκ ἀνικάνως ἔχων, καὶ πρός γε τὸ δεῖν καὶ αὐτὸν ἤδη πως καταθρῆσαι Θεὸν, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος φωνήν· «Μακάριοι γὰρ οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται.» Προήκοντα δὲ καὶ εἰς τοῦτο λαμπρότητος κατόψει δὴ πάλιν καὶ αὐτὸν, εἴπερ ἕλοιο, τὸν θεσπέσιον Ἀβραάμ. Καὶ φέρε δὴ λέγωμεν ἀνὰ μέρος τὰ ἐπ' αὐτῷ. Γέγραπται γὰρ ὡδί· «Καὶ εἷπε Κύριος πρὸς Ἀβραάμ· Σὺ δὲ τὴν διαθήκην μου διατηρήσεις, σὺ καὶ τὸ σπέρμα σου μετὰ σὲ, εἰς τὰς γενεὰς αὐτῶν. Καὶ αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη ἣν διατηρήσεις ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου μετὰ σὲ εἰς τὰς γενεὰς αὐτῶν. Περιτμηθήσεται ὑμῶν πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν, καὶ περιτμηθήσεσθε τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας ὑμῶν, καὶ ἔσται εἰς σημεῖον διαθήκης ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ὑμῶν. Καὶ παιδίον ὀκτὼ ἡμερῶν περιτμηθήσεται ὑμῖν, πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν, εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν, καὶ οἰκογενὴς καὶ ὁ ἀργυρώνητος ἀπὸ παντὸς υἱοῦ ἀλλοτρίου, ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματός σου, περιτομῇ περιτμηθήσεται ὁ οἰκογενὴς τῆς οἰκίας σου καὶ ὁ ἀργυρώνητος. Καὶ ἔσται ἡ διαθήκη μου ἐπὶ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑμῶν εἰς διαθήκην αἰώνιον, καὶ ἀπερίτμητος ἄρσην, ὃς οὐ περιτμηθήσεται τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτοῦ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ, ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτῆς, ὅτι τὴν διαθήκην μου διεσκέδασεν.» Εἶτά φησιν, ὅτι «Καὶ ἔλαβεν Ἀβραὰμ Ἰσμαὴλ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντας τοὺς οἰκογενεῖς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀργυρωνήτους αὐτοῦ, καὶ πᾶν ἄρσεν τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ, καὶ περιέτεμε τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης, καθὰ ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός.» Ποῖον οὖν ἄρα τῆς ὑπακοῆς τὸ γέρας, ὤνησε δὲ κατὰ τίνα δὴ τρόπον ἡ περιτομὴ, διὰ τῶν ἐφεξῆς εἰσόμεθα. «Ὤφθη γὰρ αὐτῷ,» φησὶν, «ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς τῇ δρυῒ τῇ Μαμβρῇ, καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ μεσημβρίας. Ἀναβλέψας δὲ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ εἶδε, καὶ ἰδοὺ τρεῖς ἄνδρες εἰστήκεισαν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτοὺς, προσέδραμεν εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ εἶπε· Κύ