Chapter 53
The intercession of Moses
| 1 Ἐπίστασθε γὰρ καὶ καλῶς ἐπίστασθε τὰς ἱερὰς γραφάς, ἀγαπητοί, καὶ ἐγκεκύφατε εἰς τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ. πρὸς ἀνάμνησιν οὖν ταῦτα γράφομεν. |
For you know, and you know well the sacred scriptures, dear friends, and you have studied the oracles of God. Therefore we write these things to be a reminder. |
| 2 Μωϋσέως γὰρ ἀναβάντος εἰς τὸ ὄρος καὶ ποιήσαντος τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ ταπεινώσει, εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ θεός· Μωϋσῆ, Μωϋσῆ, Κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος ἐντεῦθεν, ὅτι ἠνόμησεν ὁ λαός σου, οὓς ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου· παρέβησαν ταχὺ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἧς ἐνετείλω αὐτοῖς, ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς χωνεύματα. |
When Moses went up the mountain and had spent forty days and forty nights in fasting and humiliation, God said to him, "Moses, Moses, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you led out of the land of Egypt have broken the law. They have quickly turned away from the way that you commanded them. They have made molten idols for themselves" {Deut. 9:12; Ex. 32:7-8}. |
| 3 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν· Λελάληκα πρός σε ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς λέγων· Ἑώρακα τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἰδού ἐστιν σκληροτράχηλος· ἔασόν με ἐξολεθρεῦσαι αὐτούς, καὶ ἐξαλείψω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῶν ὑποκάτωθεν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ θαυμαστὸν καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦτο. |
And the Lord said to him, "I have spoken to you time and again saying, ‘I have seen this people and behold they are stiff-necked. Let Me destroy them utterly, and I will blot out their name from under heaven, and I will make you into a great and wonderful nation and more numerous than this one.’ ” {Deut. 9:13-14; Ex. 32:9-10}. |
| 4 καὶ εἶπεν Μωϋσῆς· Μηδαμῶς, κύριε· ἄφες τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ ἢ κἀμὲ ἐξάλειψον ἐκ βίβλου ζώντων. |
And Moses said, "By no means, Lord. Forgive this people their sin, or blot me also out of the book of the living.” |
| 5 ὢ μεγάλης ἀγάπης, ὢ τελειότητος ἀνυπερβλήτου. παρρησιάζεται θεράπων πρὸς κύριον, αἰτεῖται ἄφεσιν τῷ πλήθει, ἢ καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἐξαλειφθῆναι μετ' αὐτῶν ἀξιοῖ. | Oh great love! Oh limitless perfection! The servant speaks boldly with the Lord; he asks for forgiveness for the multitude, or else demands that he himself also be blotted out with them. |
Summary
In Chapter 53, Clement appeals once again to the profound familiarity of his readers with the Old Testament scriptures (τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ). Stating that he writes simply as a reminder (πρὸς ἀνάμνησιν), Clement presents Moses as the ultimate model of self-sacrificing intercession and leadership, contrasting Moses' utter selflessness with the pride of the Corinthian agitators.
Clement retells the dramatic episode from Exodus 32:7–32 (the Golden Calf incident):
The Divine Rebuke: While Moses was fasting and humbling himself on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights, Israel lapsed into idolatry, fashioning a molten calf. God commanded Moses to go down quickly, threatening to wipe out the stiff-necked nation (σκληροτράχηλος) and offer Moses the chance to become a greater nation himself.
Moses' Heroic Intercession: Instead of seizing this opportunity for personal advancement, Moses refused to abandon his people. He implored God to forgive the nation’s sin or else blot him out (ἐξάλειψον) along with them from the book of the living (ἐκ βίβλου ζώντων).
Clement marvels at this display of incomparable love and spiritual perfection (ὢ μεγάλης ἀγάπης, ὢ τελειότητος ἀνυπερβλήτου). He points out that Moses, as a true servant (θεράπων), spoke with bold freedom (παρρησία) before the Sovereign Lord, placing the salvation of the community entirely above his own status. The implicit pastoral message to the Corinthian rebels is inescapable: true Christian leaders step down or lay down their lives for the unity of the flock, rather than tearing the church apart for personal prestige.
Significant Greek Expressions
ἐγκεκύφατε εἰς τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ (You have peered / stooped down into the oracles of God):
Enkuptō: to stoop down, bend over to examine closely (a favorite Clementine verb; cf. 1 Clement 40.1, 45.2).
Logia: divine utterances, oracles, scriptures. Clement assumes a high degree of biblical literacy among the Corinthians.
πρὸς ἀνάμνησιν (By way of remembrance / as a reminder): Noun anamnēsis (cf. 2 Peter 1:13, 3:1). Clement frames his instruction not as novel doctrine or external dictation, but as recalling truths already present in their shared sacred heritage.
σκληροτράχηλος (Stiff-necked / stubborn): Direct quotation of Exodus 33:3, 5, 34:9 LXX (from sklēros "hard" + trachēlos "neck"). A vivid animal metaphor describing an unyielding ox that refuses the yoke; used typologically for those who refuse to submit to God’s order and legitimate church authorities.
ἐξάλειψον ἐκ βίβλου ζώντων (Blot [me] out from the book of the living):
Exaleiphō: to wipe out, erase, blot out.
Biblos zōntōn: book of the living / life (cf. Exodus 32:32 LXX, Psalm 68:29 LXX, Revelation 3:5). Demonstrates the ultimate willingness to undergo personal loss/damnation for the preservation of the community.
ὢ μεγάλης ἀγάπης, ὢ τελειότητος ἀνυπερβλήτου (Oh, the great love! Oh, the unsurpassable perfection!): An impassioned exclamatory rhetorical construction (ō + genitive).
Agapē: divine, self-sacrificing love.
Anyperblētos: unsurpassable, supreme, unexcelled (from a- + hyperballō, "not thrown beyond"). Clement elevates Moses' intercession as the benchmark of true spiritual maturity (teleiotēs).
παρρησιάζεται (He speaks with bold freedom / confidence): Present middle/passive indicative of parrhēsiazomai (from parrhēsia, freedom of speech, boldness, unreserved confidence). Highlights the privileged intimacy between God and His faithful minister (therapōn), an intimacy that flows from radical humility and intercessory love.