Alexander Pierce: Exodus 3:14 in Eunomius of Cyzicus's Apologia Apologiae: An Exegetical Diagnostic in Fourth-Century Theological Polemics

In early Christian interpretation of the theophanies in the Old Testament, Exodus 3:14 was a paramount instance. From the burning bush, “God” says to Moses, Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν. In fourth-century polemics the interpretation of this theophany becomes a diagnostic for understanding how one understands the relationship between the Father and the Son. This correlation occurs, for instance, when Marcellus of Ancyra asks Asterius of Petra whether the Father, the Son, or both are speaking from the bush. In agreement with Athanasius, Marcellus, being himself a Sabellian, holds that both Father and Son must be speaking. Marcellus puts Asterius into a difficult position because if he attributes the act of speaking to the Father or to the Son, he will imply that the other does not share this unique mode of existence. Whereas Asterius would not want so to divide the Father and the Son, Eunomius of Cyzicus, in his Apologia Apologiae, follows precisely this line, interpreting the voice as the Father's and not the Son's (Gregory of Nyssa, Contra Eunomium III.8-9). As in the context of earlier fourth-century polemics about the nature of God, Eunomius’s exegetical decision concerning the speaker of Exod. 3:14, locates him in the landscape of fourth-century theological debates, for his interpretation of this theophany corresponds to his understanding of the ontological difference between the Father and the Son. Thus, in this paper, I will examine Eunomius’s exegetical argument in the light of the history of non-Nicene theology over the course of the fourth century.