Exegetical Puzzles and the Mystical Theologies of Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite

Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite both contemplate the Exodus narrative of Moses’ experiences on Sinai. That narrative is complex, with Moses ascending and descending the mountain several times, sometimes in company, sometimes alone. Gregory follows the biblical twists and turns in Life of Moses ; the relevant paragraph in Dionysius’ Mystical Theology tells of just one ascent. This article re-examines their dependence on the details of the biblical text, arguing that its exegetical puzzles proved fertile ground for their apophatic insights. Both seize on Exodus 20:21 as symbolising the utter incomprehensibility of God. But they resolve the enigmas of Exodus 33–34 differently. Gregory uses Exodus 33:18–23 as a springboard to his articulation of a never-ending journey into the infinite divine, while Exodus 34:29–35 provides the biblical impetus behind Dionysius’ concept of “union.”

The Exodus narrative of Moses' experiences on Mount Sinai proved crucial for the development of Christian mysticism.As Turner argues, the mystical theology of Late Antiquity relied upon two foundational stories: Plato's allegory of the cave in book 7 of The Republic, and Exodus' account of Moses' encounter with God on the summit of Mount Sinai.1 Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite drew upon both Platonist and biblical traditions; indeed, they were among those responsible for the convergence between the two.They are particularly associated with the exploitation of the darkness imagery in LXX Exodus 20:21: "Moyses went into the darkness where God was."2This article re-examines their dependence on the details of the biblical text.It argues that these apophatic theologians scrutinised scripture, alert to its difficulties and discrepancies.They stressed the incomprehensibility of God, and the inadequacy of human speech to capture anything of the divine essence; yet scripture gave them permission to reflect on the symbolic possibilities of religious language.They were inspired by exegetical puzzles, elevating them to the status of paradoxes.As will be demonstrated, their engagement with the enigmas of Exodus 33-34 took them in different directions.Gregory used Exodus 33:18-23 as a springboard to his articulation of a never-ending journey into the infinite divine, while Exodus 34:29-35 provided the biblical impetus behind Dionysius' concept of "union." The book of Exodus is a creative compilation of originally independent traditions.The Sinai narrative in particular is full of repetitions, contradictions, disruptions and inconsistencies.3Moses ascends the mountain eight times, sometimes in company, sometimes alone.4It is also unclear whether Exodus 19-20 and Exodus 24 are to be treated as representations of the same or subsequent events.5In examining the interpretation of this material by Gregory and Dionysius we are not comparing like with like.Gregory's Life of Moses is an entire treatise, first retelling the biblical story (the historia), and then providing an allegorical commentary (the theoria).6Gregory omits certain episodes, but, by and large, is faithful to the biblical outline of Moses' story.Life of Moses relates three principal theophanies: the burning bush (1.20; 2.19-26); the darkness, within which is revealed the tabernacle not made with hands (1.46-56; 2.162-201); and Moses' vision, from within a hole in a rock covered by God's hand, of "the back of the One who called him" (2.219-255).7The material from Dionysius, by contrast, consists of one paragraph in Mystical Theology, itself a very short treatise on apophatic theology.8He collapses Moses' multi-faceted experience into one archetypal ascent.Rorem has demonstrated that his terminology corresponds to the liturgical experience of the hierarch, for whom Moses is the prototype.9In Louth's words, "Dionysios is concerned with the cosmic order disclosed by the biblical revelation and celebrated in the Christian liturgy."10According to Dionysius, Moses' experience consisted of three stages: purification, contemplation, and union, thus corresponding to "the spiritual ascent from purification to illumination and perfection discussed so often in the hierarchical treatises."11Despite this difference in genre between Life of Moses and Mystical Theology, a comparison of their respective appropriations of the biblical text is not only possible but profitable.The structure of Mystical Theology 1.3 will be taken as the point of departure.

Purification
Dionysius begins with Moses being commanded to submit to purification and depart from those who have not undergone it.Rorem points out that the rare term Dionysius uses for Moses' purification (ἀποκάθαρσις) is used in The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy "for the ritual handwashing of the hierarch and of the priests in their liturgical cleansing or purification." ἡγίασεν), and to set limits preventing them from trespassing onto the mountain (19:12).God later issues additional instructions that priests should be consecrated (19:22 ‫ׁשּו‬ ָ ‫ּד‬ ‫קַ‬ ‫תְ‬ ‫,יִ‬ ἁγιασθήτωσαν), but no special injunction is given to Moses.Exodus 24 makes no mention of purification, but does present a more coherent stratification, corresponding to the layout of the tabernacle: the people remain at the foot of the mountain by the sacrificial altar (24:3-8), the elders ascend part way up (24:9-11), and Moses reaches the peak, equivalent to the holy of holies (24:15-18).In Mystical Theology 1.3, Dionysius ignores the people's consecration, although Golitzin argues that Exodus' picture of "a people both chosen and gathered about the frontiers of a holy place yet not granted complete entrance within it" must have reminded Dionysius of the "purified and illumined laity" described elsewhere in his work.13Dionysius' structuring of Moses' ascent does, however, reflect the tripartite stratification of Exodus 24.In the historia of Life of Moses, Gregory talks of the divine power initiating (μυσταγωγούσης) all the people along with their leader, although he then specifies that only purified men were allowed to approach the mountain.14In the theoria, he interprets this purification in terms of surpassing "the knowledge which originates with the senses," in order to approach "the ascent to lofty perceptions."15

Trumpets and Lights
In Mystical Theology, once Moses has been purified, he "hears the many-voiced trumpets" and "sees the many lights."16A sentence or two earlier Dionysius has said that the cause of all is made manifest only to those who "leave behind them every divine light, every sound, every word from heaven."17Harrington comments, Vigiliae Christianae 75 (2021) 1-21 As in the church, so here, the sensuous participation in the divine is common to all of the laity.The nave of the church blends with the slopes of the mountain, as Moses and "the masses" together experience the sensuous manifestation of God.18 But, as Rorem points out, the Dionysian hierarch should know "how to transcend the bare sounds of the scriptures and the physical lights of the liturgy."19The lights that Dionysius refers to, which he describes as "flashing forth pure and widely diffused rays (καθαρὰς ἀπαστράπτοντα καὶ πολυχύτους ἀκτῖνας),"20 correspond to the lightnings of Exodus 19:16 ‫;ברקים(‬ ἀστραπαὶ) and the flashes of 20:18 ‫;הלפידם(‬ τὰς λαμπάδας), neither of which Gregory mentions, talking only of "a fire shining out of the darkness," which "hovered all around the sides of the mountain," drawing on Exodus 19:18.21The auditory phenomena of Exodus 19 include a number of voices: "voices" usually interpreted as thunder (19:16 ‫,קלת‬ φωναί); "the voice of the trumpet" (19:16 ‫ׁשפר‬ ‫,קל‬ φωνὴ τῆς σάλπιγγος; 19:19 ‫הׁשופר‬ ‫,קול‬ αἱ φωναὶ τῆς σάλπιγγος); and a "voice" ascribed to God (19:19).22This raises the question of whether the people heard speech with content or merely terrifying noises.23Deuteronomy 4:12 specifies that the Israelites heard "a voice of words ‫דברים(‬ ‫,קול‬ φωνὴν ῥημάτων)."Hebrews picks up on this, describing the Sinai theophany as "a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice of words which made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them."24In Exodus, the people are afraid, and ask Moses to act as intermediary (20:18-21).Gregory combines the trumpet sound with the voice of God: A terrible sound (φωνῆς) ripped down from above upon everything below … Its sound (ἠχῆς) was like the blaring of trumpets, but the intensity and terribleness of the sound (φωνῆς) surpassed any such comparison … This sound (φωνή) was sharp and clear (ἔναρθρος), the air articulating the word by divine power without using organs of speech.25This picture is influenced not only by the "voice of words" in Deuteronomy and Hebrews, but also by Philo's description of the "invisible sound" which "giving shape and tension to the air and changing it to a flaming fire, sounded forth like the breath through a trumpet an articulate (ἔναρθρον) voice so loud that it appeared to be equally audible to the farthest as well as the nearest."26Gregory goes on to report the people's fear, caused by this terrible sound, and Moses' courage in approaching the darkness alone.27In his theoria, he interprets the sound of the trumpet(s)28 firstly as "the mystery of the incarnation," trumpeted by the Law, the Prophets and finally the Gospels;29 and secondly as "the wondrous design of the heavens" proclaiming "the wisdom revealed in all that exists, along with the great glory of God made manifest through visible phenomena."30In both these interpretations, the trumpet sound represents knowledge available to all; yet "the multitude was not capable of hearing the voice from above but relied on Moses to … teach the people whatever doctrine he might learn through instruction from above."31Gregory thus reflects the ambiguity in Exodus over how much the people heard.Exodus 20:1, introducing the Ten Commandments, does not specify to whom God spoke.Did the people hear the Decalogue, or was it addressed to Moses alone?32Dionysius too fudges the issue, in that only Moses, once purified, is said to hear the trumpets and see the lights; but this comes before he has stood apart from the crowd.Gregory equates Moses' pre-eminence with the church's arrangement: Not all thrust themselves toward the apprehension of the mysteries, but, choosing from among themselves someone who is able to hear things divine, they give ear gratefully to him …33 Gregory, like Dionysius, adopts Moses not as a model for any human soul, but for privileged authority figures.Moses' separation from the people is key for both writers, although Dionysius stresses the process of purification, and Gregory the people's fear, and inability to make sense of the trumpet sound.

Contemplation
From Exodus 19, Dionysius moves on to Exodus 24, and an episode omitted by Gregory.This is when "the masses" are left behind.34According to the MT, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders went up and "saw the God of Israel."35According to the LXX, the chosen of Israel "saw the place, there where the God Israel stood (εἶδον τὸν τόπον, οὗ εἱστήκει ἐκεῖ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Ισραηλ)."36The translators probably took their cue from the mention of God's feet, under which "was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness."37This is clearly the episode Dionysius is referring to, given his mention of the accompanying priests and his statement that Moses contemplates "not him who is invisible, but the place where he stands (τὸν τόπον, οὗ ἔστη)."38Although passed over by Gregory, Evagrius of Pontus uses this passage to symbolise the highest reaches of contemplation, when the mind sees "its own state in the time of prayer resembling sapphire or the colour of heaven."3933 Vit.Moys.2.160.34 MT 1.3 (PTS 36.144.2;PG 3.1000D): εἶτα τῶν πολλῶν ἀφορίζεται.35 Ex 24:10.36 LXX Ex 24:10.In MT 24.11 the group are described as ‫,אצילים‬ a term which only occurs here, usually translated "leaders."The LXX translators seem to have connected it with the root ‫אצל‬ -to set apart, and thus rendered it as ἐπίλεκτοι -"chosen," "elect."37 MT Ex 24:10."Sapphire" ‫;ספיר(‬ σάπφειρος) probably refers not to the clear gemstone, but to lapis lazuli, a stone prized for its deep intense blue, which often includes minute golden pyrite crystals, reminiscent of stars shimmering in the night sky.Whereas Evagrius picks up on the colour of the "place," Dionysius notes its position under God's feet (ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ).40For him, it represents "certain underlying structures of things subordinate to the one who surpasses all things (ὑποθετικούς τινας εἶναι λόγους τῶν ὑποβεβλημένων τῷ πάντα ὑπερέχοντι)" -the furthest that the mind can reach.41This is reminiscent of Philo's interpretation of this "place" as "the Word (λόγος), where stands God the never changing, never swerving."42It corresponds, in other words, to the Platonic realm of Forms, the kosmos noētos.43 Philo also associates this realm with the heavenly tabernacle,44 an association made easy by the LXX's use of the term paradeigma in Exodus 25:9, where God tells Moses, "In accordance with all that I show you concerning the pattern ‫;תבנית(‬ παράδειγμα) of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall make it."The same word is used by Plato in Timaeus 28-9 to designate the model after which the Demiurge constructed the universe.In Questions on Exodus Philo implies that the pattern of creation and the pattern of the tabernacle are one and the same,45 which ties in with the elaborate cosmological symbolism given to the tabernacle, as detailed by both Philo and Josephus.46Gregory refers to the heavenly tabernacle as τὸ … τῆς δημιουργίας ὑπόδειγμα, which could simply mean "the design for manufacture;" but he may be playing on words, and referring to the tabernacle's cosmological symbolism.47 In his theoria, as Daniélou points out, Platonic Ideas are replaced by angels: Le monde réel pour Grégoire, c'est (le plérôme des créatures spirituelles), composé des cent mondes angéliques.C'est cela qui remplace chez lui le monde intelligible de Platon, comme constituent le monde réel, par opposition à l'illusion cosmique, mais en même temps comme un monde créé qui s'oppose radicalement à Dieu.48 Vigiliae Christianae 75 (2021) 1-21 So Gregory associates the tabernacle furniture with "the supercosmic powers (αἱ ὑπερκόσμιοι δυνάμεις) … which undergird everything in keeping with the divine will."49The altars, in particular, suggest to him "the adoration by heavenly beings which is continuously performed in this tabernacle."50This angelogical interpretation is dovetailed with the tabernacle as a type of Christ.The earthly tabernacle is the body of Christ, the Church, the human worshipping community.Dionysius never refers explicitly to the tabernacle in Mystical Theology, although there may be an implicit allusion in his opening prayer, which mentions "treasures beyond all beauty (τῶν ὑπερκάλων ἀγλαϊῶν);"51 and, as already pointed out, his threefold structuring of Moses' ascent corresponds to the tabernacle layout.Using Exodus 24:9-11 instead as the biblical image for the highest contemplation that the human mind can achieve suits his liturgical correspondence, as it enables the priests to be present with the hierarch at this second stage.De Andia argues that Dionysius suppresses God's command to Moses to build a sanctuary according to the prescribed paradigm, substituting an intellectual vision of the worldly λόγοι ὑποθετικοί.52But she correlates these with a phrase from The Divine Names: the "semblances of (God's) divine paradigms (ὁμοιώματα τῶν θείων αὐτοῦ παραδειγμάτων)," thus suggesting a concealed link with Exodus 25:9 after all.53 Golitzin argues that the logoi represented by the "place" are not only the divine reasons underlying creation, but also "the 'holy principles (ἀρχαί) of things accomplished' on and around the Church's altar" -the rites of the Church.Through contemplating these "we arrive at the intuition of the angelic hierarchies."54He shows "the ecclesiastical hierarchy and its heart, the altar, to be the σύμβολον or εἰκών where the worlds of matter and spirit, of humans and angels, of Creator and creature meet and join.There, at the altar, the angels serve."55Similarly, Harrington argues, The underlying structures of things are themselves beings, but the exemplary instances of beings … The highest of all lives, as Dionysius explains to us repeatedly, are the upper angelic orders.And indeed, in On the Heavenly Hierarchy, Dionysius refers to the angels as "the divine place of the godhead's rest."It is the angelic minds, then, that give us the presence of God himself in the Mystical Theology … He concludes that "the contemplation of the place where God stood is none other than the hierarch's contemplation of the intelligible structures while standing at the divine altar."56In other words, rather than contrasting Gregory and Dionysius, as does de Andia, Golitzin and Harrington suggest correspondences between Gregory's understanding of the tabernacle and Dionysius' interpretation of the "place."Despite focussing on different biblical texts, both Gregory and Dionysius represent Moses as ascending to contemplate the angelic structures underlying human worship.As they contemplate his progress beyond this, however, their interpretations of the biblical material take them in different directions.

Dazzling Darkness
Unlike Evagrius, Dionysius does not take contemplation of the "place" of God as the climax of the spiritual journey.Moses is set free "from what sees and is seen" and "plunges into the truly mysterious darkness of unknowing."57In Exodus 24:15-18, Moses does indeed leave the elders behind to go up into the mountain of God, but there is no mention of darkness -only cloud ‫;ענן(‬ νεφέλη), glory ‫;כבוד(‬ δόξα) and a devouring fire ‫אכלת(‬ ‫;אׁש‬ πῦρ φλέγον).Unlike Exodus 19, there are no auditory phenomena, thus fitting with Dionysius' reference to "hidden silence" at the beginning of Mystical Theology -by this stage, all words have been left behind.58 For "darkness," Dionysius goes back to LXX Exodus 20:21.The Hebrew term in this verse ‫)ערפל(‬ has been translated as caligo (mist, fog; Vulgate); "thicke clowde" (Tyndale); "thick darkness" (KJV, NRSV); and "dark cloud" (JB).59Symmachus used ὁμίχλη (mist, fog); but the LXX simply has γνόφος (darkness).60So there is no "darkness" as such in MT Exodus 20:21, and Dionysius is right to equate that verse with the "cloud" of Exodus 24:15-18.
Vigiliae Christianae 75 (2021) 1-21 In the Priestly material of Exodus, such as 24:15-18, or the filling of tabernacle in 40:34, God's presence manifests itself as an unspeakably bright and dangerous light, referred to as "glory ‫",)כבד(‬ surrounded by a protective cloud.61This is slightly different from the storm imagery of biblical material originating earlier, in which "the cloud and fire are only the attendant signs of God's terrifying and overwhelming power (Exod.19:16-18; Ps. 97:2-3, etc.), not component parts of the divine manifestation, nor indispensable features of the divine apparition." In Homilies on the Song of Songs 11, Gregory writes: The revelation of God to the great Moses began with light as its medium, but afterwards God spoke to him through the medium of a cloud, and when he had become more lifted up and more perfect, he saw God in darkness.72 The "light" obviously refers to the burning bush.The "cloud" does not refer to the cloud on Mount Sinai, but to the pillar of cloud which guided and shaded the Israelites.73The "darkness" undoubtedly refers to Exodus 20:21, which Gregory goes on to quote.Daniélou positioned this summary of Moses' ascent, from light to darkness, at the beginning of his highly influential study Platonisme et théologie mystique, first published in 1944.74He structured his exposition of Gregory's "doctrine spirituelle" around three stages -light/purification, cloud/contemplation, and darkness/love -despite conceding that these are not an obvious feature of Life of Moses.75In Life of Moses, darkness is not the climax of Moses' ascent.Once there, he receives, firstly, teachings on "fitting notions about the divine nature" and on "correct ways of behaving" (in other words, the Ten Commandments) and, secondly, a vision of the tabernacle not made with hands.76There, says Gregory, "the one who is elevated through such ascents truly arrives at the limit (πέρας).Gregory occasionally uses paradoxical language, such as "the seeing which consists in not seeing", or his oxymoron "luminous darkness (λαμπρός γνόφος)," which reflects the Priestly theology of a protective cloud surrounding overpowering divine brilliance.82He is also blending Moses' experience on Mount Sinai with Plato's allegory of the philosopher's ascent to knowledge, in which the prisoner escaping the cave emerges into blinding light.In Epistle 5, Dionysius states, "The divine darkness is that "unapproachable light" where God is said to live."83As Vanneste points out, he is combining "unapproachable light" from 1 Tim 6:16 with elements from LXX 3 Kings 8:53: "(the Lord) said that he should dwell in darkness."84Similarly, in Divine Names, he posits "intangible and invisible darkness of that Light which is unapproachable because it so far exceeds the visible light."85Dionysius takes Gregory's use of paradox to another level.The opening prayer of Mystical Theology exemplifies his "hyperphatic" language, which attempts to transcend both affirmation and negation (the prefix ὑπέρ occurs ten times).The mysteries of theology are said to lie veiled "in the brilliant darkness of a hidden silence (τὸν ὑπέρφωτον τῆς κρυφιομύστου σιγῆς γνόφον)."86As Turner points out, this exemplifies a "selfsubverting" utterance, "which first says something and then, in the same image, unsays it."87Dionysius also refers to "the ray of divine darkness, which is above everything that is (τὸν ὑπερούσιον τοῦ θείου σκότους ἀκτῖνα)."88In his Platonic reinterpretation, the dazzlingly dangerous glory of Exodus, enveloped by its protective cloud, is used to underline the utter failure of all human speech to describe the transcendent God.

The Cleft in the Rock and Gregory's Exposition of Epektasis
In MT Exodus 33 there appears to be a contradiction between verse 11, in which God speaks to Moses "face to face ‫אל-פנים(‬ ‫",)פנים‬ and verse 20, where God states, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live."(Maybe it is in order to play down this contradiction that the LXX translates ‫אל-פנים‬ ‫פנים‬ not by πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον but ἐνώπιος ἐνωπίῳ.)Exodus is not implying that it is impossible to see God's glory, but that no human being will survive the experience.This contrasts with Deuteronomy, which stresses "rather the inherent impossibility of God being circumscribed in any image or form."89Paul suggests that seeing God in this life is unattainable, but that it will become possible in the world to come: "now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face (πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον)."90Gregory draws attention to the discrepancy between Exodus 33:11 and Moses' request for greater divine disclosure in 33:13/18:91 How does someone who Scripture says saw God clearly in such divine appearances -face to face (ἐνώπιος ἐνωπίῳ), as a man speaks with his friendrequire that God appear to him (δεῖται τοῦ Θεοῦ φανῆναι αὐτῷ), as though he who is always visible had not yet been seen, as though Moses had not yet attained what Scripture testifies he had indeed attained?92Gregory uses Moses' request and God's response to generate his distinctive conception of the spiritual quest, known as epektasis, from the verb epekteinō ("to strain ahead") in Philippians 3.13.He talks of the soul "by its desire of the heavenly things straining ahead for what is still to come (συνεπεκτεινομένη τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν), as the Apostle says;"93 and argues that, despite all his achievements, Moses "still thirsts for that with which he constantly filled himself to capacity, and he asks to attain as if he had never partaken, beseeching God to appear to him, not according to his capacity to partake, but according to God's true being."94In response, "The munificence of God assented to the fulfillment Vigiliae Christianae 75 (2021) 1-21 of his desire, but did not promise any cessation or satiety of the desire."95In the course of his argument, he quotes Exodus 33:20, but turns the interpretation of the verse around."The Divine is by its nature life-giving," and therefore cannot cause death.96Not only is The Really Real (τὸ ὄντως ὄν) true life, it is inaccessible to our understanding.So anyone who claims that God can be known, has, by definition, turned away from The Really Real, and whatever it is they have perceived will not give them life.97Moses, by contrast, "is satisfied by the very things which leave his desire unsatisfied."98In Rorem's words, "Moses does behold God but with an apophatic twist."99Desire is forever being filled by God, and expanding in response.As Mateo-Seco phrases it, "Every acquisition of the soul, every new progress in love, immediately turns into a new starting point towards a greater desire and greater love."100 Gregory emphasises that Moses is on a never-ending journey, each step leading to a higher one.101He ties the infinity of God, and the consequent relentless expansion of human desire, to the "place" mentioned in Exodus 33:21the place with God, he says, "is so great that the one running in it is never able to cease from his progress."102He then contrasts this ever-expanding "place" with the stability of the "rock," which, following Paul, he interprets as Christ.103The "rock" is "steadfast and immovable."104And so we have what Gregory designates the greatest paradox of all: "the same thing is both a standing still and a moving … I mean by this that the firmer and more immovable one remains in the Good, the more (one) progresses in the course of virtue."105Participation in virtue is at the heart of standing/running in the "place" of God, and leads to He also does so in Life of Moses, telling of Moses being transformed "to such a degree of glory that the mortal eye could not behold him" before he expounds on the ever-expanding "place" of God.114But as he explains the significance of this transformation, Moses disappears, leaving a type of "the true Lawgiver," Christ:115 For when the restorer of our broken nature … had restored the broken table of our nature to its original beauty -doing this by the finger of God, as I said -the eyes of the unworthy could no longer behold him.In his surpassing glory he becomes inaccessible to these who would look upon him.116 Gregory is referring to the production of a new set of tablets of the covenant.The first set were supplied and written on by God (Ex 24:12, 31:18, 32:16).The second were cut by Moses (Ex 34:4); but there is some ambiguity as to whether God (Ex 34:1) or Moses (Ex 34:28) wrote on them.By making Moses a type of Christ, Gregory solves this discrepancy -if Moses is a type of Christ, who is fully God, then Moses writing on the tablets symbolises divine activity.He is also following Paul's lead in making Moses a type of Christ, although without the negative connotations.As he turns to the episode of the cleft in the rock, however, he drops the typology, and returns to Moses as "the ardent lover of beauty" who "longs to be filled with the very stamp of the archetype".117De Andia uses the passage from Homilies on the Song of Songs 12 to define Gregory's final three stages to the spiritual journey: entry into darkness, transfiguration, and desire of vision.118But in Life of Moses, true to the biblical text, Moses' experiences continue, including, for example, the bronze serpent,119 and the fruiting of Aaron's rod,120 until he departs "from this human life, leaving behind no sign on the earth nor any grave as a memorial of his departure," thereby preserving "an unchangeable beauty."121Gregory makes sense of Exodus 33:20, whilst still affirming God to be lifegiving, by denying that human beings ever see God.The moment of finally doing so is endlessly deferred.Perfection is continuous growth into the life of God by participation in divine virtue.But there is another way to solve the conundrum posed by Exodus 33:20.Maybe Moses withstands what no-one else could survive because he has transcended human nature.There are indeed hints of this in Exodus: when Moses collects the second set of tablets, he stays on Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights neither eating bread nor drinking water.122He then descends imbued with glory.According to Dionysius, within the darkness of unknowing, "being neither oneself nor someone else, one is supremely united (ἑνούμενος) to the completely unknown by an inactivity of all knowledge."123Similarly, in Divine Names, he talks of "the most divine knowledge of God, that which comes through unknowing" as being achieved in "a union far beyond mind (κατὰ τὴν ὑπὲρ νοῦν ἕνωσιν) … when (mind) is made one with the dazzling rays (ἑνωθῇ ταῖς ὑπερφαέσιν ἀκτῖσιν)."124Dionysius' understanding of "union (ἕνωσις)" has come under intense scholarly scrutiny.There have been debates over its debt to Neoplatonism; and a recovery of its potential liturgical basis, with "union" understood not as an intense private experience, but as an account of the Eucharistic mysteries -the celebrant, like Moses, emerging to bring God to the people.Little attention, however, has been given to its scriptural roots.De Andia argues that there is a clear difference between Gregory and Dionysius, in that Dionysius makes no mention of Moses' transformation: "une union au sein de la Ténèbre … se substitute à la transfiguration de Moïse."125But Moses' transfiguration, certainly as interpreted by the LXX, indicates a partaking of divine glory -in other words, some kind of union with God.And, as Turner argues, Dionysius takes the warning of Exodus 33:20 seriously: Vigiliae Christianae 75 (2021) 1-21 For Moses to belong completely to him who is beyond everything, he had to renounce his humanity, indeed his very being.

Conclusions
A propos of mysticism in general, Katz writes, The role of scripture, contrary to much scholarly opinion, is essential to the major mystical traditions and to the teachings and experience(s) of their leading representatives … The most direct evidence of this deep mystical connection to and inextricable engagement with scripture is the literature produced by the major mystical traditions themselves.This literature is not … primarily about an independent and individual religious experience but is, rather, more often than not, composed of esoteric commentaries on canonical texts.127 In situating Gregory and Dionysius within the philosophical and theological currents of their times, there is a temptation to treat their reliance on the biblical text as incidental -a marshalling of details into pre-existing schemes.Rorem writes, "Since the (biblical) model can be shaped according to the exegete's interpretive selectivity and embellishment, it takes on the interpreter's own imprint in the retelling."128This is of course true, but it is not necessarily a one-way process.The wording and imagery of the biblical text inspire creative thinking.As Macleod recognizes, The biblical life of Moses offers a framework and a collection of symbols within it.It stands to the allegorist as a myth to a poet or dramatist; it can both embody and shape his thought or feeling.129Shape as well as embody.And the contradictions, ambiguities and puzzles of the text, in particular, proved a spur to developments in mystical theology.Meaning was wrested out of recalcitrant biblical details.The various "voices" of Exodus 19, for example, lie behind Gregory's fascination with the trumpet sound.Puzzles were elevated to paradoxes -indications that God is never subject to human logic, with the words of scripture used to undermine confidence that the essence of God could ever be encapsulated in words.The importance of Exodus 20:21 to both Gregory and Dionysius has long been recognised.But there is more to their engagement with Exodus than this.While Gregory elucidates the details of the tabernacle, and Dionysius alludes to the elders' vision, they both imagine Moses reaching the limits of the human mind -the Platonic kosmos noetos, now envisaged as the realm of angelic worship.Beyond this, as they wrestle with the enigmas of Exodus 33-4, their depictions of the spiritual journey diverge.Those chapters hold out a promise which goes beyond the humanly possible -a glimpse of the back of God's glory causes Moses himself to become glorified.Gregory resolves the contradiction between Exodus 33:11 (God speaking to Moses "face to face") and 33:13/18 (Moses asking God to disclose himself) by combining his doctrine of divine infinity with the relentless nature of the Exodus narrative, in which Moses journeys from one experience to another, with no neat climax, his desire ever expanding."The true sight of God consists in this, that the one who looks up to God never ceases in that desire."130To stand in the "place" of God is to experience never-ending progress in complete stability.Gregory does not, however, make any connection between Moses' experience in the hole of the rock and his subsequent transformation.Instead, he inverts the biblical order, and turns the transformed Moses into a type of Christ.It is Christ who "in his surpassing glory … becomes inaccessible to these who would look upon him."131Moses, by contrast, never ceases in his ascent, demonstrating that "the continual development of life to what is better is the soul's way to perfection."132Despite simplifying the Exodus narrative into one archetypal ascent, Dionysius faithfully reflects biblical details.He is inspired by what biblical scholars classify as the theology of the Priestly source, in which the divine presence is both manifest as and veiled behind overwhelming radiance, itself protected by a dark cloud.And despite the lack of explicit reference, for his understanding of "union" he seems to draw on the biblical account of Moses transcending his humanity in a private theophany so intense that he comes to partake of divine glory.Dionysius envisages Moses, in the darkness of unknowing, "renouncing all that the mind may conceive" and belonging "completely "77 And yet it is by no means the end of Moses' journey.He comes down the mountain to face the golden calf.78After the Levites have killed their Israelite brothers,79 and new stone tablets have been produced,80 another high point occurs when Moses requests that God appear to him.81Vigiliae Christianae 75 (2021) 1-21 12 In Exodus 19, God tells Moses to consecrate/purify the people (19:10 ‫ם‬ ‫תָ‬ ‫ׁשְ‬ ַ ‫ּד‬ ‫קִ‬ ‫,וְ‬ ἅγνισον; 19:14 ‫ׁש‬ ֵ 62 It is the Priestly cloud which gives rise to the "darkness" of which Dionysius speaks.He mentions gnophos six times in Mystical Theology.63Gregory comments on Exodus 20:21 in Life of Moses 2.162-164; and alludes to the verse eight other times in Life of Moses, and three times in Homilies on the Song of Songs.64 Dionysius also refers three times to skotos, once quoting LXX Psalm 17:12: "And (God) made darkness ‫,חׁשך(‬ σκότος) his hideway …"65 Gregory quotes this verse in both Life of Moses and Homelies on the Song of Songs,66 which de Andia sees as key evidence for Gregory's influence on Dionysius.67Other than when quoting this Psalm, Gregory associates skotos with evil and wickedness;68 but he consistently interprets gnophos as symbolising "the unknown and unseen."69What Moses is seeking "transcends all knowledge, cut off on all sides by incomprehensibility, as by a kind of darkness."70This interpretation of Exodus 20:21 goes back to Philo, who describes the fruitlessness of Moses' quest, out of which Moses sees precisely this, "that the God of real Being is … incapable of being seen."71 Vigiliae Christianae 75 (2021) 1-21 Downloaded from Brill.com 11/01/2023 12:23:52PM via Open Access.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/