CHAPTER 15

To stand erect [naṣob or yasob]. Though these two roots are different, their meaning, as you know, is identical in all their various forms. The term is equivocal. Sometimes it has the meaning of rising and being erect. Thus: And his sister stood erect afar off;¹ The kings of the earth stood erect;2 They came out and stood erect.³ The term has also another meaning: to be stable and permanent. Thus: Thy word stands erect in heaven;⁴ this means that it is stable and constant. In all cases where this term occurs with reference to the Creator, it has this meaning. Thus: And, behold, the Lord stood erect upon it,⁵ that is, was stably and constantly upon it—I mean upon the ladder, one end of which is in heaven, while the other end is upon the earth. Everyone who ascends does so climbing up this ladder,⁶ so that he necessarily apprehends Him who is upon it,⁷ as He is stably and permanently at the top of the ladder. It is clear that what I say here of Him conforms to the parable propounded. For the angels of [22b] God8 are the prophets with reference to whom it is clearly said: And He sent an angel;⁹ And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim.¹⁰ How well put is the phrase ascending and descending,¹¹ in which ascent comes before descent. For after the ascent and the attaining of certain¹² rungs of the ladder that may be known comes the descent with whatever decree¹³ the prophet has been informed of—with a view to governing and teaching the people of the earth. As we have made clear,¹⁴ it is on this account that this is called descent. I shall now return to our purpose. Stood erect upon it signifies God’s being stable, permanent, and constant, not the erect position of a body. The same meaning is to be found in the verse: And thou shalt stand erect upon the rock.¹⁵ It has thus been made clear to you that as far as this purpose is concerned the terms to stand erect [naṣob] and to stand [ʿamod] have the same meaning. For Scripture also says: Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb.¹⁶