וַיַּ֥עַן אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הִנֵּה־נָ֤א הוֹאַ֙לְתִּי֙ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר׃
Abraham menjawab, “Sesungguhnya, aku telah memberanikan diri berbicara kepada Tuhan, padahal aku hanyalah debu dan abu.
Who is the Heir of Divine Things
[30] And the watchful pen of Moses has recorded this my soul’s condition in his memorial of me. For Abraham, he says, drew near and said, ‘Now I have begun to speak to the Lord, and I am earth and ashes’ (Gen. 18:27), since it is just when he knows his own nothingness that the creature should come into the presence of his Maker.
On the Unchangeableness of God
[161] And then they that have come to Him recognize His blessedness and their own meanness; for Abraham when he drew nigh to God straightway knew himself to be earth and ashes (Gen. 18:27).
On Dreams
[214] Let us see in what way this is true. When the great High-priest was about to perform the public services enjoined by law, the holy word required that he should in the first place sprinkle himself with water and ashes (Ex. 29:4) as a reminder to him of himself—for even that wise one, Abraham, when he was on his way to intercede with God, spoke of himself as earth and ashes (Gen. 18:27)—in the next place that he should put on the tunic reaching to the feet, and over it that which he has entitled the embroidered or variegated breastplate (Ex. 29:5), a representation and copy of the shining constellations.