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1 Clement

First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

About this book

Other Examples of Humility

Chapter 17

1 Let us be imitators also of those who went about in goatskins and sheepskins,⁠ preaching the coming of Christ. We mean Elijah and Elisha and likewise Ezekiel, the prophets, and besides them those men also who were well spoken of. 2 Abraham was very well spoken of and was called the friend of God;⁠ and gazing at the glory of God, he says in humility, “But I am dust and ashes.” 3 And about Job it is also written: “And Job was righteous and blameless, one who was true and honored God and kept away from all evil.” 4 Yet he accuses himself, saying, “No one is free from filth, not even if his life lasts only a day.”⁠ 5 Moses was called faithful in all His house, and through his service God judged Egypt with the plagues and the torments that came upon them. Yet he too, though greatly glorified, spoke no proud words, but said, when an oracle was given to him at the bush, “Who am I, that You send me?” 6 “No, I am weak in speech and slow of tongue.” And again he says, “But I am smoke from the pot.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 41:8 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 17:2

Hebrew Bible · Early Christian

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Summary

Isaiah 41:8 calls Abraham God’s friend. 1 Clement echoes this language and presents Abraham as a model of humility, comparing it to his confession that he is only dust and ashes.

Passages

Isaiah 41:8

Hebrew Bible
7 The craftsman encourages the metalsmith, the one who wields the hammer encourages the one who pounds on the anvil. He says of the welding, ‘It is good’18, and nails it down so it won’t fall over. 8 “You, my servant Israel, Jacob, whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, 9 you whom I am bringing back from the earth’s extremities and have summoned from the remote regions—I told you, ‘You are my servant.’ I have chosen you and not rejected you.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 17:2

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
1 Let us be imitators also of those who went about in goatskins and sheepskins, preaching the coming of Christ. We mean Elijah and Elisha and likewise Ezekiel, the prophets, and besides them those men also who were well spoken of. 2 Abraham was very well spoken of and was called the friend of God; and gazing at the glory of God, he says in humility, “But I am dust and ashes.” 3 And about Job it is also written: “And Job was righteous and blameless, one who was true and honored God and kept away from all evil.”
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

... In 1 Clement 17.2 Abraham is presented as one (of many) example(s) of humility. The author refers to Abraham as “friend of God” (compare 1 Clement 10.1), and sets this in parallel with Abraham’s claim that “I am only dust and ashes” (Ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι γῆ καὶ σποδός, 17.2). The title “friend” (φίλος) ultimately derives from two passages in the Hebrew Bible that refer to Abraham as אהב (Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7). But, in light of numismatic evidence, the claim to be “friend” in the Greek tradition, including 1 Clement, may well include not simply a personal nuance of “friendship”, but also the dimension of allegiance. ...
Seth M. Ehorn, “Abraham in the Apostolic Fathers,” in Abraham in Jewish and Early Christian Literature, ed. Sean A. Adams and Zanne Domoney-Lyttle, LSTS 93 (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 151–152.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 41:8 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 17:2

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