In several examples a hand stretched forth from on high seizes the knife to prevent the consummation of the sacrifice. (See [Fig. 107].) It is recorded that Gregory of Nyssa frequently shed tears on reading this pathetic story.
Joseph, sold by his brethren and afterward saving them alive, was a striking type of Him who redeemed
with his own blood the guilty race which caused his death. It is, therefore, a subject that appears with peculiar propriety among the tombs of the primitive Christians.
Several scenes from the life of Moses are delineated in this biblical cycle. One of these, as sometimes treated, for classic grace and dignity reminds one of some noble antique. It is Moses on Mount Horeb putting off his shoes from his feet. This act is interpreted by some of the Christian Fathers[485] as an emblem of the renunciation of the world, the flesh, and the devil demanded of the servants of Christ. The accompanying example, [Fig. 70], is from the cemetery of Callixtus.
Fig. 70.—Moses on Mount Horeb.
Fig. 71.—Moses Receiving the Law.