and that all of you are sons of God. (1)

God—exalted is He—has also called His servant “king,” just as He calls Himself by that name; He described him as “kind and merciful,” titles He likewise reserves for Himself; and He labeled him “mighty,” a name He also applies to Himself. (2)

Moreover, the word “lord” is used for beings other than God in the very language of the monotheistic community; people say, “the lord of the house,” “the lord of the camels,” or “the lord of these goods.” Isaiah said, “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but (3) Israel does not know.” (4)

If you have deified him because he fashioned out of clay the likeness of a bird (5) and then breathed into it so that it became flesh, blood, and a real, living bird—something only God can do—

it may likewise be said: then make Moses son of ʿImrān the god of gods, for he cast down a staff that turned into a mighty serpent, then took it in his hand and it reverted to a staff just as it had been.

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And if you say, “We have declared him a god because the prophets and messengers bore witness to that for him,” Ezra said—when Nebuchadnezzar carried them off to the land of Babylon, up to four hundred and eighty-two