Is it permissible to bow down to anyone other than God?

• a. It was mentioned in scripture that when Joshua saw the angel of the Lord standing by Jericho, he bowed his head and fell flat on his face (Num. 22:31). So also did Lot (Gen. 19:1) and Daniel (Dan. 10:9).

• b. Scripture teaches us to bow before holy places and holy things, for example: “I will worship toward Your holy temple” (Ps. 5:7) and “worship at His footstool” (Ps. 99:5).

• c. Bowing before people who are in a position of superior dignity and authority by the divine order. For example, Jacob bowed himself down to the ground seven times in front of his elder brother Esau (Gen. 33:3), and Jacob’s children bowed down before their brother Joseph with their faces to the earth (Gen. 42:6). Likewise, King Solomon bowed down to his mother Bathsheba (1 Kings 2:19) and many more who bowed down before kings without any disapproval in scripture.

1216 Sergius Bulgakov, The Orthodox Church , trans., Elizabeth S. Cram; Donald A. Lowrie (ed.) (New York: American Review of Eastern Orthodoxy, 1935): p. 162.

• d. Bowing as an expression of deep feelings, such as when Abraham bowed down before the sons of Heth who were pagans (Gen. 23:12).

• e. Bowing down before the Ark of Covenant, Aaron’s rod and the pot of manna; things fashioned by the hands of men.

• f. The ground became holy because of the burning bush with its flames of fire, and Moses took off his shoes as a sign of its holiness.