"In the Hollow of the Rock on Horeb" – God's Sight, Optical Perception, or Spiritual Understanding?

"Primum videre" is a saying from the ancients that highlights the fundamental importance of sight. In Holy Scripture, the descriptions of God often fluctuate between two attributes: the seen and the unseen. Many biblical passages in the Old Testament emphasize that God is unseen or cannot be seen. He is "unseen" because He remains a mystery or secret; He is transcendent, existing beyond the limits of our sensory experience—the Absolute who cannot be confined or reduced to an image. However, numerous texts also state that specific individuals, particularly those chosen by Him who have grown in virtue, have experienced God revealing or disclosing Himself to them. The New Testament makes it clear that God has fully revealed Himself in Christ. This study begins with the classic New Testament verse Jn 1:18 and draws attention to the intriguing contrast between the seen and the unseen, or between sight and blindness. It seeks to provide a relevant answer—through the insights of the Church Fathers—to the question posed in the title, which pertains to anyone aware of their status as a creature.