Origen, on Josh 5:15

“Josue fell on his face to the ground. And worshipping, add: What saith my lord to his servant?”

“And in what manner is Jericho holy ground since it is retained by the enemies? This indicates, and not by accident, that the chief of the army of the power of the Lord sanctifies every place to which he comes, for Jericho itself was not a holy place. But because the chief of the army of God came there, the place is said to be holy. I also dare something more and say that even the place where Moses stood was not holy through Moses himself but because the Lord stood with him. The presence of the Lord had sanctified the place; and on that account, it is said to him, "Loosen the latchet of your sandal; for the place on which you stand is holy ground."”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.