Exodus 3

Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

NoteMidian was a region of desert grazing land east and south of the Gulf of Aqaba, in what is now north-western Arabia, though Midianite herders ranged widely across the Sinai peninsula. Its "priest" was not an Israelite priest; Jethro served the religion of his own people. The word behind "desert" (Hebrew *midbar*) means open uncultivated country used for pasturing flocks, not a sea of sand. Horeb is the other name this book uses for Mount Sinai; the two names refer to the same place, and the narrator calls it "the mountain of God" before anything has happened there, telling the reader in advance what kind of place Moses has wandered into.

2The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire coming out of the middle of a bush. Moses looked, and there was the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not burned up.

2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Note"Angel" translates Hebrew *mal'akh*, which simply means "messenger", a sent representative, not a winged figure. Note that the messenger appears in verse 2 but from verse 4 onward it is God himself who speaks; the text moves between the two without explanation, and translators leave the ambiguity as it stands. The word for the bush (*seneh*) means a thornbush or bramble, and closely resembles the name Sinai.

3Moses said, "I will go over now and look at this amazing sight. Why isn't the bush burning up?"

3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him out of the middle of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses." And Moses said, "Here I am."

4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5God said, "Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground."

5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

NoteRemoving sandals was a normal mark of respect on entering a sacred space or another person's dwelling; priests later served barefoot in the sanctuary. "Holy" means set apart from ordinary use, the ground is not being described as morally good but as belonging to God and therefore off limits to casual approach.

6He also said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Note"Your father" is singular, but the three names that follow are Moses's ancestors, so the phrase points to the family line rather than to one man. Moses covers his face because of the widespread ancient conviction, stated openly later in this book, that a human being who looked directly at God would not survive it.

7The LORD said, "I have certainly seen how my people in Egypt are suffering, and I have heard them crying out because of the men who drive them at their work. I know their pain.

7And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

NoteThe overseers were officials who drove gangs of forced laborers on state building projects, a well-attested Egyptian practice; they were managers with the power to beat, not slave-owners.

8I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and wide land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Note"Flowing with milk and honey" is a set phrase for land rich enough to support both herds (milk) and orchards or wild bees (honey); the honey in question was probably wild honey or a thick syrup boiled from dates. The six peoples listed are the populations of Canaan as Israel remembered them; such lists are conventional and vary in length from passage to passage. The Hittites here are local Canaanite groups, not the great empire of Anatolia that bore the same name.

9Now, look, the cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have also seen how harshly the Egyptians are treating them.

9Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10So come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you can bring my people, the people of Israel, out of Egypt."

10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Note"Pharaoh" is a title, not a personal name. It comes from the Egyptian for "great house", originally the palace, then by extension the man who lived in it. The text never gives this king's name.

11But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?"

11And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12God said, "I will certainly be with you. And this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will all serve God on this mountain."

12And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

Note"Sign" translates a word meaning a confirming mark or proof. What is odd, and is left unresolved in the Hebrew, is that the proof arrives only after the mission has succeeded: "this" may point back to the burning bush in front of Moses, or forward to the whole nation worshiping at this mountain.

13Then Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is his name?' What should I tell them?"

13And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

NoteIn the ancient world a god's name was not a label but a statement of who that god was and what could be expected of him, and it was what you called on in worship. Moses is asking for credentials the elders can test, not for a form of address.

14God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "This is what you are to say to the people of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

NoteThe Hebrew is *ehyeh asher ehyeh*, built three times on the verb "to be." Hebrew does not mark tense the way English does, so the phrase can equally mean "I am who I am," "I will be who I will be," or "I will be what I choose to be"; it can also be read as a refusal to be pinned down. The reply is also a play on the divine name given in the next verse, which comes from the same verb.

15God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered by all generations.

15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Note"LORD" printed in capitals stands for the four Hebrew letters YHWH, the personal name of Israel's God, as distinct from the ordinary word for "god." By long-standing Jewish practice the name is not pronounced; readers say "the Lord" instead, and English versions follow that custom with the capitals. "Memorial" here does not mean a monument but the name by which he is to be invoked and called to mind.

16Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me and said: I have certainly come to you and have seen what is being done to you in Egypt.

16Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

NoteThe elders were the heads of families and clans who spoke and decided for the community; there was no other Israelite leadership structure to approach. "I have surely visited you" renders a verb (*paqad*) meaning to attend to, inspect, or take official notice of someone: it can introduce rescue or punishment, and carries none of the social sense of a modern visit.

17And I have said that I will bring you up out of your suffering in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

17And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

18They will listen to what you say. Then you and the elders of Israel are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we can offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.'

18And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

Note"Hebrews" is the term outsiders use for this people, and the term they use of themselves when speaking to outsiders; within the family story they are "the sons of Israel." A "three days' journey" was a stock expression for a short set distance out and back, not a precise measurement. The request is for permission to hold a festival sacrifice in the open country, a limited leave of absence rather than the departure God has just described.

19And I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even by a mighty hand.

19And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

NoteThe Hebrew here is genuinely uncertain. It can mean "he will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him", the reading most modern versions take, or, as the King James has it, "not even under a mighty hand," meaning no amount of pressure will move him. Both readings are grammatically possible.

20So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do among them. After that he will let you go.

20And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

21And I will make the Egyptians look kindly on this people, so that when you leave, you will not go empty-handed.

21And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

NoteTo "give a people favour in the sight of" others is a Hebrew idiom for making them well regarded, so that requests are granted; it describes the Egyptians' change of attitude, not a feeling in the Israelites.

22Instead, every woman will ask her neighbor, and any woman staying in her house, for objects of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put them on your sons and your daughters, and so you will take plunder from the Egyptians."

22But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

NoteThe King James "borrow" is misleading: the Hebrew verb means simply to ask or request, with nothing implied about giving the items back. "Jewels" in 1611 English meant articles or objects of value generally, not only ornaments. "Spoil the Egyptians" uses the vocabulary of an army stripping a defeated enemy, the point of the phrase is that a slave people leaves carrying the goods of the nation that held them, in the manner of victors.