God appears to Moses in a burning bush at Horeb, reveals the divine name ehyeh asher ehyeh ('I AM WHO I AM'), and commissions him to bring Israel out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The bush (seneh) is a humble desert shrub, possibly punning on Sinai — God appears in what is ordinary, not grand. The divine name ehyeh asher ehyeh resists all domestication: it carries both present force ('I am') and future promise ('I will be'). The first-person ehyeh becomes third-person YHWH in v15 — what God declares of Himself becomes the name by which others invoke Him. This is also the first occurrence of qodesh ('holy') in Exodus, introduced not as moral purity but as the relational condition created by divine presence.
Translation Friction
The divine name ehyeh asher ehyeh we rendered 'I AM WHO I AM,' preserving the traditional English while noting in our translator notes that 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE' is equally valid. Both renderings are present in the Hebrew imperfect form. The phrase paqod paqadti ('I have carefully watched over') required expansion beyond the bare 'I have visited' because the English word 'visit' has lost its weight; the Hebrew denotes covenant inspection that compels action.
Connections
The double call 'Moses! Moses!' echoes Abraham's call in Genesis 22:11. The hineni response places Moses in the line of covenant servants (Genesis 22:1; 1 Samuel 3:4). The land promise with six peoples restates Genesis 15:18-21. God's descent to deliver (v8) echoes the descent at Babel (Genesis 11:7).
Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock beyond the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
KJV Now 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'The mountain of God' (har ha'Elohim) names Horeb in retrospect — the narrator reveals its future significance. Moses does not seek revelation; he is shepherding sheep in an unremarkable wilderness. Divine encounter comes to a man doing ordinary work.
The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked, and the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
הַסְּנֶהhasseneh
"bush"—bush, thornbush, bramble
The seneh is a common desert shrub — not majestic timber but the humblest vegetation. God appears in what is small and ordinary, not in what is grand. The wordplay with Sinai (sinai/seneh) may be intentional.
Translator Notes
The bush burns with fire but is not consumed — the fire does not depend on the bush as fuel. This signals a presence that sustains without destroying, a holiness that inhabits creation without annihilating it. The image becomes foundational for understanding how God dwells among finite creatures.
Moses said, "I must turn aside and see this remarkable sight — why the bush does not burn up."
KJV And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Moses's decision to 'turn aside' (sur) is the hinge of the narrative. Had he not turned, the call might not have come. Revelation requires attentiveness — God speaks when Moses shows he is willing to look.
When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush: "Moses! Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The double call 'Moses! Moses!' echoes the calling of Abraham ('Abraham! Abraham!' Genesis 22:11). The repeated name signals urgency and intimacy. Moses's response — hineni, 'Here I am' — matches Abraham's response at the Aqedah, placing Moses in the line of covenant servants who make themselves wholly available to God.
He said, "Do not come near. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
KJV And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
קֹדֶשׁqodesh
"holy"—holy, sacred, set apart, consecrated
The first occurrence of qodesh in Exodus. Holiness in the Hebrew Bible is not primarily a moral quality but a relational one: qodesh describes what belongs to God, what has been claimed by His presence and set apart from common use.
Translator Notes
'Holy ground' (admat qodesh) — the first use of qodesh ('holy') in Exodus. Holiness is not an inherent quality of the soil but a condition created by divine presence. The command to remove sandals marks a boundary: the one approaching God must acknowledge that he stands on ground that has been set apart by God's nearness.
Then He 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, for he was afraid to look at God.
KJV Moreover 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The three-fold identification — God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob — anchors the burning bush revelation to the patriarchal covenant tradition. The God who appears is not unknown; He is the God who has already made promises and kept them. Moses hides his face because seeing God is dangerous (cf. Exodus 33:20).
The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings.
KJV And 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;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Four verbs pile up: 'I have seen... heard... know.' God's awareness of suffering is comprehensive — visual, auditory, and relational. The word for 'sufferings' (makh'ovav) connotes pain at the deepest level. God does not observe suffering from a distance; He knows it intimately.
I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey — to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'I have come down' (yaradti) — God descends to act. The same verb describes God's descent at Babel (Genesis 11:7) and will describe His descent at Sinai (Exodus 19:20). Divine intervention is portrayed spatially: God moves toward His people. The land promise is restated with the full list of six peoples, linking the exodus to the Abrahamic land grant.
Now the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
KJV Now 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The cry and the oppression are mentioned together: Israel's voice reaches heaven, and God sees the mechanism of their suffering. Both dimensions — the victims' experience and the oppressors' system — are held in divine awareness.
Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."
KJV Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God commissions Moses with a purpose that exceeds every human qualification: bring My people out of Egypt. The pronoun 'My people' (ammi) asserts covenant ownership — Israel belongs to God, not to Pharaoh.
But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?"
KJV And 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?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Moses's first objection is about identity: 'Who am I?' The deliverer's self-doubt is not false modesty but honest recognition that the task is absurdly disproportionate to the messenger. Every subsequent prophet will echo this inadequacy.
He said, "I will surely be with you, and this will be the sign for you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God's answer bypasses the question entirely. Moses asks 'Who am I?' and God answers 'I will be with you.' The sign is backward-looking — you will know I sent you when you worship on this mountain — requiring faith before confirmation. Presence, not credentials, is the ground of mission.
Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?' — what shall I say to them?"
KJV And 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?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Moses's second objection concerns God's identity: 'What is His name?' In the ancient world, knowing a god's name meant knowing their character, jurisdiction, and accessibility. Moses is asking: who are You, specifically, that I should stake everything on Your commission?
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Say this to the sons of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶהehyeh asher ehyeh
"I AM WHO I AM"—I am who I am, I will be what I will be, I will be who I will be
God defines Himself in terms of sovereign being and faithful presence. The name resists every attempt to categorize, predict, or control the divine. It carries both present force ('I am') and future promise ('I will be').
Translator Notes
Ehyeh asher ehyeh — 'I AM WHO I AM' or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE.' The name resists domestication. God does not give a name that fits human categories; He gives a name that redefines all categories. The first-person form ehyeh ('I am/will be') becomes the third-person YHWH ('He is/will be') in v15 — the name by which others will invoke what God declares of Himself.
God also said to Moses, "Say this to the sons 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 from generation to generation.
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
יְהוָהYHWH
"the LORD"—YHWH, the LORD, He who is, He who causes to be
The third-person form of ehyeh: 'He is' or 'He will be.' This is the personal, covenant name of God — not a title but an identity. Rendered as 'the LORD' (all capitals) following standard convention.
Translator Notes
The name YHWH is declared permanent — 'This is My name forever' (le'olam). The covenant name is not temporary or situational; it defines God's relationship with His people across all generations. The word zikri ('My memorial/remembrance') means this name is the handle by which humanity calls upon God.
Go and gather the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob — appeared to me, saying: I have carefully watched over you and seen what is being done to you in Egypt.
KJV Go, 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:
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
פָּקֹד פָּקַדְתִּיpaqod paqadti
"I have carefully watched over"—visited, attended to, inspected, intervened, taken note of
The infinitive absolute construction intensifies the verb: 'I have surely visited.' This is covenant-visitation language — God comes to assess His people's condition and act on what He finds.
Translator Notes
Moses is instructed to begin with the elders — covenant leadership structures precede national action. The phrase paqod paqadti ('I have carefully watched over') is a technical covenant-visitation term: God comes to inspect, intervene, and fulfill what He has promised.
I have declared that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites — a land flowing with milk and honey.'
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The land description 'flowing with milk and honey' (zavat chalav udevash) depicts agricultural abundance — a pastoral paradise contrasted with Egyptian slave labor. The phrase will become a fixed formula throughout the Pentateuch for the promised land.
They will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall 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 may sacrifice to the LORD our God.'
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The request for a three-day journey is a formal worship petition, not deception. The narrative presents it as a legitimate first demand; Pharaoh's refusal even of this modest request exposes the totality of his opposition.
But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
KJV And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God reveals Pharaoh's intransigence in advance. The resistance is not a surprise but part of the divine plan. The phrase 'mighty hand' (yad chazaqah) will become one of Exodus's signature descriptions of divine power.
So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders that I will perform in it. After that he will let you go.
KJV And 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'I will stretch out My hand' — God's hand replaces Pharaoh's hand. The contest is between two 'hands' — Pharaoh's hand of oppression and God's hand of deliverance. The wonders (nifle'otai) are not spectacle but covenant-judgment acts.
And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, so that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
KJV And 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:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God will reverse the economics of slavery: the enslaved will leave with the wealth of their oppressors. The word chen ('favor') echoes the language of covenant grace — God gives Israel unmerited favor in the eyes of Egypt.
Each woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the woman staying in her house for articles of silver and articles of gold and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians."
KJV But 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The plundering of Egypt is not theft but the restitution of unpaid slave wages. Israel leaves with silver, gold, and clothing — the raw materials that will later construct the tabernacle. Egypt's wealth becomes God's dwelling.