Moses and the Burning Bush

Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,[b] the mountain of God.(A) Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush.(B) As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

“Do not come closer,” He said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”(C) Then He continued, “I am the God of your father,[c] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”(D) Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

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Notas al pie

  1. Exodus 3:1 Moses’ father-in-law’s first name was Jethro; Ex 2:18.
  2. Exodus 3:1 = Desolation; another name for Mount Sinai; Dt 4:10,15; 18:16; Mal 4:4
  3. Exodus 3:6 Sam, some LXX mss read fathers; Ac 7:32

Yahweh’s Plan to Rescue the Israelites

And Moses was a shepherd with the flock[a] of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west of the desert, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and there was the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not being consumed. And Moses said, “Let me turn aside and see this great sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him from the midst of the bush, and he said, “Moses, Moses.” And he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “You must not come near to here. Take off your sandals from on your feet, because the place on which you are standing, it is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face because he was afraid of looking at God.

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Notas al pie

  1. Exodus 3:1 The Hebrew noun translated “flock” in this verse is used collectively for sheep or goats or a mix of the two.