1 Now Moses was tending the flock of aJethro his father-in-law, bthe priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to cHoreb, dthe mountain of God.
2 And athe Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this agreat sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called ato him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. aTake your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
6 Moreover He said, a“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, for bhe was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the Lord said: a“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry bbecause of their taskmasters, cfor I know their sorrows.
8 So aI have come down to bdeliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to ca good and large land, to a land dflowing with milk and honey, to the place of ethe Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, athe cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the boppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10aCome now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, a“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 So He said, a“I will certainly be with you. And this shallbe a bsign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children 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 shall I say to them?”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, a‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This isaMy name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
16 Go and agather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, b“I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt;
17 and I have said aI will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
The angel of the Lord - See the note at Genesis 12:7. What Moses saw was the flame of fire in the bush; what he recognized therein was an intimation of the presence of God, who maketh a flame of fire His angel. Compare Psalms 104:4. The words which Moses heard were those of God Himself, as all ancient and most modern divines have held, manifested in the Person of the Son.
Of a bush - Literally, of the bush or "seneh," a word which ought perhaps to be retained as the proper name of a thorny shrub common in that district, a species of acacia.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Exodus 3:2:
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