Exodus 3:8

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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.

10 ^aCome 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 shall be 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 is ^aMy 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.” ’

18 Then ^athey will heed your voice; and ^byou shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has ^cmet with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt ^awill not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.

Commentaries:

Adam Clarke

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Exodus 3:9 >>

Exodus 3:8

And I am come down to deliver them - This is the very purpose for which I am now come down upon this mountain, and for which I manifest myself to thee.

Large - land - Canaan, when compared with the small tract of Goshen, in which they were now situated, and where, we learn, from Exodus 1:7, they were straitened for room, might be well called a large land. See a fine description of this land Deuteronomy 8:7.

A land flowing with milk and honey - Excellent for pasturage, because abounding in the most wholesome herbage and flowers; and from the latter an abundance of wild honey was collected by the bees. Though cultivation is now almost entirely neglected in this land, because of the badness of the government and the scantiness of the inhabitants, yet it is still good for pasturage, and yields an abundance of honey. The terms used in the text to express the fertility of this land, are commonly used by ancient authors on similar subjects. It is a metaphor taken from a breast producing copious streams of milk. Homer calls Argos , the breast of the country, as affording streams of milk and honey, Il. ix., ver. 141. So Virgil:

Prima tulit tellus, eadem vos ubere laeto Accipiet .

Aen., lib. iii., ver. 95.

"The land that first produced you shall receive you again into its joyous bosom." The poets feign that Bacchus, the fable of whom they have taken from the history of Moses, produced rivers of milk and honey, of water and wine: -

̔ ,

̔ ' ͅ, ̔

Eurip. Bacch., ., ver. 8.

"The land flows with milk; it flows also with wine; it flows also with the nectar of bees, (honey)." This seems to be a mere poetical copy from the Pentateuch, where the sameness of the metaphor and the correspondence of the descriptions are obvious.

Place of the Canaanites, etc. - See Genesis 15:18, etc.

Other Adam Clarke entries containing Exodus 3:8:

Leviticus 20:24
Joshua 5:15
Job 20:17
Acts 7:30

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Exodus 3:9 >>

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