Exodus 3

Exodus · Chapter 3

Exodus 3:2

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.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.3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.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.5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.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.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;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.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.10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children 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?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.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?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.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.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: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.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.19And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.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 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: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.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
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.There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.And the angel of Jehovah 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.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and he appearedוַ֠יֵּרָאVAI-ye-ra'H7200G
to see: see

רָאָה (ra.ah) : see/show 1) to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to see 1a2) to see, perceive 1a3) to see, have vision 1a4) to look at, see, regard, look after, see after, learn about, observe, watch, look upon, look out, find out 1a5) to see, observe, consider, look at, give attention to, discern, distinguish 1a6) to look at, gaze at 1a7) to provide, choose 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to appear, present oneself 1b2) to be seen 1b3) to be visible 1c) (Pual) to be seen 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cause to see, show 1d2) to cause to look intently at, behold, cause to gaze at 1e) (Hophal) …

[the] angel ofמַלְאַ֨ךְmal-'AKHH4397H
messenger

מַלְאָךְ (ma.le.akh) : messenger 1) messenger, representative 1a) messenger 1b) angel 1c) the theophanic angel

Yahwehיְהֹוָ֥הYAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

to himאֵלָ֛יו'e-LAVH0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

in a flame ofבְּלַבַּת־be-la-bat-H3827
flame

לַבָּה (lab.bah) 1) flame 2) tip of weapon, point, head of spear

fireאֵ֖שׁ'eshH0784
fire

אֵשׁ (esh) 1) fire 1a) fire, flames 1b) supernatural fire (accompanying theophany) 1c) fire (for cooking, roasting, parching) 1d) altar-fire 1e) God's anger (fig.) Aramaic equivalent: esh (אֶשָּׁא "fire" H0785)

from [the] middle ofמִתּ֣וֹךְmi-TOKHH8432
midst

תָּ֫וֶךְ (ta.vekh) 1) midst, middle 1a) midst, middle 1b) into, through (after verbs of motion) 1c) among (of a number of persons) 1d) between (of things arranged by twos) 1e) from among (as to take or separate etc)

the bushהַסְּנֶ֑הha-se-NEHH5572
bush

סְנֶה (se.neh) 1) a bush, thorny bush 1a) the burning bush of Moses 1b) perhaps a blackberry bush

and he sawוַיַּ֗רְאvai-YAR'H7200G
to see: see

רָאָה (ra.ah) : see/show 1) to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to see 1a2) to see, perceive 1a3) to see, have vision 1a4) to look at, see, regard, look after, see after, learn about, observe, watch, look upon, look out, find out 1a5) to see, observe, consider, look at, give attention to, discern, distinguish 1a6) to look at, gaze at 1a7) to provide, choose 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to appear, present oneself 1b2) to be seen 1b3) to be visible 1c) (Pual) to be seen 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cause to see, show 1d2) to cause to look intently at, behold, cause to gaze at 1e) (Hophal) …

and there!וְהִנֵּ֤הve-hi-NEHH2009
behold

הִנֵּה (hin.neh) behold, lo, see, if

the bushהַסְּנֶה֙ha-se-NEHH5572
bush

סְנֶה (se.neh) 1) a bush, thorny bush 1a) the burning bush of Moses 1b) perhaps a blackberry bush

[was] burningבֹּעֵ֣רbo-'ERH1197A
to burn: burn

בָּעַר (ba.ar) : burn/ignite 1) to burn, consume, kindle, be kindled 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to begin to burn, be kindled, start burning 1a2) to burn, be burning 1a3) to burn, consume 1a4) Jehovah's wrath, human wrath (fig.) 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to kindle, burn 1b2) to consume, remove (of guilt) (fig.) 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to kindle 1c2) to burn up 1c3) to consume (destroy) 1d) (Pual) to burn

with the fireבָּאֵ֔שׁba-'ESHH0784
fire

אֵשׁ (esh) 1) fire 1a) fire, flames 1b) supernatural fire (accompanying theophany) 1c) fire (for cooking, roasting, parching) 1d) altar-fire 1e) God's anger (fig.) Aramaic equivalent: esh (אֶשָּׁא "fire" H0785)

and the bushוְהַסְּנֶ֖הve-ha-se-NEHH5572
bush

סְנֶה (se.neh) 1) a bush, thorny bush 1a) the burning bush of Moses 1b) perhaps a blackberry bush

not itאֵינֶ֥נּוּ'ei-NE-nuH0369
nothing

אַ֫יִן (a.yin) 1) nothing, not, nought n 1a) nothing, nought neg 1b) not 1c) to have not (of possession) adv 1d) without w/prep 1e) for lack of

[was] consumedאֻכָּֽל׃'u-KALH0398
to eat

אָכַל (a.khal) 1) to eat, devour, burn up, feed 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to eat (human subject) 1a2) to eat, devour (of beasts and birds) 1a3) to devour, consume (of fire) 1a4) to devour, slay (of sword) 1a5) to devour, consume, destroy (inanimate subjects - ie, pestilence, drought) 1a6) to devour (of oppression) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be eaten (by men) 1b2) to be devoured, consumed (of fire) 1b3) to be wasted, destroyed (of flesh) 1c) (Pual) 1c1) to cause to eat, feed with 1c2) to cause to devour 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to feed 1d2) to cause to eat 1e) (Piel) 1e1) consume Aramaic equivalent: a.khal (אֲכַל "to devour" H0399)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.