Exodus 3:1

Exodus 3:1 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Context of Exodus 3:1

Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There 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. 3So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”

Exodus 3:1 word by word

וּמֹשֶׁ֗ה הָיָ֥ה רֹעֶ֛ה אֶת־צֹ֛אן יִתְר֥וֹ חֹתְנ֖וֹ כֹּהֵ֣ן מִדְיָ֑ן וַיִּנְהַ֤ג אֶת־הַצֹּאן֙ אַחַ֣ר הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר וַיָּבֹ֛א אֶל־הַ֥ר הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים חֹרֵֽבָה׃Read the interlinear

• Meanwhile, Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• wasהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• shepherdingרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• the flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• of his father-in-lawחֹתֵןchâthan · relativeH2859
• Jethroיִתְרוֹyithrô · JethroH3503
• the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• of Midianמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080
• He ledנָהַגnâhag · to leadH5090
• to the far sideאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• of the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• and cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Horebחֹרֵבchôrêb · HorebH2722
• the mountainהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Exodus 3:1

• Psalms 78:70He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
• Amos 1:1These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.
• Amos 7:14“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
• Matthew 4:18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
• Luke 2:8And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
• Exodus 2:16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.
• Exodus 18:1Now Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
• Numbers 10:29Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”
• Judges 4:11Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
• Exodus 3:5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
• Exodus 18:5Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the desert, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
• Exodus 19:3Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel:
• Exodus 24:15When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
• 1 Kings 19:8So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
• Exodus 17:6Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
• Deuteronomy 1:6The LORD our God said to us at Horeb: “You have stayed at this mountain long enough.

Commentaries on Exodus 3:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Jethro his father-in-law - Concerning Jethro, see Clarke's note on Exodus 2:18. Learned men are not agreed on the signification of the word חתן chothen, which we translate father-in-law, and which in Genesis 19:14, we translate son-in-law. It seems to be a general term for a relative by marriage, and the connection only in which it stands can determine its precise meaning. It is very possible that Reuel was now dead, it being forty years since Moses came…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Jethro his father-in-law - Or “brother-in-law.” The word in the Hebrew is a word signifying relative by marriage. When Moses arrived in Midian, Reuel was an elderly man Exodus 2:16; 40 years later (Exodus 2:23 note), Reuel‘s son, Jethro, had probably succeeded him. The backside - i. e. “to the west of the district.” Among the Hebrews the East is before a man, the west behind him, the south and north on the right and left hand. Desert - Or wilderness, not…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1God appears to Moses in a burning bush. (1-6) God sends Moses to deliver Israel. (7-10) The name Jehovah. (11-15) The deliverance of the Israelites promised. (16-22) Verses 1-6 The years of the life of Moses are divided into three forties; the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh's court, the second as a shepherd in Midian, the third as a king in Jeshurun. How changeable is the life of man! The first appearance of God to Moses, found him tending…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Sinai is the name commonly used for the mountain where God revealed himself in the covenant (see, for example, 16:1; 19:1–2). Here and in 17:6 and 33:6, the Hebrew text uses the name Horeb. Both names probably refer to the same mountain.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-221. Now Moses kept the flock--This employment he had entered on in furtherance of his matrimonial views (see on Ex 2:21), but it is probable he was continuing his service now on other terms like Jacob during the latter years of his stay with Laban (Ge 30:28). he led the flock to the backside of the desert--that is, on the west of the desert [Gesenius], assuming Jethro's headquarters to have been at Dahab. The route by which Moses led his flock must have…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 3:1

• Horeb
• Jethro
• Moses
• Revelation
• Shepherd

In the dictionaries

• God
• Horeb
• Jethro
• Midian
• Moses
• Midian; Midianites
• Jethro, Reuel
• Midian, Midianite
• Sinai, Horeb
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry

Commentaries on Exodus 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings