English Standard Version
Exodus 3:2
2And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
Exodus 3:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And 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.
- New International Version (NIV)There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.
Context of Exodus 3:2
1Now 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. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." 4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
Read all of Exodus 3Exodus 3:2 word by word
וַ֠יֵּרָא מַלְאַ֨ךְ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֵלָ֛יו בְּלַבַּת־אֵ֖שׁ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֑ה וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְהַסְּנֶ֖ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ אֻכָּֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- appearedרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- unto him in a flameלַבָּהlabbâh · flameH3827
- of fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- out of the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- of a bushסְנֶהseneh · bushH5572
- burnedבָּעַרbâ‛ar · to burn: burnH1197
- not consumedאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
Cross-references for Exodus 3:2
- Exodus 3:4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
- Genesis 16:7The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
- Genesis 22:15And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven
- Genesis 48:16the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
- Deuteronomy 33:16with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.
- Isaiah 63:9In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
- Hosea 12:4He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us—
- Malachi 3:1"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
- Luke 20:37But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
- Acts 7:30"Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
- Genesis 15:13Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
- Deuteronomy 4:20But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.
- Psalms 66:12you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
- Isaiah 43:1But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
- Isaiah 53:10Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
- Daniel 3:27And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
Commentaries on Exodus 3:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The angel of the Lord - Not a created angel certainly; for he is called יהוה Jehovah, Exodus 3:4, etc., and has the most expressive attributes of the Godhead applied to him, Exodus 3:14, etc. Yet he is an angel, מלאך malach, a messenger, in whom was the name of God, Exodus 23:21; and in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Colossians 2:9; and who, in all these primitive times, was the Messenger of the covenant, Malachi 3:1. And who was this…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The 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 Psalm 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2the angel of the LORD: This is the Lord's official messenger. But the term can also refer to other visible signs of the Lord (see Genesis 16:9–13; Judges 13:3, 6, 21–22). In the Bible, blazing fire often represents God's supreme holiness (see Exodus 19:18; Genesis 15:17; 1 Kgs 18:38–39; Isaiah 33:14). was not consumed: This may show that God does not want to destroy the object he sets on fire for his purposes.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire--It is common in Scripture to represent the elements and operations of nature, as winds, fires, earthquakes, pestilence, everything enlisted in executing the divine will, as the "angels" or messengers of God. But in such cases God Himself is considered as really, though invisibly, present. Here the preternatural fire may be primarily meant by the expression "angel of the Lord"; but it is…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 3:2
In the dictionaries
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
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