King James Version
Exodus 3:1
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.
Exodus 3:1 in other versions
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.
Context of Exodus 3:1
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. 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.
Read all of Exodus 3Exodus 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
- Now Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- keptרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
- keptהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- the flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- of Jethroיִתְרוֹyithrô · JethroH3503
- his father in lawחֹתֵןchâthan · relativeH2859
- the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- of Midianמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080
- and he ledנָהַגnâhag · to leadH5090
- to the backsideאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- of the desertמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- and cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to the mountainהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- to Horebחֹרֵבchôrêb · HorebH2722
Cross-references for Exodus 3:1
- Psalms 78:70He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
- Amos 1:1The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
- Amos 7:14Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
- Matthew 4:18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
- Luke 2:8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
- Exodus 2:16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
- Exodus 18:1When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt;
- Numbers 10:29And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.
- Judges 4:11Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
- Exodus 3:5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
- Exodus 18:5And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
- Exodus 19:3And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
- Exodus 24:15And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
- 1 Kings 19:8And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
- Exodus 17:6Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 1:6The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:
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
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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
Commentaries