Exodus 3:2

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Exodus 3:2

1Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3So Moses said, “I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” 4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Exodus 3:2 word by word

וַ֠יֵּרָא מַלְאַ֨ךְ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֵלָ֛יו בְּלַבַּת־אֵ֖שׁ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֑ה וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְהַסְּנֶ֖ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ אֻכָּֽל׃Read the interlinear

• the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• appearedרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• to him in a blazingלֶהָבָהlehâbâh lahebeth · flameH3852
• fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• from the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• bushסְנֶהseneh · bushH5572
• and beholdהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• was burningבָּעַרbâ‛ar · to burn: burnH1197
• was not being consumedאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398

Cross-references for Exodus 3:2

• Exodus 3:4When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
• Genesis 16:7Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
• Genesis 22:15Then 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 may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
• Deuteronomy 33:16And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, And to the top of the head of the one who was prince among his brothers.
• Isaiah 63:9In all their distress He was distressed, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
• Hosea 12:4Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and implored His favor. He found Him at Bethel, And there He spoke with us,
• Malachi 3:1“Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies.
• Luke 20:37But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
• Acts 7:30“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.
• Genesis 15:13Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
• Deuteronomy 4:20But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people of His own possession, as today.
• Psalms 66:12You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water. Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
• Isaiah 43:1But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob, And He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!
• Isaiah 53:10But the Lord desired To crush Him, causing Him grief; If He renders Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
• Daniel 3:27The satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched 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

• Angel (Holy Trinity)
• Angel (a Spirit)
• Burning Bush
• Call
• Fire
• God
• Israel
• Miracles
• Moses
• Religion
• Revelation
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Flame of fire
• Angel of the Lord
• Appear
• Backside
• Bush
• Captain
• Jehovah
• Moses
• Sacrifice
• Sight

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