New English Translation
Exodus 3:2
2The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked – and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being 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.
- 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 shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked – and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! 3So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” 4When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses 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 had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
- Genesis 16:7The Lord’s angel found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur.
- Genesis 22:15The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven
- Genesis 48:16the Angel who has protected me from all harm – bless these boys. May my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
- Deuteronomy 33:16with the harvest of the earth and its fullness and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph’s head, and on the top of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.
- Isaiah 63:9Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.
- Hosea 12:4He struggled with an angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found God at Bethel, and there he spoke with him!
- Malachi 3:1“I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.
- Luke 20:37But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised 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“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.
- Genesis 15:13Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
- Deuteronomy 4:20You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today.
- Psalms 66:12You allowed men to ride over our heads; we passed through fire and water, but you brought us out into a wide open place.
- Isaiah 43:1Now, this is what the Lord says, the one who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: “Don’t be afraid, for I will protect you. I call you by name, you are mine.
- Isaiah 53:10Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
- Daniel 3:27Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on 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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