Tyndale Open Study NotesExodus 3

These verses indicate a major change will happen in the life of Moses.

This section describes the mission God gave Moses to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. It is divided into two parts, 3:1–4:17 and 4:18–28.

The first part describes God's call. The second part describes the full consequences of accepting that call. Moses not only experienced a career change, but he also had to completely change his life.

Sinai 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.

• the 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.

Moses, Moses!: God knows each person by name, and every individual matters to him.

The soil around the bush was holy, while the soil on the sandals of Moses was common. The common cannot touch the holy without being transformed or destroyed (see “Clean, Unclean, and Holy” Theme Note). At the start of the exodus, God made it clear that he is completely different from his creation. This is important for a proper relationship between God and humans.

The word holy appears only a few times in the Bible before Exodus 3:5. It then becomes the main way to describe God in the Old Testament. In other Semitic languages, the same root word is rare. Semitic people were ancient groups from the Middle East and North Africa, known for their shared languages (such as Hebrew, Aramaic, or Arabic) and cultural traditions.

Holy does not describe a moral quality in these languages but simply what is “other than” human. Pagan gods were "holy" only in the sense of being “other.” They did everything humans do, both good and evil, but on a larger scale.

In the Bible, holiness first means being set apart. God alone is completely distinct from creation and worthy of being called holy in the fullest sense. His holiness includes moral perfection. He is perfectly consistent and moral in his character. Here, at the burning bush, God revealed his otherness. Later at Sinai, he revealed his moral character in his requirements for those who would be his covenant partners (see Exodus 19:6; 20:1–23:33; see also Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:13–16).

This transcendent God (the God who is above and beyond creation) had made a faithful promise to the ancestors of Moses. He had kept this promise for hundreds of years.

Moses stood in awe of the one holy and transcendent God of Abraham. This is the God who set himself apart from all other gods.

Later, Jesus quoted this verse when he spoke with the Sadducees about the resurrection (Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37).

God felt compassion for the ongoing slavery and suffering of Israel.

• God would not only rescue them but also bring them … to a good … land, which he had promised to Abraham (Genesis 13:14–18).

• flowing with milk and honey: The land was rich for farming, with fields for cattle and crops with blossoms that allowed bees to make honey.

• Canaanites … Jebusites: The list of peoples who lived in Canaan shows the importance of this land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Desert. It was a key crossroads for trade and communication between Egypt and the rest of the ancient Near East. It was a highly contested prize. It seemed impossible that Israel would end up as the only owner.

God would act compassionately to save his suffering people, but it would be through a human agency. Often God is known among us because of the way his people carry out his will.

Moses first protested that he was unworthy of such a great task, but God responded that this was not the issue. Human worthiness is of no significance if God’s presence is with that person.

Moses, in his response to God, presented four reasons why he was not the one to fulfill God’s call. Although each reason supposedly relates to Moses and his ability, God’s answers show that they were really questions about God.

In the Bible, a sign often occurred after a person or a nation had already had to decide whether to act in faith or not (see Isaiah 7:14). A sign cannot create faith where there is none (see Matthew 12:39; 16:4). Rather, it encourages the one who has exercised the faith he or she already has.

The second protest Moses made was about his lack of knowledge. He said that he did not know God’s name.

This could mean that God’s personal name had not yet been made known to him (see study notes on 6:2–3). It could also mean something else. In the ancient Near East, people often believed that knowing a god’s secret name gave them power. Moses may have wondered if he needed such a secret formula (special words believed to control spiritual power).

God’s answer is direct, but it sounds almost like a riddle at first. However, most of his answer does not focus on a secret name. Instead, God speaks about his faithfulness in the past and his plans for the future. He shows that he knows what will happen and that he controls history.

There is nothing magical about the name "the LORD" (Hebrew Yahweh). The issue is not secret knowledge or magic power. The issue is who God is.

The name is important because of the character and nature of the one who bears it. God is faithful, powerful, and Lord over all of history.

I AM WHO I AM: This name speaks of a God who is self-sufficient, self-existent, all encompassing, and without limitations, the one being in the universe who is not dependent on something else for his existence.

The LORD: The Hebrew name probably comes from the Hebrew verb "to be," meaning "he causes to be," "he who is," or "I am." Later, Jews would not say God's name aloud. So, the Hebrew text uses the vowels from the word ’adonay (meaning "lord" or "master") whenever God's name, YHWH, appears.

A Jewish person reading aloud would say ’adonay, even though the text is written YHWH. We do not know the exact pronunciation of the divine name. The widely-used Yahweh is an educated guess.

The English word Jehovah is a made-up term, combining the vowels of ’adonay with the consonants Y-H-W-H. The Berean Standard Bible usually translates the name as LORD. See 6:2–3; 15:3; 33:19; 34:5–6.

• God ordered Moses to tell the people of Israel that the God speaking to them now was the same God their ancestors knew and worshiped. This God would lead them into a fruitful land captured from others. The message of Moses was not a magical formula. Instead, it was the word of God who, although outside of history, can still enter and direct it.

• flowing with milk and honey: See study note on 3:8.

• Hebrews: See study note on 1:15.

• a three-day journey … so that we may sacrifice: If we view the main goal of the exodus as rescuing the Israelites from slavery, this request might seem insincere. But God's main goal was to create a nation for himself. He led them into the wilderness to teach them how to worship him.

I know: See “Hardened Hearts” Theme Note.

God’s power would be obvious, and the Egyptians would not only allow the Hebrews to leave, they would pay them to do so.