Exodus 3 - Summary

Historical setting

Moses is tending the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro in Midian, a region east of Egypt in the Arabian Peninsula. He has fled Egypt years earlier after killing an Egyptian and living in exile. The mountain called Horeb (also known as Sinai in other texts) lies in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. At this time, Egypt is ruled by a pharaoh who has enslaved the descendants of Jacob. The Canaanites and other peoples mentioned in verse 8 occupy the land to which God promises to bring Israel, though the date of this narrative and the specific pharaoh involved remain uncertain among historians.

Life and customs

In this period, removing one's shoes was a sign of respect and acknowledgment of sacred space or authority. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob refers to the ancestral covenant tradition: God had made promises to these forefathers generations before. A "land flowing with milk and honey" was a standard way of describing a fertile, productive land. The plagues God promises to bring (verse 20, "wonders") fit a pattern known from Egyptian sources: water turning to blood, frogs, locusts, and darkness were real phenomena Egyptians would have feared. The request in verse 18 to travel "three days' journey into the wilderness" to sacrifice was a religious practice; formal worship required separation from daily life and often involved animal sacrifice at an altar. That Egyptians would give "jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment" as the Israelites left (verse 22) reflects the historical practice of gift-giving at parting and the power of a departing people over their former masters.

What the text says

Verses 1-3: Moses is grazing Jethro's flock near the mountain of Horeb when he sees a bush burning but not being consumed. He decides to turn aside and look at this sight.

Verses 4-6: God calls to him twice by name. Moses answers "Here am I." God tells him to remove his shoes because he stands on holy ground. God identifies himself as the God of Moses' fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses hides his face in fear.

Verses 7-10: God says he has seen the affliction of Israel in Egypt, heard their cry under their taskmasters, and knows their sorrows. He has come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and bring them to a land where Canaanites and other peoples live, a land flowing with milk and honey. The cry of Israel has reached God. God tells Moses, "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people."

Verses 11-12: Moses objects, asking who he is to do this. God answers that he will be with Moses, and the sign of this will be that after Israel is brought out of Egypt, they will serve God on this mountain.

Verses 13-15: Moses asks what name to give God when the Israelites ask. God replies, "I AM THAT I AM," and tells Moses to say "I AM hath sent me unto you." God further says the children of Israel should be told, "The LORD God of your fathers...hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."

Verses 16-18: God instructs Moses to gather the elders of Israel and tell them God appeared to him, saying he has visited them and seen what Egypt has done to them. He will bring them up to the land of the Canaanites and others, a land flowing with milk and honey. They will listen to Moses' voice. Moses and the elders are to go to Pharaoh and ask permission to travel three days' journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD their God.

Takeaways

• God's self-disclosure as "I AM THAT I AM" establishes his eternal, unchanging identity, contrasted with the limited authority of any earthly king.
• Moses is chosen and commissioned despite his own doubt and sense of inadequacy, with God's presence promised as the basis of his mission.
• The exodus is presented as God's direct intervention in history to fulfill an ancient covenant with the patriarchs and to respond to the cries of the oppressed.