Exodus 3:4
in Exodus 3When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
KJV
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
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This verse in Exodus 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
God called out to him from within the bush
The name is doubled, Moses, Moses, as it is to Abraham at Genesis 22:11 and to Jacob at Genesis 46:2. Each of those doublings opens a commission or a rescue.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
This is why he summons Moses by his fatherly voice, addresses him with paternal love and invites him to be the liberator of his people. Why should I say more? He makes him a god; he sets him up as a god before Pharaoh. He …
Was the Lord speaking through an angel? Or was the Lord that angel who has been called the "angel of great counsel" and is understood to be Christ? For Scripture said above, "the angel of the Lord appeared to him."
Why should we despair that God should speak in men, who spoke in the thorn bush? God did not despise the bush. Would that he might also give light to my thorns. Perhaps some may wonder that there is some light even in our thorns. Some of our thorns will not burn. There will be some whose shoes shall be put off their feet at the sound of my voice, that the steps of the mind may be freed from bodily hindrances.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see,....
This which he heard could not but surprise him much more than what he saw. The word of the Lord always went along with the glory of the Lord, for every divine vision was designed for divine revelation, Job iv. Divine calls are then effectual, (1.) When the Spirit of God makes them particular, and calls us by name.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
This certain evidence was given to Moses. He saw a fire, but no human agent to kindle it; he heard a voice, but no human lips from which it came; he saw no living Being, but One was in the bush, in the heat of the flames, who knew him and addressed him by name.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord saw - The interchange of the two divine names is to be observed; “Jehovah” (Yahweh) saw, “God” called.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| סָ֣ר | sar | he had turned aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| לִרְא֑וֹת | lirot | to look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וַיִּקְרָא֩ | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֵלָ֨יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֜ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִתּ֣וֹךְ | mitokh | from [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַסְּנֶ֗ה | haseneh | the bush | H5572 → | 6 times |
| וַיֹּ֛אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֥ה | mosheh | O Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּֽנִי׃ | hineni | here [am] I | H2009 → | 843 times |
וַיַּ֥רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
סָ֣רhe had turned aside
sarH5493 →299 times
לִרְא֑וֹתto look
lirotH7200 →1300 times
וַיִּקְרָא֩and he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
אֵלָ֨יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֱלֹהִ֜יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
מִתּ֣וֹךְfrom [the] middle of
mitokhH8432 →418 times
הַסְּנֶ֗הthe bush
hasenehH5572 →6 times
וַיֹּ֛אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֹשֶׁ֥הO Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּֽנִי׃here [am] I
hineniH2009 →843 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 46:2And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
it leads to
- Job 33:14–15
For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 9:4
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 15:1
After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
- Numbers 24:4
the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
- Job 4:13
In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- Job 33:14–15
Through
Genesis 22:11Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
it leads to
- Genesis 21:17
Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the…
- Genesis 21:17
Through
1 Samuel 3:4Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
it leads to
- Psalms 99:6
Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called to the LORD and He answered.
- Psalms 99:6
Through
Deuteronomy 33:16with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the…
it leads to
- Acts 7:35
This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him…
- Acts 7:35
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies14
On this verse
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virginity 1.1.2; Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON EXODUS 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Peter Chrysologus, SERMON 147.