Exodus 3:11
in Exodus 3But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
KJV
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
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This verse in Exodus 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Who am I - These words indicate humility (compare Num 12:3), not fear. He feared failure, owing to incompetency, especially in the power of expression.
This site's exposition
Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh
on Exodus 3:11-12
The answer to Moses' first objection, "I will surely be with you", speaks about God. The verb for worship is abad, used for the bondage at 1:13 and 1:14, so Pharaoh is asked for a change of master.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Moses said, "Who am I to go before Pharaoh?" Although I have a royal title, I will not be received by him. And now that I do the work of a simple shepherd, who will allow me to go before Pharaoh? And even if I …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He thinks he wants courage, and therefore cannot go to Pharaoh: he thinks he wants conduct, and therefore cannot bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt; they are unarmed, undisciplined, quite dispirited, utterly unable to help themselves, Moses was incomparably the fittest of any man living for this work, eminent for learning, wisdom, experience, valour, faith, holiness, and yet Who am I?
And Moses said unto God, who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh,....
Note, Even wise and faithful instruments may be much discouraged at the difficulties that lie in the way of the church's salvation. Moses had formerly been very courageous when he slew the Egyptian, but now his heart failed him; for good men are not always alike bold and zealous. Yet Moses is the man that does it at last; for God gives grace to the lowly.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But he evinced great reluctance to it and stated a variety of objections [Ex 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10] all of which were successfully met and removed--and the happy issue of his labors was minutely described.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Who am I - that I should bring - He was so satisfied that this was beyond his power, and all the means that he possessed, that he is astonished that even God himself should appoint him to this work! Such indeed was the bondage of the children of Israel, and the power of the people by whom they were enslaved, that had not their deliverance come through supernatural means, their escape had been utterly impossible.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
AND MOSES SAID…WHO AM I. There is no difference between the words ani (I) and anokhi (I).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
As My messenger to Pharaoh. 84 The Hebrew reads, ve-attah lekha (come now therefore). I.E.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֙ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אָנֹ֔כִי | ʾanokhi | [am] I | H595 → | 359 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵלֵ֖ךְ | ʾelekh | I will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֑ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וְכִ֥י | vekhi | and that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אוֹצִ֛יא | ʾotzi' | I will bring out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֹשֶׁה֙Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
אָנֹ֔כִי[am] I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵלֵ֖ךְI will go
ʾelekhH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פַּרְעֹ֑הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
וְכִ֥יand that
vekhiH3588 →4482 times
אוֹצִ֛יאI will bring out
ʾotzi'H3318 →1067 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃from Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 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
2 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- John 15:5
I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
Through
Exodus 6:12But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:6
“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 1:6
Through
2 Corinthians 2:16To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 3:5–6
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5–6
Through
Jeremiah 1:6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
it leads to
- Exodus 4:10–16
“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
- Exodus 4:10–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Exodus
Who and where
2 names 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); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON EXODUS 3:3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.