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Exodus 3

God reveals his holy presence and enduring name as he commissions Moses to bring oppressed Israel out of Egypt.

Moses is tending Jethro’s flock near Horeb when he sees a bush burning without being consumed. God calls to him from the bush and tells him to remove his sandals because the ground is holy. He declares that he has heard Israel’s cries under Egyptian oppression and sends Moses to Pharaoh. Moses questions his fitness and asks God’s name. God promises his presence, reveals his name, and describes the resistance and deliverance ahead.

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1Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.
2The LORD’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3Moses said, “I will go now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
4When the LORD saw that he came over to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.”
5He said, “Don’t come close. Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
6Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
8I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
12He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
16Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
17I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
18They will listen to your voice. You shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD, our God.’
19I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
20I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do among them, and after that he will let you go.
21I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it will happen that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
22But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who visits her house, jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing. You shall put them on your sons, and on your daughters. You shall plunder the Egyptians.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Exodus 3:7God’s commission begins with his knowledge of Israel’s suffering: he has seen their affliction and heard their cries.
Exodus 3:8God declares his purpose to rescue Israel from Egyptian power and bring them into a land of abundance.
Exodus 3:14God answers Moses’ question about his name by revealing himself as the one whose authority stands behind Moses’ mission.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis records God’s promise of land to Abraham and his descendants; Exodus 3 names those ancestors and announces deliverance into that land. Acts retells the burning bush encounter, including the holy ground and God’s sending of Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out to you about God’s response to Israel’s suffering before he sends Moses?

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How does God’s promise of presence address Moses’ question about his fitness for the task?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 3

What does the burning bush mean in Exodus 3?

The bush burns without being consumed, drawing Moses toward the place where God speaks. The text identifies the appearance as YHWH’s angel, then describes God calling from the bush. It establishes God’s holy presence and Moses’ commission; it does not assign a separate symbolic meaning to the bush.

What does “I AM WHO I AM” mean in Exodus 3:14?

God speaks these words when Moses asks what name to give Israel. The Hebrew wording carries the sense of being and can include a future sense. It declares God’s identity on his own terms. The next verse gives his enduring name, rendered YHWH, and identifies him as the God of Israel’s ancestors.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).