The Burning Bush and the Call of Moses

The event

Forty years after fleeing Egypt, Moses was still shepherding his father-in-law Jethro's flock when he led them to Horeb, "the mountain of God." There he saw a bush ablaze yet never consumed by the fire — and out of it, the voice of God called him by name. What follows is one of the most theologically dense conversations in the Old Testament: God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, declares that he has seen the affliction of his people in Egypt, and announces his intention to bring them out "to a good and broad land."

When Moses asks for God's name, he receives the answer that would anchor Israel's faith ever after: "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14) — the name rendered YHWH, the LORD, throughout the rest of Scripture. It is a name that declares God's self-existence, faithfulness, and permanence, in pointed contrast to the shifting gods of Egypt Moses was about to confront.

Moses raises a string of honest objections — Who am I? What is your name? What if they don't believe me? I am not eloquent — and God answers each one patiently, giving him miraculous signs and, when Moses still hesitates, appointing his brother Aaron to speak for him. It is a strikingly human portrait of a reluctant deliverer, called not because he felt equal to the task but because God promised, simply and repeatedly, "I will be with you."

Dating

The plagues fall within the traditional Exodus year of 1446 BC (see "The Exodus from Egypt" for the fuller early-date versus late-date discussion). This event falls in the same year as the Exodus itself on the traditional chronology, since Moses was called at age eighty and led Israel out that same year (Exodus 7:7). The date ultimately rests on 1 Kings 6:1 (see the Exodus entry for the fuller early-date/late-date discussion). Both the early-date and late-date camps affirm the burning bush as a real historical encounter; the disagreement is one of calendar placement, not historicity.

Scripture references

• Exodus 3:1-4:17