All the time that Moses was gone from Egypt, the people of God were groaning under their load. The Pharaoh died, and Israel cried. Was there anyone capable of hearing them?

Well, yes—‘God heard their groaning’ (2:24). His ears are open to the cries of his people (Ps. 102:20). This is one of the Bible’s great anthropomorphisms—a figure of speech in which God, although he has no physical body, is described in human and physical terms. He is spirit, yet has an ear (Isa. 59:1). This is language used in the Bible and by God to reveal himself to us, as a personal God, one who is not ignorant of our situation and our need.

More glorious, however, than the hearing of the groan is the fact that God ‘remembered his covenant’. The promises he had made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were the foundation upon which God’s intervention on behalf of his people would be built.

What is a covenant? It is a formal bond that ties two people, or two nations—any two parties—together. Perhaps the best illustration of a covenant is a marriage union. Two people fall in love and want to spend their lives with each other. There is a deep, personal attachment between them. In a sense, nothing can add to, or take away from that relationship. But it is important to guard the personal relationship with a formal, binding commitment—which is what marriage is. Once a couple is married, the relationship is different. The love and personal commitment are the same, but it now operates within the security of a public commitment. The marriage commitment is there simply to allow the personal love to grow and develop.

In the same way, God has bound himself in covenant to his people. He loves his people—he has a personal attachment to them. But he has formalized that attachment by making a public pledge to them. This is how he describes the covenant to Abraham:

I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God (Genesis 17:7–8).

Here is God, pledging himself to be the God of his people, and committing himself to them. That theme runs through the Bible. Jesus is called the ‘mediator of a new covenant’ (Heb. 12:24), the one in whom God’s pledge to his people is secure. Arguably, God’s covenant with his people is the theme of the Bible. It is certainly the theme that runs through Exodus, as God acts in history to fulfil the promises he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

So God is a personal God, one who is aware of the needs of his people, and one who is committed to the promises he has made to them. Thus the foundation is laid in Exodus for the covenantal structure and unity of the Bible; here is one of the foundational terms which are so important for our understanding of the gospel.

Commissioning a Saviour (3:1–22)

God is now going to set his rescue plan in motion. His people are groaning. Moses is ready. The covenant is beckoning him to fulfil all that he purposed and promised to do for his people. The time has come for God to call Moses to the work that will be the means of leading the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

His call to Moses is quite wonderful. While Moses is going about his business as a shepherd, suddenly he is aware of a bush burning. Not an unusual sight, perhaps; but the fire seemed to be going on for a long time, and the bush was not being consumed by it.

What was the significance of the burning bush?

Some have suggested that it represented the situation of Israel in Egypt: like the bush, the people of God were enveloped in the flames of hardship, cruelty and oppression, yet they were not consumed. God was keeping his people alive.

Others have suggested that what we have here is a revelation of the brilliant, burning glory of God. The image of fire conveys the idea of purity, holiness, power and majesty.

The Puritan John Owen nuances this, however, and suggests that God was giving Moses an early symbol, or type, of the one whom he himself prefigured, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how Owen puts it: ‘The eternal fire of the divine nature dwells in the bush of our frail nature, yet is it not consumed thereby. God thus dwells in this bush, with all his goodwill towards sinners’.

Each of these interpretations has merit, although given the language God uses in this passage, we should perhaps rule out the first. In some sense, God uses this burning bush to reveal something about his own character and glory, and the glory of his unchanging, mediated salvation which remains the hope and encouragement of those who are in slavery and bondage.

He is the God who knows the needs of his people

Israel has not been forgotten by God. As he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see how this formula from 2:24 is used in verse 6 and repeated in verses 15 and 16), he remains the God of his people. His eye is on them, his ear has heard their cry, and his heart is towards them (v. 7). In Egypt, in sin, in difficulties of all kinds, God is aware of what his people need.

He is the God who breaks in to save his people

‘I have come down to deliver them,’ he says in verse 8, and to bring them to a better land. He will not leave his people where he found them, nor as he found them, but will intervene for their salvation. He did this in Egypt, but supremely in the Incarnation, when ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14).

He is the God who does not change

Just as our attention was drawn to the significance of Moses’ name (2:10), so now our attention is drawn to God’s name. He is the great ‘I am’ (the Hebrew form of which gives us the name ‘Jehovah’). He remains the same, and his covenant promises stand in spite of all the opposition of Egypt.

He is the God who authenticates his words with powerful signs

God promises Moses that he will ‘strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it’ (v. 20). That is the function of miracles in the Bible: to show the reality of the words of God’s servants, culminating with Jesus himself. It is important to note that miracles appear sparingly in the Bible, and are always used for the purpose of showing that God’s messengers have his commission and his approval.

God Remembers the Others 2:23–25

The reference to the death of the king of Egypt (not called Pharaoh here, though the same ruler is meant) recalls 1:8: Now a new king arose over Egypt. There, a change of ruler brought a turn of events, for the worse. Here, therefore, readers might hope for another change, this time for the better, but no change occurs. The oppression that has lasted a long time simply continues.

The three different expressions for Israel’s complaining (groaned, cried out for help, their cry … rose up) capture the depth of their despair during this apparently unending oppression. Although their cry rose up to God, the words used do not indicate that we ought to think of prayer. More likely, God responds here to the creaturely groaning in pain (cf. Gen. 21:15–19), rather than to pious prayer. Or put differently, God’s four responses (God heard, remembered, looked upon, took notice) to Israel’s plight are motivated by undeserved grace, not merited by piety (cf. also 3:7, 9, 15; 4:31; 6:5).

Nevertheless, God does not act out of impulsive pity; God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (2:24). To remember means much more here and elsewhere in the O T than a response to a casual reminder to overcome forgetfulness. It is an expression of loyalty and constancy here, as well as a recalling for the purpose of taking action. We will be reminded again and again that God’s acts of salvation in Exodus are to be seen in continuity with God’s acts reported in Genesis [Covenant].

Only in this concluding passage of chapter 2 is God mentioned explicitly and his response reported in theological language [for a stylistic discussion of this explicitly theological “Priestly” style, see Source Theory]. It is as if we are taken up from the level of human experience and allowed a glimpse from God’s vantage point. The apparently forgotten and oppressed foreign slaves are by no means forgotten; instead, they form part of the long-range strategies of God.

THE TEXT IN BIBLICAL CONTEXT

The O T hardly ever cites or refers to the events of this chapter directly (but cf. Num. 26:59). Nevertheless, these events reflect story types and theological themes found throughout the Bible.

The “Precarious Escape” In Bible Stories

Earlier we noted the links between Exodus 1 and the creation story of Genesis. The use of the word ark for Moses’ basket reminds us that Moses, like Noah (Gen. 6:5–9:17), was preserved from the waters of death. Moses’ salvation, however, is a precarious one (2:1–10). What if the basket/ark had tipped over or had been smashed by a crocodile? What if Pharaoh’s daughter had not appeared at the right moment, or had displayed a less caring attitude? Would the whole O T story, so dependent on Moses now, have been aborted?

Similar questions are raised by other stories of the “precarious escape” type. How could the O T story have continued, for example, if Sarah had become Pharaoh’s or King Abimelech’s wife (Gen. 12:10–20, or if Abraham had actually sacrificed Isaac (Gen. 22)? The closest parallel to the Moses-story in this respect is, of course, the preservation of the baby Jesus from the henchmen of Herod (Matt. 2). Through such stories, we realize that it isn’t chance but God’s deliberate leading that is active at these crucial junctures.

The bush burned, and yet did not burn away; an emblem of the church in bondage in Egypt. And it fitly reminds us of the church in every age, under its severest persecutions kept by the presence of God from being destroyed. Fire is an emblem, in Scripture, of the Divine holiness and justice, also of the afflictions and trials with which God proves and purifies his people, and even of that baptism of the Holy Ghost, by which sinful affections are consumed, and the soul changed into the Divine nature and image. God gave Moses a gracious call, to which he returned a ready answer. Those that would have communion with God, must attend upon him in the ordinances wherein he is pleased to manifest himself and his glory, though it be in a bush. Putting off the shoe was a token of respect and submission. We ought to draw nigh to God with a solemn pause and preparation, carefully avoiding every thing that looks light and rude, and unbecoming his service. God does not say, I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but I am. The patriarchs still live, so many years after their bodies have been in the grave. No length of time can separate the souls of the just from their Maker. By this, God instructed Moses as to another world, and strengthened his belief of a future state. Thus it is interpreted by our Lord Jesus, who, from hence, proves that the dead are raised, Lu 20:37. Moses hid his face, as if both ashamed and afraid to look upon God. The more we see of God, and his grace, and covenant love, the more cause we shall see to worship him with reverence and godly fear.

V 23–25: BONDAGE Meanwhile Pharaoh dies in Egypt, and the Israelites continue to groan because of their bondage. They call out to God who hears their cries and remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looks on the Israelites and acknowledges them. He has plans for them that will involve unsuspecting Moses.

CHAPTER THREE

V 1: FLOCK Moses acts as a shepherd for Jethro and leads the flock to the back of the desert near Horeb, the mountain of God. V 2–3: FIRE The Angel of the LORD appears to him from a burning bush that is not consumed by the fire. Moses investigates the bush. V 4–6: FEAR God speaks to Moses by name from the bush and tells him to remove his sandals because here is holy ground. He reminds him that He is the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Fear grips Moses who hides his face because he cannot look upon God. V 7–10: FAITHFULNESS God’s faithfulness to His people is revealed as He tells Moses that He knows of His people’s oppression by the Egyptians and that He wishes to take them to the land of Canaan, which He has promised to them. He tells Moses that, to deliver Israel from Egypt’s oppression, He will send him to Pharaoh and liberate the children of Israel from Egypt. V 11–14: FEEBLE Moses feebly questions whether he is qualified and able to do all this. God assures him that He will be present with him and that, after leaving Egypt, Moses will serve God on that very mountain of Horeb. God tells Moses that his name is ‘I AM WHO I AM’ and that he must tell anyone who asks him that ‘I AM’ has sent him. V 15–22: FORETOLD Before Moses starts his task, God foretells what will happen. He is to remind the Israelites of the promise of God to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that they will enter the promised land ‘flowing with milk and honey’. He tells him that Pharaoh will resist his request to go for three days into the wilderness to worship God. Ultimately, God will smite Pharoah to force him to let the people go, after they have found such favour with the Egyptians, that they will give them possessions and riches. It will be as if they will have plundered the Egyptians. God always knows what He is doing!

II. The Preparation of God’s Prophet (2)

It seemed as though God was doing nothing. The Jews prayed and cried out for help (2:23–25) and wondered where God’s deliverance was. Had they only remembered the Word in Gen. 15, they would have known that 400 years had to elapse. During these years, God was preparing his people, but He was also waiting in mercy and giving the wicked nations of Canaan time to repent (Gen. 15:16). God is never in a hurry; He had His leader chosen for the Hebrews and was preparing him for his mighty task. Note the means God used to prepare Moses:

A. A godly home (vv. 1–10).

Read Acts 7:20–28 and Heb. 11:23. In Ex. 6:20, we learn that the godly parents of Moses were Amram and Jochebed. That they should wed during such difficult times was an act of great faith and love, and God rewarded them for this. Since they acted by faith (Heb. 11:23), they must have had a communication from God concerning the birth of their son, Moses. He was a “goodly child” (beautiful in the sight of God), and so they gave him to God by faith. Parents never know what God sees in each child that is born, and it is important that parents raise their children in the fear of God. It took real faith to put the child in the river, the very place where the young boys were being destroyed! Note how God used a child’s tears to touch the princess, and how He arranged for the child’s own mother to raise him. Read Job 5:13.

B. A special education (Acts 7:22).

Raised in the palace as the adopted son of the princess, Moses was trained in the great Egyptian schools. Even today, scholars marvel at the learning of the Egyptians, and no doubt Moses stood at the head of his class. There is nothing wrong with education. Certainly Moses made use of his training. But it was no substitute for the wisdom of God that came through suffering and trial and his personal walk with God.

C. A great failure (vv. 11–15; Heb. 11:24–26).

Moses was forty years old when he made his great decision to leave the palace and become the deliverer of Israel. We admire him for his love for his people and for his courage, but we must confess that he ran ahead of the Lord in the way he acted. Verse 12 indicates that he was walking by sight, not by faith, for “he looked this way and that” before he killed the Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. Like Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, Moses depended on the sword in his hand and the energy in his arm. Later he was to exchange

I. God Appears to Moses (3:1–6)

The burning bush had a threefold significance. It was a picture of God (Deut. 33:16), for it revealed His glory and power, yet it was not consumed. Moses needed to be reminded of the glory and power of God, for he was about to undertake an impossible task. Second, the bush symbolized Israel going through the fire of affliction, but not consumed. How often nations have tried to exterminate the Jews, yet have failed! Finally, the bush illustrated Moses—a humble shepherd, who with God’s help would become a fire that could not be put out! Note that Moses was brought to the place where he bowed before God and adored Him in wonder, for this is the true beginning of Christian service. Servants who know how to take off their shoes in humility can be used of God to walk in power. Later we see that before God called Isaiah, He revealed His glory (Isa. 6). The memory of the burning bush must have encouraged Moses during many a trying mile in the wilderness.

Ver. 24. And God heard their groaning, &c.] The petitions they put up to him with groans and cries: and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; that he would bring heir seed out of a land not theirs, in which they were strangers, and were afflicted, into the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.

Ver. 25. And God looked upon the children of Israel, &c.] With an eye of pity and compassion, and saw all the hardships they laboured under, and all the injuries that were done unto them: and God had respect unto them; had a favourable regard to them; or knew not only them, the Israelites, and loved them, and approved of them, and owned them as his own, all which words of knowledge sometimes signify; but he knew their sorrows and sufferings, and took notice of what was done to them secretly; see ch. 3:7.

Ver. 2. And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, &c.] Not a created angel, but the Angel of God’s presence and covenant, the eternal Word and Son of God; since he is afterwards expressly called Jehovah, and calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which a created angel would never do: the appearance was, in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush; not in a tall, lofty, spreading oak or cedar, but in a low thorny bramble-bush, which it might have been thought would have been consumed in an instant of time: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed; this was not imaginary, but a real thing; there was such a bush, and Jehovah appeared in it in this manner, and though it was all on fire yet was not consumed, but remained entire after it: reference is frequently had to it as a matter of fact, Deut. 33:16; Mark. 12:26; Acts 7:30, 35. Artapanus, an Heathen writer, had got some hint of it; his account is this, that while Moses was praying to God, and entreating the afflictions of his people might cease, he was propitious to him, and on a sudden fire broke out of the earth and burned, when there was no matter nor any thing of a woody sort in the place: nor need this account Moses gives be thought incredible, when so many things similar to it are affirmed by Heathen writers, who speak of a whole forest in flames without fire, and of a spear that burned for two hours, and yet nothing of it consumed; and of a servant’s coat all on fire, and yet after it was extinguished no trace or mark of the flames were to be seen on it; and several other things of the like kind are related by Huetiush out of various authors: as to the mystical signification of this bush, some make it to be a type of Christ, and of his manifestation in the flesh; of the union of the two natures in him, and of their distinction of the glory of the one, and of the meanness of the other; of his sustaining the wrath of God, and remaining fearless and unhurt by it; and of his delivering and preserving his people from it: the Jews commonly interpret it of the people of Israel, in the furnace of affliction in Egypt, and yet not consumed; nay, the more they were afflicted the more they grew; and it may be a symbol of the church and people of God, in all ages, under affliction and distress: they are like to a thorn-bush both for their small quantity, being few, and for their quality, in themselves weak and strengthless, mean and low; have about them the thorns of corruptions and temptations, and who are often in the fire of afflictions and persecutions, yet are not consumed; which is owing to the person, presence, power, and grace of Christ being among them; see the note on Acts 7:30.

Ver. 3. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, &c.] From the place where he was, and the flock he was feeding, and get nearer to the bush, which seems to have been on one side of him and not directly before him: and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt; inquire into, and find out, if he could, the reason of this strange and amazing sight; how it could be that a bush should be on fire and yet not burnt up, which might have been expected would have been destroyed at once; for what is a thorn or bramble-bush to devouring flames of fire, as these appeared to be?

Ver. 4. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, &c.] Who is before called the Angel of the Lord, here Jehovah, the omniscient and omnipresent Being, who observing Moses turning aside and going onward to gratify his curiosity, by examining more narrowly this strange phenomenon: God called unto him out of the midst of the bush; with an articulate voice, being the eternal Word: and said, Moses, Moses; for the Lord knows his people distinctly, and can call them by name; and the repetition of his name not only shews familiarity and a strong vehement affection for him, but haste to stop him, that he might proceed no further; and this was done in order to stir him up to hearken to what would be said to him: and he said, here am I; ready to hear what shall be said, and to obey whatever is commanded.

Ver. 5. And he said, draw not nigh hither, &c.] Keep a proper distance: put off thy shoes from off thy feet; dust and dirt cleaving to shoes, and these being ordered to be put off from the feet, the instrument of walking, shew that those that draw nigh to God, and are worshippers of him, ought to be of pure and holy lives and conversations: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground; not that there was any inherent holiness in this spot of ground more than in any other, which ground is not capable of; but a relative holiness on account of the presence of God here at this time, and was not permanent, only whilst a pure and holy God was there: hence, in after-times, the temple being the place of the divine residence, the priests there performed their services barefooted, nor might a common person enter into the temple with his shoes on; and to this day the Jews go to their synagogues barefooted on the day of atonementl, to which Juvenal seems to have respect; and from hence came the Nudipedalia among the Heathens, and that known symbol of Pythagorasn, “sacrifice and worship with naked feet:” in this manner the priests of Diana sacrificed to her among the Cretians and other people; and so the priests of Hercules did the samep; the Brahmans among the Indians never go into their temples without plucking off their shoes; so the Ethiopian Christians, imitating Jews and Gentiles, never go into their places of public worship but with naked feetr, and the same superstition the Turks and Mahometans observe.

Ver. 6. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy fathers, &c.] Of every one of his fathers next mentioned: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; with whom the covenant respecting the land of Canaan, and the promise of the blessed seed the Messiah, was made: this again shews that the Angel of the Lord that now appeared was God himself, Jehovah the son of God. Our Lord makes use of this text to prove the resurrection of the dead against the Sadducees, God being not the God of the dead, but of the living; Mark 12:26, 27 and Moses hid his face; wrapped it in his mantle or cloak, as Elijah did, 1 Kings 19:13 because of the glory of the divine Majesty now present, and conscious of his own sinfulness and unworthiness: for he was afraid to look upon God; even upon this outward appearance and representation of him in a flame of fire; otherwise the essence of God is not to be looked upon and seen at all, God is invisible; but even this external token and symbol of him was terrible to behold; the thought that God was there filled him with fear, considering the greatness and awfulness of his majesty, and what a poor, weak, and sinful creature he was.

Ver. 7. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, &c.] Or, in seeing I have seen, which not only denotes the certainty of it, as we express it; but the clear, distinct, and full sight he had of it, with sympathy towards them, an affectionate concern for them, and a fixed, settled, determination in his mind to deliver them; he had long took notice of, and had thoroughly observed their affliction, and was afflicted with them in it, and was bent upon their deliverance out of it: and have heard their cry, by reason of their task-masters; who were set over them to see that they did their work, and to lay heavy burdens on them, and afflict them by all manner of ways and methods they could devise; and who abused and beat them for not doing what was not to be done, which made them cry out because of their barbarous usage of them, and cry unto God for help and deliverance: for I know their sorrows; the pains of body they were put unto, and the inward grief and trouble of their minds on account of them.

Ver. 8. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, &c.] Which must be understood consistent with the omnipresence of God, who is everywhere, and strictly speaking cannot be said to remove from place to place, or to descend; but such a way of speaking is used, when he gives some eminent, display of his power or goodness, as here in a wonderful manner he appeared in a burning bush, and manifested himself in a way of grace and kindness to his people, signifying that he would shortly save them: so Christ in our nature came down from heaven to earth, to save his spiritual Israel out of the hands of all their enemies: and to bring them out of that land; the land of Egypt, where they were in bondage, and greatly oppressed: unto a good land, and a large; the land of Canaan, which was not only a good land, but a large one in comparison of Goshen, where the Israelites were pent up and straitened for room through their great increase; and though it was but a small country in itself, and when compared with some others, being but 160 miles from Dan to Beer-sheba, and but 46 from Joppa to Bethlehem, and but 60 from Joppa to Jordan, yet, for so small a country, it had a great deal of good land in it; for Hecatæus, an Heathen writer, says it had in it 300 myriads of acres of the best and most fruitful land: unto a land flowing with milk and honey; which is not to be restrained merely to the abundance of cattle fed here, and the plenty of milk they produced, or the number of bees that swarmed here, and the quantity of honey they made; for the land abounded with other good things, and excellent fruits, as corn, and wine, and oil, and with figs, pomegranates, palm-trees, &c. but this is a proverbial and hyperbolical expression, setting forth the great affluence of all sorts of good things in it, for the necessity and delight of human life: unto the place of the Canaanites; who are mentioned first, as being the general name for the inhabitants of the land, as Aben Ezra suggests, though they are often spoken of as a distinct nation or tribe from the rest, and a principal one, denominated from Canaan the son of Ham: and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: the Hittites and Amorites had their names from Heth and Emor, sons of Canaan; the Perizzites, Aben Ezra says, are the same with Sidon, who was the first-born of Canaan: and the Hivites and Jebusites were the descendants also of sons of Canaan, Gen. 15:16, 17 the Girgashites are not here mentioned, either because they were a lesser people than the rest, as Aben Ezra thinks; or their land was not a land flowing with milk and honey, as Abendana observes; or they were gone out of the land before Israel went into it, according to other Jewish writers, or immediately yielded to Joshua, without fighting against him.

Ver. 9. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, &c.] See ch. 2:23: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them; which is repeated to observe the great notice he took of it; and the reason of his descent and appearance in this wonderful manner, as well as of the urgent necessity of Moses’s going to deliver the people from their oppression.

This burning bush has generally been taken as the emblem of the Church amid the fires of tribulation; but there is a deeper meaning. The fire was the token of God’s presence. The bush was unconsumed, because God’s love is its own fuel. Notice the successive steps: “I have seen”; “heard”; “know”; “am come down”; “will send.” The “cry” of the previous chapter is answered by the “coming down” of this. See Luke 18:7.

Who Can Save Israel? The Certainty of God’s Action (2:23–25)

Exodus 2:23–25 interrupts the story of Moses in the household of his father-in-law in Midian (3:1 continues from 2:15–22). This interjection in 2:23–25 does not address any of the participants immediately involved in the narrative; rather, it provides the privileged reader with a glimpse behind the scenes into the inner working of God’s purposes, with the fundamental assurance that God will indeed intervene. God will act not simply out of compassion for the Israelites’ suffering: “Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning.” Still more fundamentally, God will act because “God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” Israel’s ancestors, the vast commitment that God had entered into long ages past and that extends into the future as guarantee of continuing involvement in the destiny of Israel. The passage thus introduces the key term “covenant.”

It seems likely that there are two complementary concepts of covenant in Exodus and in the wider Pentateuch. On the one hand, the covenant that defines the relationship between God and Israel will come into being at the mountain of God after the exodus from Egypt, as Exodus 19–24 will describe. Covenant at the mountain of God after the exodus is a feature of the reminiscence in Deuteronomy 4–5. There, the mountain is called “Horeb” (Deut 5:2). Exodus 3:1 introduces this distinctive Deuteronomic name, “Horeb,” as the name for the mountain of God. Exodus 3:12 identifies that mountain as the place where Israel will enter into God’s service, as the covenant-making ceremony in Exodus 19:2b–24:8 will later recount. Within that covenant a further covenant resides: God’s promise to give to Israel the land of the Canaanites (Exod 34:10, the “covenant within the covenant”) that is the fulfillment of the covenant that God made with Abram in Genesis 15:18. In Deuteronomy, the gift of land is in accordance with the oath that YHWH swore to the ancestors (see the three key verses in Gen 24:7; 26:3; 50:24 that Deuteronomy alludes to frequently). This promise to give Israel “the land flowing with milk and honey” and to drive out the indigenous population explains why YHWH is about to hear the people’s cry as the continuation of the Moses story in Exodus 3:7–8 notes; it provides the goal of the exodus story in Exodus 23:20; 34:10–11.

On the other hand, Exodus 2:23–25 introduces a complementary idea of covenant. It does not anticipate the making of covenant as a future event at Horeb. Rather, the covenant is long-standing, made in ages past with the ancestors, beginning with Abram in Genesis 17 (the term “covenant” is used thirteen times in Gen 17 alone). The sign of that covenant is circumcision, evidently practiced ever since (contrast the D-version where circumcision is associated with entry into the promised land, Josh 5:2–9, harmonized as a re-circumcision). An arc extends from Genesis 17 (the covenant made) to Exodus 2:24–25 (the covenant recalled) to the circumcision narrative in Exodus 4:19–26 (the covenant applied) to Exodus 6:2–9 (covenant again recalled) and finally to Exodus 12:43–51 that requires circumcision, the sign of belonging to the covenanted people of God, as prerequisite for participation in the Passover. What is going to happen at Sinai (the distinctive term for the mountain of God introduced at Exod 19:1, anticipated in 16:1) is not the making of the covenant, already long established with its sign of circumcision, but the revelation of Law. That revelation of the Law at Sinai will dominate the narrative from Exodus 19:1 through Numbers 10:28. That preoccupation with Law, much of it priestly law, justifies the use of “P,” the traditional label for this material.

A further distinction between the D-version and the P-edition is their distinctive views on the history of the revelation of the divine name YHWH. In the P scheme of things, the revelation of “YHWH” as the name of the God of Israel does not take place until the commissioning of Moses (see 6:2–8). By contrast, in the D-version the generation of Cain already knows that name (Gen 4:26; see Gen 12:8; 13:4 where Abram invokes YHWH). Thus it is notable that Exodus 2:23–25 uses “God” (ʾĕlōhîm) as the designation of Deity, as in the cosmic P-account of creation in Gen 1:1–2:4a. This designation of the Deity who is instrumental in the exodus of Israel from the land of Egypt is appropriate to the wider themes of the P-edition: it is the cosmic God who hears Israel’s sighing and their cry because of their slavery; an international confrontation is about to take place that will have cosmic significance. Meantime, P avoids the personal name of God, “YHWH,” for the Deity’s intimate relationship with Israel until God reveals it in 6:3. By contrast, the D-version uses both YHWH and ʾĕlōhîm in Exod 3:1–4:17 (see already 3:1–2), even before the elucidation to Moses in 3:14–15 of the Name of the God who calls him. (See further on the distinctive emphases of the D-version and the P-edition in the discussion of the chronology of Exod 15:22–19:1.)

Exodus 2 deals with the agonizing question of how the individual can resist institutionalized evil. How can the isolated private citizen take effective action against repression that a totalitarian regime sponsors and imposes with all-powerful military might?

The narrative in Exodus 2 sets the limitations of human response to unspeakable barbarity (vv. 1–22) within the context of God’s enduring purposes (vv. 23–25). In the first twenty-two verses, the human actors have to depend on their own resources of humanity and morality. Only the last three verses allude to the theological factors, the purpose of God that remains constant, embedded in human existence. But meantime, even if these theological factors are present, they are latent and difficult to discern. The point that Gerhard von Rad has made about the Joseph story in Genesis continues to apply in the Exodus narrative: in its “secular style,” God’s saving rule “is concealed in profound worldliness.” The biblical narrator leaves the turbulent course of events, the apparent randomness and unforeseeable outcome of human action, to convey meaning; the agency of God within these historical processes remains hidden.

On the human plane, in Exodus 2:1–22, the actions of female and male humans stand in contrast. The women—Moses’ devoted mother, Pharaoh’s compassionate daughter, and Jethro’s grateful daughters—as natural nurturers of human life fare better in the comparison (see already the midwives in 1:17, 21, bound as “God-fearers” by the universal humanitarian code). The act of kindness, the maintenance of values of natural human response, possesses creative influence that extends far beyond the act itself. At personal risk, Moses’ mother and Pharaoh’s daughter defy the regime by nonviolent acts of civil disobedience.

By contrast, Moses, the chief male character, resorts to physical violence. In Egypt and in Midian, he witnesses acts of violence that move him in moral outrage to intervene with physical force on behalf of the defenseless against the perpetrator. Moses’ actions raise the question, how far is it legitimate to use violence in order to save helpless, innocent victims from tyrannical oppression. Is his action praiseworthy, as one tradition of interpretation maintains [The Endorsement of Moses’ Action in the New Testament], or foolhardy, as his abject flight from Egypt suggests? Given the use of extreme violence against the Egyptians, above all by God, in the continuation of the narrative, Exodus endorses the use of force under appropriate circumstances. In which circumstances is it appropriate? Criteria akin to those developed in connection with the waging of the just war seem applicable [Criteria for the Just War]:

2:23–25 The word for groaning describes a man with broken arms in Ezk 30:24. Four different words for the Israelite outcry and four words for God’s response combine to make a weighty statement of desperation and response. The formality is enhanced in Hebrew by the unusual repetition of the word God as the subject of each verb in vv. 24–25, which also underscores God’s superiority and sovereignty: God heard … God remembered … God saw … and God knew. God’s remembering is more than mental awareness; it implies action in keeping with his covenant promises (Gn 8:1; 19:29; 30:22; Lv 26:42–45; Ps 105:8; 106:44–46; Jr 14:21; Am 1:9). The command to “remember” the Sabbath Day is parallel to the command to “keep” the Sabbath (Ex 20:8; Dt 5:12).

“Knew” (1:8; 5:2; 6:3, 7; 7:5; 16:12; 18:11), like “remember,” typically involves more than awareness of information. Here it carries the thought of having regard for something or someone and of exercising personal concern (Ps 31:7; 37:18; 144:3; Hs 13:4). Because God knew their situation and took action, the Israelites and others would come to know him in a new way. This verse assumes that readers are familiar with the promises that God had made and confirmed by covenants with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gn 12:1–3, 7; 13:14–17; 15:1–21; 17:1–21; 18:17–19; 21:12–13; 22:15–18; 28:3–4, 10–22; 32:9–12; 35:9–15; 46:1–4; 48:3–4, 15–16; 50:24–25).

3:1 Many ancient gods were associated with a mountain where they were believed to live. The Lord was by no means limited to this mountain, however, as his actions at other mountains and other places make clear (e.g., Gn 22:14; 1Kg 18:20–45; 2Kg 6:17; Is 2:3; Ezk 28:14, 16; Zch 8:3).

3:2–3 The angel of the LORD was active in Genesis to inform, rebuke, protect, and provide guidance and success (Gn 16:7–11; 21:17; 22:11, 15; 24:7, 40; 31:11). The account in Ex 3 describes the following conversation as directly between the Lord and Moses, without concern for how the event occurred. Fire is frequently associated with special displays of God’s presence (Ex 13:21–22; 19:18; 40:38; Dt 4:11–24, 33–36; Jdg 6:21; 13:20; 1Kg 18:24, 38; 2Ch 7:1–3; Ps 18:8, 12–13; 50:3; 97:1–5; Is 66:15–16; Dn 7:9).

3:4–6 The possibility of danger implicit in human contact with God is reflected throughout Scripture (19:21–24; 24:11; 33:20–23; Gn 32:30; Jdg 13:20–23; Is 6:5; Ac 9:3–9; 1Tm 6:15–16; Rv 19:11–21). This place was holy, not because of any quality intrinsic to it, but because of God’s presence and activity there. The tabernacle would be a place set apart by the Lord’s presence (Ex 29:43–44). To stay at a distance and remove footwear was then and is now in many cultures a sign of respect and humility. The Lord’s self-identification, which began, I am the God of your father, connected this event with the past both by naming the patriarchs and by the wording of the statement (Gn 15:7; 17:1; 26:24; 28:13; 31:13; 35:11; 46:3). It also had the ring of a formal pronouncement by a king (Gn 41:44).

3:7 The emphatic construction rendered have observed could also be rendered “have carefully watched.” The misery and sufferings of God’s people never escape his notice or his concern.

3:8 In Egypt the Israelite flocks were limited to the region of Goshen (see Gn 46:32–34). By comparison, the new land would be spacious … flowing with milk and honey—resentful Levites later used this phrase to describe Egypt (Nm 16:12–14). In the land of Canaan, such abundance depended on rain. The word for honey may also describe a sweet syrup made from boiling dates, grapes, and other fruit.

3:9–10 Moses’s fear is understandable. He knew the power of Egypt and its pharaoh, and he did not yet know God’s power.

3:11–12 Moses’s question—Who am I?—reminds us of the question one of the Hebrews asked Moses in 2:14: “Who made you …?” The answer to these questions has nothing to do with Moses’s upbringing or abilities. The Lord’s promise to Moses, I will certainly be with you, depends for its value on who the Lord is; it matters that he is present because he is willing and able to act. This promise gave Moses grounds for authority that were missing earlier (2:11–15) and continues the important theme of God’s personal involvement in the lives of his people (Gn 28:15; 31:3; 46:4; 48:21; Ex 33:14–16; Nm 14:43; Jos 1:9; Zch 8:23; Mt 28:20; Jn 14:16; Heb 13:5). To worship God with all the Israelites at the mountain where God and Moses were speaking would be a sign for Moses because he would be able to look back and know that this worship was possible only because of what the Lord had done (Ex 18:1–12; 24:1–11).