Exodus, Chapter 3
1
Now Moses was shepherding 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 the mountain of God, to Horeb.
2
And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and noticed that the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3
And Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4
And when Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, [the Speech of] God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am.
5
And he said, Don't come any closer: take off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.
6
Moreover he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.
7
And Yahweh said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8
and [by my Speech] I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a land good and large, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9
And now, look, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me: moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10
Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people the sons of Israel out of Egypt.
11
And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel out of Egypt?
12
And he said, Certainly [my Speech] will be with you; and this will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you⁺ will serve God on this mountain.
13
And Moses said to God, Look, when I come to the sons of Israel, and will say to them, The God of your⁺ fathers has sent me to you⁺; and they will say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them?
14
And [the Speech of] God said to Moses, I AM WHO ALWAYS IS: and he said, Thus you will say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you⁺.[fn]
15
And God said moreover to Moses, Thus you will say to the sons of Israel, Yahweh, 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.[fn]
16
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, Yahweh, 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:
17
and I have said, [by my Speech] I will bring you⁺ up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.
18
And they will listen to your voice: and you will come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you⁺ will say to him, Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us: and now let us go, we pray you, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.
19
And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you⁺ leave to go, not even with a mighty hand [of God].
20
And I will put forth my hand, and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of it: and after that he will let you⁺ go.
21
And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it will come to pass, that, when you⁺ go, you⁺ will not go empty.
22
But every woman will ask of her neighbor, and of her who sojourns in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and you⁺ will put them on your⁺ sons, and on your⁺ daughters; and you⁺ will despoil the Egyptians.
Footnotes
14
I AM WHO ALWAYS IS in this verse is literally, 'I AM WHO I AM'. The words translated 'I AM' and 'ALWAYS IS' are based on the same word in Hebrew. However, it is in a form which can be in the present, past, or future depending on the context. For example, it is the same word translated as "I was" in Psalm 50:21, "I am" in Ruth 2:13, and "I will be" in Exodus 3:12. It is likely that 'who always is' in this verse has essentially the same meaning as 'who is and who was and who is to come' in Revelation 1:4, 1:8 and 4:8. See also Targum Pseudo-Jonathan at Exodus 3:14.
15
Yahweh, relates to the similar Hebrew word 'I AM' in verse 14. Accordingly, verse 14 appears to serve as the basis for the name 'Yahweh' introduced in verse 15.