Preface: When walking his flock along the edge of the desert-wilderness, Moses comes upon a burning bush, and when he approaches it to get a better look, he finds that it is a manifestation of God.

God tells Moses that He is aware of the sufferings of the sons of Israel and that He will bring them to the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Then God tells Moses that he will be God’s point man.

Bible Summary: Moses saw a burning bush. God told him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses asked God his name and God said, "I am who I am." 

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Exodus. This will be the most extensive examination of Exodus 3, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 3:

Introduction

         vv.     1–6           God, as a Burning Bush, Speaks to Moses

         vv.     7–8           God has Seen the Sufferings of His People

         vv.     9–22         God Gives Instructions to Moses to Liberate the Sons of Israel from Slavery

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Exodus 3

         Introduction         The Prequel of Exodus 3

         Introduction         The Principals of Exodus 3

         Introduction         The Places of Exodus 3

         Introduction         Timeline for Exodus 3

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 3

         Introduction         Outlines of Exodus 3 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         Synopsis of Exodus 3 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Exodus 1–4A)

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for Exodus 3

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Exodus 3)

         v.       1              Chiasmos of Exodus 3:1–4:17 (by Hajime Murai)

         v.       1              Map of Midian and Mount Horeb

         v.       1              Mount Horeb - Sinai by Francis F. Frith (an 1858 photograph)

         v.       2              Links to Doctrines on the Preincarnate Christ

         v.       4              Repeated Names, by Wells of Living Water Commentary

         v.       4              God’s Preparation of Moses

         v.       5              Moses Before the Burning Bush (a graphic)

         v.       9              Chiasm in Exodus 2:23–3:9 (a graphic)

         v.      10              Acts 7:30–39, 51–54

         v.      14              A Discussion of God’s Name—It’s Meaning and Pronunciation

         v.      14              Jesus Speaks of Himself as the I am

         v.      14              Is G-d more respectful than God?

         v.      14              How Should We Deal with the Pronunciation of JHWH?

         v.      14              The Actual Pronunciation of God's Name

         v.      15              Reviewing Exodus 3:13–14

         v.      17              Questions and Answers about the Jews in Egypt

         v.      20              Signs and Miracles

         v.      22              Preview of Coming Attractions

         v.      22              40 Acres and a Mule

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Exodus 3 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Exodus 3

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Exodus 3

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Exodus 3

         Summary            B. H. Carroll Summarizes Exodus

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Exodus 3

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Exodus 3

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Exodus 3

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Exodus 3

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Exodus 3

——————————

An Introduction to Exodus 3

I ntroduction: For approximately 40 years, Moses has been living in the land of Midian, married to a priest’s daughter. We do not know when Moses believed in the Revealed God. It is possible that this occurred while Moses was living in the land of Midian. Certainly Moses has experienced some spiritual growth during this time period, although it is difficult to gauge how much, as he will resist God in the next chapter.

Moses’ new father-in-law (Jethro) was a priest, but we have no idea if he had any sort of a following or the only ones interested in what he had to say were his daughters and Moses. It is my estimation that, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had a congregation (of sorts) which consisted of his daughters and no men, other than Moses. The reason for this assumption is, when Moses stood up to the shepherds who harassed Jethro’s daughters, Jethro immediately sent his daughters back to get Moses and he married the eldest daughter. This would suggest that, whatever Jethro’s ministry was, it probably did not include any young males.

Therefore, all of Moses’ training and preparation took place in a congregation of approximately nine persons. Whatever this early training was, Jethro prepared Moses to the point where God was ready to use Him.

Furthermore, in God's eternal record, His Word, we will have recorded permanently the name of this priest living out in the middle of an Arabian desert, unknown and seemingly unimportant. On the other hand, God treats the Egyptian Pharaohs all as though they are the same person. Their names are not recorded because they received all the glory that they will ever get in their lifetimes as Pharaohs. Now they are persons lost to us in history. We can at best make educated guesses as to the identities of the Pharaoh's during Moses' time.

In chapter 3, we return to Moses in Midian. Time has passed. Moses is nearing the age of 80. He will be called into service by God in this chapter.

Timeline for Exodus 3

——————————

God, as a Burning Bush, Speaks to Moses

Acts 7:30–33

Moses at the Burning Bush (I continue to retain the NKJV subheadings)

During the first 40 years of his life, Moses was being trained to become Pharaoh over all Egypt. However, when he killed an Egyptian, the authorities looked for Moses to execute him (probably at the behest of a rival family member). Exodus 2:1–15

In the second half of Exodus 2 and all of 3, this is the second 40 year period of Moses’ life, where he is in a Midian desert-wilderness area, living with his father-in-law Jethro, his wife, and two sons. As discussed previously, I believe that this is where Moses enjoyed most of his spiritual growth. This is never stated outright, but there are clues.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Exodus.html and first published in 1862.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so was Moses grazing a flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, a priest of Midian. And so he leads his flock after the wilderness and so he comes unto a mountain of the Elohim Horeb-ward.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (trans. Etheridge)      .

Targum (Onkelos)                  And Mosheh tended the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the rabba of Midian, and he led the flock to the place of the best pastures of the wilderness, and came to the mountain on which was revealed the glory of the Lord, unto Horeb. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   But Mosheh was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the rabba of Midian; and he had led the flock to a pleasant place of pasturage which is behind the desert, and had come to the mountain on which was revealed the glory of the Lord, even Horeb.

Jerusalem targum                  .

Latin Vulgate                          Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Now Mosha was keeping the flock of Yethro, 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.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    NOW Moses was feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

Septuagint (Greek)                God calls Moses. Ex.3.1-22

And Moses was feeding the flock of Jothor his father-in-law, the priest of Madiam; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the mount of Choreb.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Now Moses was looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he took the flock to the back of the waste land and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Easy English                          Moses and the burning bush

Moses fed the animals of Jethro the priest of Midian and he kept them safely. Jethro was his wife’s father (the same person as Reuel). Moses led the animals to the far side of the desert. He came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Easy-to-Read Version            The Burning Bush

Moses’ father-in-law was named Jethro. Jethro was a priest of Midian. Moses took care of Jethro’s sheep. One day Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He went to a mountain called Horeb, the mountain of God.

Good News Bible (TEV)         God Calls Moses

One day while Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, he led the flock across the desert and came to Sinai, the holy mountain.

Names of God Bible               Moses at the Burning Bush

Moses was taking care of the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. As he led the sheep to the far side of the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of Elohim.

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Moses at the burning bush

Moses was taking care of the flock for his father-in-law Jethro, Midian’s priest. He led his flock out to the edge of the desert, and he came to God’s mountain called Horeb.

Contemporary English V.       One day, Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and Moses decided to lead them across the desert to Sinai, the holy mountain.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Century Version             The Burning Bush

One day Moses was taking care of Jethro’s flock. (Jethro was the priest of Midian and also Moses’ father-in-law.) When Moses led the flock to the west side of the desert, he came to Sinai, the mountain of God.

New Life Version                    Now Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the religious leader of Midian. He led the flock to the west side of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

New Living Translation           Moses and the Burning Bush

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          It was while Moses was out tending the flock of his father-in-law (His Excellence, the Priest of Midian) that he'd led the sheep into the desert to the dry mountain (Horeb).

Beck’s American Translation .

International Standard V        God Calls Moses

Meanwhile, Moses continued tending the sheep that belonged to his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the sheep to the western [Or the back part of the] desert and came to Horeb, God’s mountain, where [The Heb. lacks where].

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Moses, in the meanwhile, had married the daughter of Jethro, priest of Madian, and was doing shepherd’s work for him. Deep into the desert he led his flock, till he reached God’s own mountain of Horeb.

Translation for Translators     God talked to Moses from inside a burning bush, and told him to lead his people out of Egypt

Moses/I was taking care of the sheep that belonged to his/my father-in-law Jethro, the priest of the Midian people. He/I led the flock across the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain that was later called Sinai, the ◂mountain that had been dedicated to God/taboo mountain►.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Awful Scroll Bible                   Moses is to have come about he tending the small cattle of Jethro, he being his father-in-law, the priest of the Midianites. He was to drive the small cattle behind the wilderness, and was to come to the mountain of he of mighty ones, even Horeb.

Conservapedia                       Moses lived as the shepherd of the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the western side of the desert, coming to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. The "back side" of any mountain or region is always the western side—the side away from the sunrise.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                God’s Revelation in the Burning Bush.

Moses, however, was shepherding the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he had led the sheep to the far side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, in Horeb,...

Lexham English Bible            Yahweh’s Plan to Rescue the Israelites

And Moses was a shepherd with the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west [of] the desert, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.

Tree of Life Version                Angel of Adonai in a Burning Bush

Now Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. So he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness, coming to the mountain of God, Horeb.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Moses was herding the sheep of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian. And he drove the sheep to the end of the steppe, and he came to God's mountain, Choreva (Horeb).

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  The burning bush

Moses pastured the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. One day he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the Mountain of God.

The Heritage Bible                 .

New American Bible (2002)   Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

The mountain of God: probably given this designation because of the divine apparitions which took place there, such as on this occasion and when the Israelites were there after the departure from Egypt

New American Bible (2011)   Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

[3:1–4:17] After the introduction to the narrative in 2:23–25, the commissioning itself falls into three sections: God’s appearance under the aspect of a burning bush (3:1–6); the explicit commission (3:7–10); and an extended dialogue between Moses and God, in the course of which Moses receives the revelation of God’s personal name. Although in the J source of the Pentateuch people have known and invoked God’s personal name in worship since the time of Seth (Gn 4:26), for the E and P sources (see 6:2–4) God first makes this name publicly available here through Moses.

[3:1] The mountain of God, Horeb: traditionally, “Horeb” is taken to be an alternate name in E source material and Deuteronomy (e.g., Dt 1:2) for what in J and P is known as Mount Sinai, the goal of the Israelites’ journey after leaving Egypt and the site of the covenant God makes with Israel. However, it is not clear that originally the two names reflect the same mountain, nor even that “Horeb” refers originally to a mountain and not simply the dry, ruined region (from Hebrew horeb, “dryness, devastation”) around the mountain. Additionally, the position of “Horeb” at the end of the verse may indicate that the identification of the “mountain of God” with Horeb (= Sinai?) represents a later stage in the evolution of the tradition about God’s meeting with Moses. The phrase “mountain of God” simply anticipates the divine apparitions which would take place there, both on this occasion and after the Israelites’ departure from Egypt; alternatively, it means that the place was already sacred or a place of pilgrimage in pre-Israelite times. In any case, the narrative offers no indications of its exact location.

New Jerusalem Bible             .

New RSV                               .

Revised English Bible            While tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, priest of Midian, Moses led the flock along the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           (iv) Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev.

exeGeses companion Bible   THE BURNING BUSH

And Mosheh tends the flock of Yithro his in law

the priest of Midyan:

and he drives the flock

to the backside of the wilderness

and comes to the mountain of Elohim - to Horeb.

Hebraic Transliteration           .

Hebrew Names Version         .

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Now Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, drove the flock into the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Judaica Press Complete T.    .

Kaplan Translation                 The Burning Bush

Moses tended the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, sheik of Midian. He led the flock to the edge of the desert, and he came to God's Mountain, in the Horeb area. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

Jethro Yithro in Hebrew. See Exodus 18:1; note on Exodus 2:18.

Horeb area (Ramban on Deuteronomy 1:6). This was the area around Sinai (Exodus 17:6, Deuteronomy 1:6, 4:10, cf. Ben Sirah 48:7). Sinai is thus sometimes referred to as 'the mountain of Horeb' (Exodus 33:6). Others, however, say that Horeb was the lower of the two peaks of Sinai (cf. Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 1:6). Most early sources identify Mount Sinai with Jebel Musa or Mount Catherine on the southern Sinai peninsula, a five day journey (200 miles) from Egypt, and some 40 miles from the Red Sea (Ma'asoth Binyamin 24; Masa Rabbi Obadiah Bertenoro 3). According to this, Moses had traveled approximately 100 miles along the west coast of the Gulf of Aqaba.

There are some difficulties, with this, however, since this 'Mountain of God' seems to have been on a direct route between Midian and Egypt (Exodus 4:27), and not more than a three day journey (some 120 miles) from where the Israelites lived (Exodus 3:18). On the basis of this, it may be conjectured that Mount Sinai was Jebel Ya'llaq (some 32 miles from the northern end of the Gulf of Suez) or Jebel Sinn Bishr (60 miles due east of Bitter Lakes). Obviously, this question is very important in determining the route of the Exodus.

The area was called Horeb (Chorebh) because of its dryness (Ibn Ezra). See note on Exodus 3:2.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Now Moshe was ro’eh (shepherding) the tzon of Yitro his khoten (fatherin- law), the kohen Midyan; and he led the tzon to the backside of the midbar, and came to the Har HaElohim, even to Chorev.

Restored Names Version       .

The Scriptures 1998              And Mosheh was shepherding the flock of Yithro his father-in-law, the priest of Miyan. And he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to Ḥorĕ, the mountain of Elohim.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Burning Bush

Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro (Reuel) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb (Sinai), the mountain of God.

The Expanded Bible              The Burning Bush

One day Moses was ·taking care of [shepherding; grazing] Jethro’s flock. (Jethro was the priest of Midian and also Moses’ father-in-law.) When Moses led the flock to the west side of the ·desert [wilderness], he came to ·Sinai [^LHoreb; ^Canother name for Mount Sinai], the mountain of God.

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-6

The Burning Bush

Now Moses kept, was pasturing, the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, whose given name was Reuel, Exodus 2:18; and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, beyond the wilderness which separated the country of the Midianites from the Sinaitic mountain range, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb, named so here on account of its later importance in the history of Israel. Even after the lower valleys are dried up, the upper regions of these mountains are still green with rich pastures.

NET Bible®                             Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert [Or “west of the desert”] and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb [“Horeb” is another name for Mount Sinai]. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote. Language footnotes will be placed in the Hebrew exegesis. Some footnotes will quoted elsewhere in this document.

Syndein/Thieme                     Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father in law, {name means 'his abundance' - also called Reuel in Exodus 2:18} the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of 'Elohiym/Godhead . . . even to Horeb. {name means 'desert' - another name for Mount Sinai}.

The Voice                               Now one day when Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, he guided the flock far away from its usual pastures to the other side of the desert and came to a place known as Horeb, where the mountain of God stood.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Brenner’s Mechanical Trans....and "Mosheh ^{Plucked out}" |had| been feeding the flocks of "Yitro ^{His remainder}", his in-law, the administrator of "Mid'yan ^Quarrel", and he drove the flocks (behind) the wilderness and he came to the hill of the "Elohiym ^Powers", unto "Hhorev ^{Parching heat}",...

Concordant Literal Version    As for Moses, he had become a shepherd of the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. Once he was leading the flock behind the wilderness and came to the Mount of the One, Elohim, to Horeb.

A Conservative Version         .

Green’s Literal Translation    And Moses was feeding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock behind the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.

NASB                                     The Burning Bush

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

New European Version          God Appears to Moses at the Burning Bush

Now 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.

New King James Version       Moses at the Burning Bush

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Brenner’s Mechanical Trans..

World English Bible                Now 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.

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             And Moses has been feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian, and he leads the flock behind the wilderness, and comes in unto the mount of God, to Horeb.

The gist of this passage:     Moses leads Jethro’s flock to the back of the desert near the mount of God, to Horeb.

Translation: Moses was grazing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law,...

Moses, in his life, will lead 3 or 4 very different lives. He was prepared to be the Pharaoh of Egypt for the first 40 years of his life. Then he walked out among the people, those to whom he was genetically related (fellow Hebrews) and he was quite shocked as to what was happening to them in slavery. As we saw, he reacted so strongly, that he killed one slave driver.

At this point in time, he is leading a quiet life, working hard as a sheepherder, as a married man. He may be getting his head together, having changed lives so completely.

I believe that Moses experienced some spiritual growth during this period of time, living with a priest as his father-in-law.

In the not too distant future, Moses will go head-to-head with the new Pharaoh of Egypt, displaying leadership and strength that Moses himself did not know he had. This life will take place over a few month’s time (give or take), but it is a particularly intense period of his life.

Finally, Moses will lead his people in the desert, dealing with one of the most recalcitrant generations of Jews ever bred. He will receive the Law of God to give to his people; but then, he would deal with rebellions, complaints, and irrational behavior for most of the rest of his 40 years. He will see God kill an entire generation of Jews.

This is the first time that we hear the name of Moses’ father-in-law—Jethro. Whereas, in most cases, a woman becomes a part of her husband’s family; Moses, instead, becomes a part of his wife’s family. Time will tell that Moses is closer to his father-in-law than he is to his wife. He is called Reuel elsewhere.

Moses' father-in-law obviously had two names, both Reuel (or Raguel) in Exodus 2:18 and Jethro in Exodus 3:1 (see also Exodus 4:18 and Num. 10:29). For anyone who has had a brother nicknamed Junior or Bubba, or anyone who went by their middle name instead of their first name, this is easily understood.

Translation: ...the priest of Midian.

There seems to be a great deal of disagreement as to what this means. I understand this to mean that Jethro represents the people of his land before God; and that he offers up sacrifices on behalf of himself and others. Everything that we hear about Jethro seems to suggest that he is a very wise man and a man of good character. Therefore, there is no reason to think that he is anything but a man of God.

The priesthood of God would become confined to the tribe of Levi, but that will not be for another 50 or 100 years. We do not know what happened outside of the Jewish race when it came to the priesthood. Did all of it apostatize?

Exodus 3:1a-b Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro [= Reuel] his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.

You will recall the Moses came across the daughters of Jethro and he stood up for them against some shepherds who were giving the women a hard time at what appears to be the community well. Jethro was impressed and Moses eventually married one of his daughters.

Jethro is called Reuel back in Exodus 2:18.

Throughout the book of Exodus, it will become clear that Moses has a better relationship with his father-in-law than he does with his wife. There are indications that Moses’ wife resisted his authority and did not respect Moses as she should have. There is a case to be made that she may have prepared Moses to deal with a constantly rebellious generation of Israelites.

Translation: He led his flock behind the desert-wilderness...

It is not clear exactly what is meant here. Moses is apparently going along the side of the desert-wilderness and not into it, and John Owens suggests that this is the west side of the desert-wilderness. We have no idea if this is a regular route that Moses takes, or whether this is new for this particular day.

Apparently, It was not abnormal for a shepherd to take the flock for a very long distance away, being gone for months at a time. They did not stay in their immediate area because there was room around them and so they did not use up the land and its resources. As Freeman points out, the Midianites with their borders along the eastern portion of Edom, took their flocks as far north as Gilgead and Bashan and as far south as the Ælanitic Gulf.

If this is along the edge of the desert, that would make perfect sense, as there would be little reason to lead one’s flock into the desert. Chôrêb (חֹרֵב) [pronounced kho-RABE] means waste, desert, desolation, desert. Not much of a mountain to go to for scenery. It may have been called the mountain of God because of the following incident.

Translation: ...and he came to the mountain of Elohim near [lit., toward] Horeb.

Moses comes to the mountain of God, which is near Horeb. Horeb is the same as Mount Sinai.

Map of Midian and Mount Horeb; taken from Pinterest; accessed June 7, 2016.

This suggests quite a long trip for Moses, if the map is accurate.

Very little is said about Moses marriage during this time period; but later, it will become clear that he and his wife did not see eye-to-eye. If memory serves, she will desert him at least two times.

I assume that this is a normal range of movement for a shepherd and perhaps his movement was like this in order to not over- graze any area.

Exodus 3:1 Moses was out grazing Jethro’s flock of sheep and goats (now, Jethro is Moses’ father-in-law as well as being the priest of Midian). Moses led this flock along the west side of the desert-wilderness, coming to the Mountain of Elohim, which is near Horeb. (NKJV)

Exodus 3:1 Moses was grazing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led his flock behind the desert-wilderness and he came to the mountain of Elohim near [lit., toward] Horeb. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Kukis paraphrase)

The flocks had to be led around the desert- wilderness to find vegetation to eat, to be exercised, and then watered. I believe that this area of the world was much greener than it is today. This verse does suggest that taking the flocks out was far more than a single daily walk. Moses might be gone for a week at a time. No doubt he enjoyed the beauty and the solitude.

Mount Horeb - Sinai by Francis F. Frith (an 1858 photograph); from the Museum of Photographic Arts on Flickr; accessed February 28, 2018.

Horeb appears to be the name for the entire mountain range, of which Mount Sinai is a part. This range is called Jebel Musa today.

It is unclear why this is known as the Mountain of God at this point in time. I believe that it is more like that Moses, recounting these events at a later time, knew this as the mountain of God from his later experience. There is no reason to suppose that Moses has a diary that he is keeping right at this time. Later, when in the desert, leading his people, Moses will perhaps have the time to write about the events leading him to that point. By that time, Sinai would be known as the mountain of God. I believe this to be the most logical explanation for this designation being introduced at this time.

If there was any reason for this to be known as the Mountain of God during this period of the narrative, it is not explained to us. I don’t believe that there was.

As a shepherd in Midian, this set of mountains meant one thing to Moses; but when he led the children of Israel here, Sinai took on a much different meaning (this seems like a logical assumption to me).