Exodus 3:2-5 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 3:1-6

The years of the life of Moses are remarkably divided into three forties: the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh's court, the second a shepherd in Midian, the third a king in Jeshurun; so changeable is the life of men, especially the life of good men. He had now finished his second forty, when he received his commission to bring Israel out of Egypt. Note, Sometimes it is long before God calls his servants out of that work which of old he designed them for, and has been graciously... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:2

And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him ,.... 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:3

And Moses said, I will now turn aside ,.... 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:4

And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see ,.... 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:5

And he said, draw not nigh hither ,.... 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, show 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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:2

The angel of the Lord - Not a created angel certainly; for he is called יהוה Jehovah , Exodus 3:4 , etc., and has the most expressive attributes of the Godhead applied to him, Exodus 3:14 , etc. Yet he is an angel, מלאך malach , a messenger, in whom was the name of God, Exodus 23:21 ; and in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Colossians 2:9 ; and who, in all these primitive times, was the Messenger of the covenant, Malachi 3:1 . And who was this but Jesus,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:5

Put off thy shoes - It is likely that from this circumstance all the eastern nations have agreed to perform all the acts of their religious worship barefooted. All the Mohammedans, Brahmins, and Parsees do so still. The Jews were remarked for this in the time of Juvenal; hence he speaks of their performing their sacred rites barefooted; Sat. vi., ver. 158: Observant ubi festa mero pede sabbata reges . The ancient Greeks did the same. Jamblichus, in the life of Pythagoras, tells us that... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:2

Verse 2 2.And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him. It was necessary that he should assume a visible form, that he might be seen by Moses, not as he was in his essence, but as the infirmity of the human mind could comprehend him. For thus we must believe that God, as often as he appeared of old to the holy patriarchs, descended in some way from his majesty, that he might reveal himself as far as was useful, and as far as their comprehension would admit. The same, too, is to be said of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:3

Verse 3 3.And Moses said, I will now turn aside. It is certain that his mind was disposed to reverence from no rashness, but by divine inspiration. Although not yet accustomed to visions, he still perceives that, this is no unmeaning spectacle, but that some mystery was contained in it, which he must by no means neglect, and to the knowledge of which he was divinely called. In this, too, we must observe his tractableness, in turning aside to learn. For it often happens that God presents himself... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:4

Verse 4 4.God called unto him out of the midst of the bush. In the first place, my readers will observe that, as is the case in almost all visions, it was not a voiceless spectacle to alarm the holy man, but that instruction accompanied it by which his mind might obtain encouragement. For there would be no use in visions, if the senses of those who see them were kept in alarm. But although God was unwilling to terrify his servant, yet, in two ways, he claims authority and reverence for his... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 3:1-6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 3:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:2

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 3:4

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