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Êxodo 3

BLIVRE · Chapter 3/40

1E apascentando Moisés as ovelhas de Jetro seu sogro, sacerdote de Midiã, levou as ovelhas ao outro lado do deserto, e veio a Horebe, monte de Deus.

2E apareceu-lhe o anjo do SENHOR em uma chama de fogo em meio de uma sarça: e ele olhou, e viu que a sarça ardia em fogo, e a sarça não se consumia.

3Então Moisés disse: Irei eu agora, e verei esta grande visão, por que causa a sarça não se queima.

4E quando o SENHOR viu que ia ver, Deus o chamou do meio da sarça, e disse: Moisés, Moisés! E ele respondeu: Eis-me aqui.

5E disse: Não te aproximes daqui; tira teus calçados de teus pés, porque o lugar em que estás é terra santa.

6E disse: Eu sou o Deus de teu pai, Deus de Abraão, Deus de Isaque, Deus de Jacó. Então Moisés cobriu seu rosto, porque teve medo de olhar a Deus.

7E disse o SENHOR: Vi a aflição do meu povo que está no Egito, e ouvi seu clamor por causa de seus opressores; pois conheço suas angústias.

8Por isso desci para livrá-los da mão dos egípcios, e tirá-los daquela terra, fazendo-os subir para uma terra boa e larga, para uma terra que flui leite e mel, para o lugar dos cananeus, dos heteus, dos amorreus, dos perizeus, dos heveus e dos jebuseus.

9Eis que o clamor dos filhos de Israel veio a mim, e tenho visto a opressão com que os egípcios os oprimem.

10Vem, pois, agora, e te enviarei a Faraó, para que tires meu povo, os filhos de Israel, do Egito.

11Então Moisés respondeu a Deus: Quem sou eu, para que vá a Faraó, e tire do Egito aos filhos de Israel?

12E ele lhe respondeu: Vai, porque eu serei contigo; e isto te será por sinal de que eu te enviei: logo que houveres tirado este povo do Egito, servireis a Deus sobre este monte.

13E disse Moisés a Deus: Eis que, quando eu chegar aos filhos de Israel, e lhes disser, O Deus de vossos pais me enviou a vós; se eles me perguntarem: Qual é seu nome? que lhes responderei?

14Deus respondeu a Moisés: EU SOU O QUE SOU. E disse: Assim dirás aos filhos de Israel: EU SOU me enviou a vós.

15E disse mais Deus a Moisés: Assim dirás aos filhos de Israel: o SENHOR, o Deus de vossos pais, o Deus de Abraão, Deus de Isaque e Deus de Jacó, me enviou a vós. Este é meu nome para sempre, este é meu memorial por todos os séculos.

16Vai, e junta os anciãos de Israel, e dize-lhes: O SENHOR, o Deus de vossos pais, o Deus de Abraão, de Isaque, e de Jacó, me apareceu, dizendo: Certamente vos visitei, e vi o que se faz convosco no Egito;

17E disse: Eu vos tirarei da aflição do Egito à terra dos cananeus, e dos heteus, e dos amorreus, e dos perizeus, e dos heveus, e dos jebuseus, a uma terra que flui leite e mel.

18E ouvirão tua voz; e irás tu, e os anciãos de Israel, ao rei do Egito, e lhe direis: O SENHOR, o Deus dos hebreus, nos encontrou; portanto nós iremos agora caminho de três dias pelo deserto, para que sacrifiquemos ao SENHOR nosso Deus.

19Mas eu sei que o rei do Egito não vos deixará ir a não ser por mão forte.

20Porém eu estenderei minha mão, e ferirei ao Egito com todas minhas maravilhas que farei nele, e então vos deixará ir.

21E eu darei a este povo favor aos olhos dos egípcios, para que quando vos partirdes, não saiais vazios:

22Em vez disso pedirá cada mulher à sua vizinha e à sua visitante vasos de prata, vasos de ouro, e roupas; os quais poreis sobre vossos filhos e vossas filhas, e despojareis ao Egito.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God appears to Moses in a bush that burns without being consumed, reveals His name as 'I Am That I Am,' and calls him to deliver the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

Explanation

This is one of the most theologically significant chapters in the entire Bible: Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush marks the formal beginning of his mission as deliverer. The phenomenon of the bush that burns without being consumed symbolizes the presence of God — holy and powerful, yet not destroying what it touches for redemptive purposes. The revelation of the divine name, 'I Am That I Am' (Yahweh), communicates God's self-sufficiency and eternity — He depends on nothing and always exists, unlike the Egyptian gods tied to natural phenomena. Moses' initial hesitation ('who am I...') reflects a common human insecurity in the face of a great calling, but God responds not with a list of Moses' qualifications, but with the promise 'certainly I will be with thee' — showing that God's call always comes accompanied by His own enabling presence.

Fun facts

  • The divine name revealed here, transliterated as YHWH (often pronounced 'Yahweh' or 'Jehovah'), became so sacred in Jewish tradition that scribes avoided pronouncing it, substituting the word 'Adonai' (Lord) when reading aloud — a practice of reverence that persists to this day.
  • Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai, where this revelation takes place, will be the very same location to which Moses returns with the whole people of Israel after leaving Egypt (Exodus 19), closing a prophetic circle already announced here in verse 12.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 3:1Moses has already been living in Midian for years, tending his father-in-law’s flock; Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, which later receives the law given to Moses.
  2. Êxodo 3:2What catches Moses’s attention is not the fire itself, common enough in the desert, but the bush that burns without ever being consumed — a sign that something out of the ordinary is happening there.
  3. Êxodo 3:3Moses’s curiosity to go look up close is what starts the encounter; he still does not know he is about to be called by God.
  4. Êxodo 3:4God only speaks once He sees Moses drawing near to look — and calls him twice by name, a common biblical way of marking an important call.
  5. Êxodo 3:5Removing one’s sandals was a sign of respect before a sacred place or person, something like taking off a cap at a funeral today. God is saying that this ordinary patch of ground, at the foot of a bush, became sacred space only because He is there — there is nothing magical about the mountain itself.
  6. Êxodo 3:6God introduces Himself by linking to the patriarchs Moses already knew from family tradition — He is not a new god, but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Covering one’s face was a gesture of reverence and fear.
  7. Êxodo 3:7God explains the reason for the call: He had already been closely watching the Hebrew people’s suffering under the Egyptian taskmasters, picking up the cry from the end of chapter 2.
  8. Êxodo 3:8The phrase “milk and honey” describes abundance, not a literal river of milk: plenty of milk means lots of cattle and goats raised on good pasture, and honey points to abundant fruit. It is the Hebrew way of saying a rich, good land to live in, repeated several times in the Bible to describe Canaan.
  9. Êxodo 3:9It repeats, in other words, what was already said in verse 7, reinforcing that the decision to act comes directly from the oppression God acknowledges is happening.
  10. Êxodo 3:10This is where God formally gives Moses his mission: he will not just witness the people’s rescue, he will be the human instrument used to bring them out of Egypt.
  11. Êxodo 3:11Moses’s first reaction is one of insecurity, not outright refusal — the first of several objections he raises throughout this dialogue.
  12. Êxodo 3:12God does not answer Moses’s “Who am I” with a list of his credentials, but with the assurance of His own presence — and promises a sign that will only be confirmed after the mission is completed.
  13. Êxodo 3:13Moses anticipates that the people will demand some proof of authority; asking for God’s name was a way of knowing exactly who he was dealing with.
  14. Êxodo 3:14When Moses asks God’s name, the answer turns on the word “I AM,” the same root as the divine name in Hebrew, which the Jews later came to avoid pronouncing. The central idea is that this God simply exists by Himself and will reveal Himself through what He does, not through a closed definition.
  15. Êxodo 3:15After revealing the name “I AM” in the previous verse, God again introduces Himself through His link to the patriarchs, a name that was to be remembered by all the generations to follow.
  16. Êxodo 3:16God gives Moses a practical plan: first convince the elders of the people, not the whole crowd at once, before any confrontation with Pharaoh.
  17. Êxodo 3:17It repeats the promise of the land already made in verse 8, naming the peoples who lived in Canaan before Israel’s arrival.
  18. Êxodo 3:18The initial request to Pharaoh is deliberately modest: just a short three-day trip for a sacrifice, not a final departure — a first strategic step.
  19. Êxodo 3:19God already warns Moses that Pharaoh will resist, preparing him for the resistance that will stretch across several plagues in the coming chapters.
  20. Êxodo 3:20It anticipates, in summary form, everything that will happen in the plagues of the following chapters: only after suffering these blows will Pharaoh give in.
  21. Êxodo 3:21God promises that the Egyptians will treat the Hebrews well on their way out, unlike the hostility that had marked them for generations — the fulfillment comes in the next verse.
  22. Êxodo 3:22God warns that the Hebrew women will ask their Egyptian neighbors for objects of silver, gold, and clothing before leaving, and will go away carrying these with them. It is not a disguised theft: after generations of unpaid labor, the text treats this as a kind of overdue settling of accounts.

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