Exodus 3

—ye shall spoil the Egyptians.] Not by rapine or stealth, but by their own consent. Bp. Patrick. Or, ye shall empty Egypt; that is, ye shall leave the people in a condition, like those that are spoiled. Bp. Kidder. All this was to be done by the special appointment of Almighty God, who is the disposer of all things, and ordered this as one part of the punishment due to the oppressive Egyptians. Pyle.

Chap. IV. ver. 1. — they will not believe &c.] Moses might well suppose, that the Israelites would not presently and without a sign give him credit: such signs he now asks and God grants, that they might believe the Lord had appeared unto him, and given him a commission for their deliverance. Bps. Patrick and Kidder.

Exodus 3:2

2. — the angel of the Lord] Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, appeared. Bp. Hall. It is plain that the angel here spoken of was no created being, from the whole context, and especially from His saying “I am the Lord God, the Jehovah, &c.” No angel, without blasphemy, could take these titles; and since neither God the Father, nor God the Holy Ghost, is called an Angel, that is, a Messenger; whereas God the Son is called “the Angel of the Covenant,” Mal. iii. 1; it seems to follow, that this was God the Son, who might properly be called an Angel, because in the fulness of time He was to be sent into the world in our flesh, as a messenger from God. Stackhouse.

— the bush burned with fire, &c.] When I look upon this burning bush with Moses, methinks I can never see a worthier and more lively emblem of the Church, that in Egypt was in “the furnace,” yet wasted not: since then how oft hath it been flaming, never consumed! The same power, that enlightens it, preserves it: and to none, but to His enemies, is He “a consuming fire.” Bp. Hall.

2. — A rod.] The staff or wand that he generally used for driving his flock. Calmet.

Exodus 3:4

4. — when the Lord saw &c.] The Lord, who appeared to the Patriarchs, is allowed by the best and most judicious writers to have been the same Divine Person who afterwards “took upon Him the seed of Abraham,” and was made man, and dwelt among the Jews; and accordingly the prophet Zechariah, chap. xii, calls this Person, whom the Jews were to pierce, Jehovah. But since no person could be justly called Jehovah unless he were truly and essentially God; since we must conclude with Isaiah, that God would “not give His name and glory to another;” since, according to the words of the Apostle to the Hebrews, we ought to think this Divine Person “so much better than the angels, as He hath obtained a more excellent name than they;” it must appear, from this Person being after called by the name of Jehovah in the Old Testament, that we have in that Testament great and weighty proofs of our blessed Saviour’s true and essential Deity. I need not remark, that neither Abraham nor his children ran into the errors of polythesism; for though it appears that they acknowledged more persons than one to have a right to the essential name of God, yet their belief was, that the Lord their God was (ONE JEHOVAH) ONE LORD. God, whom no man hath seen at any time, nor can see; and the Lord, who appeared unto Abraham, were not supposed to be one and the same person: but as they were called by one and the same name, by a name which could not be given to another, so they were believed to be of one nature, they were one Being; in a word, as is expressed by Moses, they were one Jehovah, though revealed to be more persons than one. Shuckford.

Exodus 3:5

5. — Draw not nigh hither.] In that appearance God meant to call Moses to come: yet, when he is come, inhibits him, “Come not hither.” We must come to God: we must not come too near Him. When we meditate of the great mysteries of His word, we come to Him: we come too near Him, when we search into His counsels. The sun and the fire say of themselves, “Come not too near;” how much more the light, which none can attain unto! We have all our limits set us. The Gentiles might come into some outer courts, not into the inmost: the Jews might come into the inner court, not into the temple: the priests and Levites into the temple, not into the Holy of Holies: Moses to the hill, not to the bush. The waves of the sea had not more need of bounds than man’s presumption. Bp. Hall.

— put off thy shoes] A customary token of reverence in those times in Eastern countries. The custom was probably derived from the Patriarchs; it continued to be observed by the priests in the service of the tabernacle, though there is no command for it in the law of Moses; and the Mahometans and other Eastern people retain it to this day. Bp. Patrick.

— holy ground.] Made holy by the special presence of God: thus the tabernacle, the temple, and the utensils belonging to them were called holy, with all things appropriated to the Divine service. Bp. Patrick.

All things that belong to God are holy—His house, His sacraments, His word, &c. are “holy ground;” and when we approach them, we must put off all uncleanness, and appear with the profoundest reverence, and the greatest purity of soul. Wogan.

5. That they may believe &c.] The meaning is, This shall be one miracle, which you shall be enabled to repeat before the Israelites, to demonstrate that you are authorized by Me, the God of your forefathers. Pyle.

Exodus 3:6

6. — the God of Abraham, &c.] Having made a covenant that He would be their God after a peculiar manner; for otherwise He was the God of Noah and of all the holy Patriarchs before him. But He is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for a peculiar reason, because of the promise made to these three of the blessed Seed that should spring from them, in opposition to the pretensions of other neighbouring people who were their rivals in that hope. These words signify the same as if He had said, the God of Abraham and not of Lot, as the Ammonites and Moabites pretended; the God of Isaac, and not of Ishmael, as his posterity pretended; the God of Jacob, and not of Esau, as the Edomites boasted. Dr. Allis.

Moses was the son of Amram, Amram of Kohath, Kohath of Levi, Levi of Jacob, Jacob of Isaac, Isaac of Abraham. God here places together both ends of the pedigree; “I am the God of thy father; and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” If he had only said, “I am thy God,” it had been the duty of Moses to attend awfully; but now that He says, “I am the God of thy father, and of Abraham, &c.” He challenges further reverence by prescription. Bp. Hall.

— And Moses hid his face; &c.] Moses at first was bold: he goes towards the bush to behold this strange appearance; but hearing God was there, he

God sendeth Moses to deliver the children of Israel

6. — his hand was leprous as snow.] As white with leprosy as snow. Bp. Patrick.

Exodus 3:8

8. — a land flowing with milk and honey.] A country fruitful and well watered; full of fair pastures and flowers, where the flocks might abound with milk, and the bees might fill their cells with honey. The goats of Syria, which includes this country of Canaan, are said to have afforded a greater plenty of milk than those of any other country. Bp. Patrick. And besides the frequent expressions of Scripture, which denote that honey was formerly very common in Palestine, travellers observe, that it is at this day in great plenty there, and that the inhabitants mix it in all their sauces. Calmet.

9. And it shall come to pass, &c.] In case the first of these miracles should fail to bring over the people to him, his orders were to make use of the second: and if that should not be sufficient, he was promised a third, which was to take water out of the Nile, and turn it into blood before their eyes. This last sign was not wrought now, because he was in the desert, and far from the river. Pyle.

It was necessary that Moses should be furnished with all these powers, because he came with an unusual commission, which would not have been credited, unless confirmed by such extraordinary proof. All the Prophets after him did not work miracles, which were necessary only when some great change was to be effected in the world: and this was the case now at the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. After this, they were to be put into a new form and order by a body of peculiar laws, both civil and religious. And when

Exodus 3:10

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee &c.] Moses had now probably given over all thoughts of ever seeing or coming again to the Israelites. But the private affairs of all considerate men afford them, I believe, many instances of some turn of life brought about by the direction of Providence in unexpected events, which could not be compassed by all the schemes which they themselves could contrive and execute. Thus it happened in the life of Moses in a most extraordinary manner. Shuckford.

— that thou mayest bring forth my people] From this time we are to consider God as the king of this people; not in general only, as He is Lord of the whole world; but in a proper and peculiar manner; for whatever authority or jurisdiction the kings of other nations exercised over their subjects, as power of life and death, of making laws and leagues, &c. the same prerogative did the Lord of heaven and earth reserve to Himself alone over the children of Israel, on which ground Moses was delegated to be His ambassador to the king of Egypt, and constituted, as appears by the whole story, His deputy or viceroy over Israel. Bp. Patrick.

Exodus 3:12

12. — this shall be a token unto thee, &c.] The present miracle of the burning bush shall be a previous token of assurance of good success, through the future assistance of the same Almighty power. Pyle. Moses was frightened when he heard his destination. He started back from a just sense of the greatness of the undertaking, and a fearful consciousness of his own inability.

It pleased God to assure him of His guidance and protection; and He added, “this shall be a token &c.” This was a circumstance, were it not for the person who promised and appointed it, scarcely to be believed. For what connexion had Horeb with the borders of Canaan? the road from Egypt being in a quite different direction. When however this was afterwards accomplished, it was a sure token, that the mission of Moses was from God. Bryant.

Exodus 3:13

13. — and they shall say to me, What is his name? &c.] The revelation which God had made of Himself being hitherto imperfect, Moses, by desiring to know God’s name, desired to have some revelation of His nature and attributes. The ancients did not give names arbitrarily, and without reason, Gen. iv. 1, and 25; v. 29; xxv. 25, 30. Some names were given by God Himself, expressive of the nature or circumstances of the person, Gen. v. 2; xvii. 5; xxxii. 28. And men endeavoured from the beginning to give names as expressive as they could, Gen. ii. 23; iii. 20. The Egyptians were curious in attempts to name persons in this manner, even before Moses’s days, Gen. xli. 45. And the Israelites afterwards thought a person well named, when his name expressed his nature, I Sam. xxv. 25. The same observation applies to the name or names, which God thought fit to give of Himself, and which were descriptive of His attributes. See Exod. xxxiii. 18, 19; xxxiv. 5—7. And in the same manner the name of the Messiah is spoken of, Isa. ix. 6; Matt. i. 21, 23. The design of Moses then, in asking God’s name, was to obtain information concerning the Divine nature and attributes, in order to know what duties He would expect from the Israelites, and how they were to serve Him. Shuckford.

So great at this time was the degeneracy of the Israelites in Egypt, and so sensible was Moses of its effects, in ignorance of, or alienation from, the true God, that he would willingly have declined the office; and when absolutely commanded to undertake it, he desired that God would let him know by what name He would be called, when the people should ask the name of the God of their fathers. In which we see a people, not only lost to all knowledge of the unity, for the asking for a name necessarily implied their opinion of a plurality; but likewise possessed with the very spirit of Egyptian idolatry. The religion of names was a matter of great consequence in Egypt: it was one of their essential superstitions—it was one of their native inventions; and the first of them

The name of God. Pharaoh’s obstinacy foretold. Before CHRIST 1491.

Exodus 3:14

14. — I am that I am:] I am constantly and eternally unchangeable, being of Myself, one and the same for ever. Even thus thou shalt describe and express Me to the children of Israel. Bp. Hall. He doth not say, I am this or that particular thing; but in general I AM, and I AM THAT I AM. Whereby he plainly interprets his name JERROVAN, which signifies, HE IS, or BEING ITSELF, without any restriction or limitation; as St. John expresses it, “which is, and which was, and which is to come,” Rev. i. 4. Bp. Beveridge. This very name, thus expressed by the Apostle, is given to Jesus Christ, Rev. i. 8. Bp. Wilson.

— I am] It may be rendered, as may the former words, I will be: As God is, so will He be. And this belongs to Him alone; no creature can say I will be. Bp. Kidder.

Exodus 3:15

15. — The LORD] That, which God Himself in a more especial manner calls His name, Isa. xlii. 8, is JERROVAN, as we commonly pronounce it: this, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and by the Apostles and Evangelists in the New, is constantly interpreted by a word, which being commonly used to signify a Lord or Governour, therefore our English translation always renders it THE LORD, in capital or great letters; and wherever we read THE LORD in such letters, it answers to JERROVAN; that is, to the most proper and essential name of God, signifying essence or being itself. Bp. Beveridge.

— this is my memorial &c.] By this name will I be remembered throughout all generations. Bp. Patrick.

16. — The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with

us: &c.] That is, we have received a special command from the Eternal God, whom we and our forefathers worship. Bp. Patrick.

— three days’ journey] They intended to go quite away; but are directed to demand at first, to go as far as mount Sinai, which was by the nearest way but three days’ journey from Egypt. Bp. Patrick. Pharaoh was to be tried at first with this request. Bp. Kidder.

Exodus 3:19

19. — the king of Egypt will not let you go,] God knew beforehand the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart to be such, that he would not yield, “no, not by a mighty hand;” in the margin, “but by strong hand.” The meaning is, till I have performed many miracles, and at length cut off all the firstborn in Egypt. Dr. Wells.

Exodus 3:20

20. — I will — amite Egypt with all my wonders] There was a peculiarity in God’s judgments upon the Egyptians; they were very significant in their operation, and particularly adapted to the people, upon whom they were inflicted. They would have been marks of Divine power to any nation upon earth: at Nineveh, or Babylon; in Carthage, or Tyre. But they are remarkably pointed in respect to the Egyptians, and in every instance have a strict reference to their idolatry, such as cannot be so particularly applied to any other people. Bryant.

Exodus 3:22

22. — every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, &c.] The Hebrew word, which our translators have rendered borrow, does not signify to borrow, but to ask one to give. It is the very word used in Ps. ii. 8, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession;” and the fact was this: God told Moses, that the Israelites “should not go out of Egypt empty, but that every woman should ask her neighbour, and the person she lived with, to give her jewels and raiment; and that He would dispose the Egyptians to give them;” and thus, when they were leaving Egypt, the children of Israel asked the Egyptians for “jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment;” and the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked for so freely as to impoverish themselves by making presents to them. Josephus re-

Moses receiveth signs from God. His hand is leprous. Before CHRIST 1491. that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them

upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil || the Egyptians.

Or, Egypt. # CHAP. IV.