Righteous Roots · Exodus 3–4 · Calling & Divine Name

The Burning Bush: What Did God Tell Moses—and What Does “I AM” Mean?

Moses is not looking for a revolution when Exodus 3 begins. He is tending the flock of his father-in-law when he reaches Horeb, the mountain of God, and sees a bush burning without being consumed.

“Moses, Moses”

God calls Moses by name and tells him not to come closer. The ground is holy. God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and says he has seen the affliction of the people in Egypt, heard their cry and knows their suffering.

The commission follows: Moses is to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

Moses does not respond like a confident hero

His first objection is personal: “Who am I?” God's answer is not a résumé upgrade but a promise of presence: “I will be with you.” That phrase matters when Moses later asks for God's name.

What does ehyeh asher ehyeh mean?

Exodus 3:14 gives the Hebrew phrase ehyeh asher ehyeh. English Bibles famously render it “I AM WHO I AM,” but Hebrew allows a future or ongoing sense as well, producing translations such as “I will be what I will be.” Scholars and religious interpreters have debated the phrase for centuries.

The next verse is just as important. Exodus 3:15 tells Moses to say that YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has sent him and calls this God's enduring name.

YHWH, LORD and pronunciation

The four Hebrew consonants YHWH are often called the Tetragrammaton. Jewish reading tradition commonly substitutes Adonai (“Lord”) rather than pronouncing the divine name, which is why many English Bibles print LORD in small capitals. “Yahweh” is a scholarly reconstruction widely used in academic writing; certainty about the ancient pronunciation is limited.

Moses keeps objecting

Exodus 3–4 does not hide Moses' reluctance. He worries that Israel will not believe him. God gives signs involving the staff, Moses' hand and water. Moses then says he is not eloquent and is slow of speech and tongue.

God answers by asserting authority over human speech. Moses finally asks God to send someone else. The text says God's anger is kindled, but Aaron is provided as a spokesman.

Does Moses have a speech disorder?

Later interpreters have proposed several explanations for Moses' description of his speech, including disability, lack of rhetorical confidence or difficulty speaking Egyptian after years away. Exodus does not diagnose him. The safest claim is simply that Moses presents his speech as a serious reason he should not be the messenger.

The strange incident on the road

Exodus 4:24–26 abruptly describes a dangerous encounter in which Zipporah circumcises her son and touches the foreskin to someone’s feet, using the phrase “bridegroom of blood.” The pronouns and exact logic are famously difficult. Traditional and scholarly interpretations differ sharply.

Why the burning bush matters

The scene joins liberation to identity. The God who calls Moses is identified with the ancestral covenant, with the suffering of the enslaved and with a divine name that resists being reduced to a slogan. The leader who is sent is reluctant, argumentative and dependent on others.

Exodus does not begin Moses' mission with certainty. It begins with presence: “I will be with you.”

Research note: For the range of translations and the relationship between ehyeh and YHWH, compare Exodus 3:13–15 with current Hebrew-bible scholarship; the phrase remains interpretively contested.

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