Exodus Chapter 3 vocab

Homework:

Read Exodus 3:1-22.  Underline or highlight frequently used words. Look up the meaning of any words you don’t know. Note which words, phrases, or ideas make an impression on you. 

How does your Bible translate God’s name in verse 14?  Be sure to read any footnotes that go along with this verse.

Write down one ‘newspaper reporter’ type question (starting with Who, What, Where, When, How or Why) to discuss with the group next time.

Vocabulary and notes for Exodus Chapter 3

Verse 1 “keeping” – from the same Hebrew root as ‘shepherd’. In the Hebrew Bible, shepherd is a metaphor for leader.

Verse 2 “angel” – a visible manifestation of God.

Verse 4 “the Lord” – Although it was an angel that appeared in v. 2, there is no substantive difference between the deity and his agents.

Verse 12: “the sign for you” – The NJV translation of verse 12 is “And He said, “I will be with you, and it shall be your sign that it was I who sent you.  And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”  In other words, the God’s presence is the sign.  Other translations imply that the sign is that the people will worship God on the mountain.

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Verse 14: “I am who I am.”  Hebrew Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh. 

a) The meaning is unclear. Ehyeh is the first person singular of the word ‘to be.’  One problem is that the tense is not clear.  It could mean “I am” or “I will be” or “I shall be”.  The uncertainty is multiplied in saying “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh” for the first Ehyeh might be one tense (for instance, “I am”) and second another tense (for instance “I will be”), or they might both be the same tense.  To add to the difficulty, asher could mean either “who” or “what”.    – from the Plaut commentary

b) The mystery in which the Lord surrounds his name may be of a piece with the coy refusals of divine beings to reveal their names in Gen 32:29 and Judges 13:17-18.

– from the Harper Collins study Bible

c) What sort of name is “I am who I am?” Scholars have debated this question for generations, but there is no easy answer.  …Perhaps the reply means that the God of Israel is associated with the idea of “being” or “is-ness.”  Another possible meaning is an affirmation that the God of Israel is Creator – the God who brings all things into being.  Or perhaps the intention is that this God is the one who alone truly exists, who alone truly “is,” and upon whose existence all other persons and things depend for their own existence.  Maybe “I am who I am” simply means “I am beyond description.”  “I am who I am, and beyond that nothing more may be said.”

                        - from Exodus Interpretation Bible Studies, by James D. Newsome

d) One source indicates that is should probably be rendered, “I cause to be what comes into existence.”              - from Kerygma study guide