Using this week’s Catholic Matters as a template, here are some thoughts on the First Reading with my comments (if any) in green, and the Navarre Bible Commentary notes in blue:
[1] **Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian: **Jethro is in another place named *Reuel *(Exodus 2:18). It has been suggested that “Jethro” is actually a title, meaning “his excellency.”
**and came to Horeb: **The whole range of mountains in Sinai, or one particular mountain of the range.
As noted in the previous post, Horeb is another name for Mt. Sinai.
mountain of God: Because it was here that God spoke to Moses and it was here that he later made the covenant with the Chosen People and promulgated his Law.
The mountain of God, Horeb, called in other traditions Sinai, probably lies in the south-east part of the Sinai peninsula. Even today shepherds in that region will leave the valleys scorched by the sun in search of better pasture in the mountains. Although we do not yet know exactly where Mount Horeb is, it still had primordial importance in salvation history. On this same mountain the Law will later be promulgated (chap. 19), in the context of another dramatic theophany. Elijah will come back here to meet God (I Kings 19:8-19). It is the mountain of God “par excellence”.
As Moses was leading the flock of sheep (verese 1) through the desert to the mountain of God, he will leads God’s people the Israelites (his flock) to the holy mountain again to make a covenant with them (Exodus 19ff).
[2] There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush: In Old Testament literature, this expression may refer to God himself of his angel. The Navarre comments:
The “angel of the Lord” is probably an expression meaning “God”. In the most ancient accounts (cf., e.g., Gen 16:7; 22:11, 14; 31:11, 13),immediately after the angel comes on the scene it is God himself who speaks: since God is invisible he is discovered to be present and to be acting in “the angel of the Lord”, who usually does not appear in human form. Later, in the period of the monarchy, the existence of heavenly messengers distinct from God will begin to be recognized (cf 2 Sam 19:28; 24:16; 1 Kings 19:5,7; etc.).
…in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. : Moses saw a fire flaming out of a bush but the bush was not consumed. Curiosity, inspired by God, made him go to examine this extraordinary incident.
Fire is often a feature of theophanies (cf., e.g., Ex 19:18; 24:17; Lev 9:23-24; Ezek 1:17), perhaps because it is the best symbol to convey the presence of things spiritual and divine transcendence. The bush mentioned here would he one of the many thorny shrubs that grow in desert uplands in that region. Some Christian writers have seen in the burning bush an image of the Church which endures despite the persecutions and trials it undergoes. It is also seen as a figure of the Blessed Virgin, in whom the divinity always burned (cf. St Bede, “Commentaria In Pentateuchum”, 2, 3).
All the details given in the passage help to bring out the simplicity and at the same time the drama of God’s action; the scene is quite ordinary (grazing, a mountain, a bush…), but extraordinary things happen (the angel of the Lord, a flame which does not burn, a voice).
Many modern commentators are fond of pointing out some occurance or other natural to the region that resembles some of the miraculous events in the Sciptures, but none of these explain or negate the supernatural events we find there. For example, it is asserted that in the desert parts of the middle east, certain bushes are known to combust ‘spontaneously.’ Even if this were true, however, it doesn’t explain why Moses found this unusual, why the bush was not consumed, or the voice of God coming from it.
[4]
Moses, Moses: As Moses approached the burning bush God called him by name.
3:4-10. The calling of Moses is described in this powerful dialogue in four stages: God calls him by his name (v. 4); he introduces himself as the God of Moses’ ancestors (v. 9); he makes his plan of deliverance known in a most moving way (vv. 7-9); and, finally, he imperiously gives Moses his mission (v. 10).
The repetition of his name ("Moses, Moses!’’) stresses how important this event is (cf. Gen 22:11; Lk 22:31). Taking one’s shoes off is a way of showing veneration in a holy place. In some Byzantine communities there was a custom for a long time of celebrating the liturgy barefoot or wearing different footwear from normal. Christian writers have seen this gesture as being an act of humility and detachment in the face of the presence of God: “no one can gain access to God or see him unless first he has shed every earthly attachment” (“Glossa Ordinaria In Exodum”, 3, 4).
[5]
put off . . . shoes: A sign of reverence, still practised by Moslems and Jews when entering their holy places of worship.
[6] ** I am the God of your father," he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”: **God speaks to him and tells him he is the God of the Patriarchs, the God who had called Abraham from Haran to make him the father of a Chosen People. Evidently the Israelites handed down their history from generation to generation, as Moses knew what God meant.
God shows his fixed resolve to deliver the descendents of the patriarchs from their oppressors, and that Moses is the chosen instrument for deliverance (
St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study [SCBBS])
The sacred writer makes it clear that the God of Sinai is the same as the God of Moses’ ancestors; Moses, then, is not a founder of a new religion; he carries on the religious tradition of the patriarchs, confirming the election of Israel as people of God. Four very expressive verbs are used to describe this election, this choice of Israel by God: I have seen…, I have heard…, I know…, I have come down to deliver (v. 8). This sequence of action includes no human action: the people are oppressed, they cry, theirs is a sorry plight. But God has a clear aim in sight–“to deliver them and to bring them up …] to a good and broad land” (v. 8). These two terms will become keynotes of God’s saving action. To bring up to the promised land will come to mean, not only a geographical ascent but also a journey towards plenitude. St Luke’s Gospel will take up the same idea. (cf. “The Navarre Bible: The Gospel of Saint Luke”, pp 22). God’s imperative command is clear in the original text (v. 10): “…bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt”. This is another way of referring to the salvific event which gives its name to this book; according to Greek and Latin traditions “exodus” means “going out”.
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God: God evidently appeared in a human form. It was a common belief that no one could look at God and live.
We see this in Exodus 33:20 and Isaiah 6:5.
[7]
I have witnessed the affliction of my people: The Israelites were God’s people—he had made them his own in order to fulfill his plan of universal salvation.
and have heard their cry: He was interested in their temporal welfare.
God intervenes because he has seen and heard the cry of his suffering people (Exodus 2:23-25) [SCBBS]
[8] **I have come down to deliver them: **He planned in his mercy to set them free from the life of slavery which they were enduring in Egypt, and he intended to put them into a rich land—the land of Canaan which he had promised to Abraham centuries before (Gen. 15: 7).
**and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey: **
**3:8. **This description of the promised land is meant to show that it is extensive and fertile. It’s fertility can be seen from its basic products–milk and honey (Lev 20:24; Num 13:27, Deut 26:9, 15; Jer 11:5; 32:22; Ezek 20:15)–the ideal desert food; a land which produces them in abundance is a veritable paradise.
(
Note: Verses 8b through 12 are not included in this Sunday’s reading)
[13] **“But,” said Moses to God, “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”: **God had told Moses that he had chosen him to set the Israelites free. When Moses objected that he was unsuitable for such a task God’s answer was : “I will be with you”—the power of God will do what human strength cannot. This formula is repeated down through the Old Testament and is the guarantee which seals the final command given by Christ to his Apostles (Mt. 28: 20).
**3:13-15. **Moses now raises another difficulty: he does not know the name of the God who is commissioning him. This gives rise to the revelation of the name “Yahweh” and the explanation of what it means–“I am who I am”.
According to the tradition recorded in Genesis 4:26, a grandson of Adam, Enosh, was the first to call upon the name of the Lord (Yahweh). Thus, the biblical text is stating that a part of mankind knew the true God, whose name was revealed to Moses in this solemn way (Ex 35:15 and 6:2). The patriarchs invoked God under other names, to do with the divine attributes, such as the Almighty (“El-Shaddai”: Gen 17:1; Ex 6:2-3). Other proper names of God which appear in very ancient documents lead one to think that the name Yahweh had been known from along time back. The revelation of the divine name is important in salvation history because by that name God will be invoked over the course of the centuries.
All kinds of suggestions have been put forward as to the meaning of Yahweh; not all are mutually exclusive. Here are some of the main ones: a) God is giving an evasive answer here because he does not want those in ancient times, contaminated as they were by magic rites, to think that because they knew the name they would have power over the god. According to this theory, “I am who I am” would be equivalent to “I am whom you cannot know”. “I am unnameable”. This solution stresses the transcendence of God. b) What God is revealing is his nature–that he is subsistent being; in which case "I am who I am means I am he who exists “per sibi”, absolute be-ing. The divine name refers towhat he is by essence; it refers to him whose essence it is to be. God is saying that he “is”, and he is giving the name by which he is to be called.
This explanation is often to be found in Christian interpretation. c) On the basis of the fact Yahweh is a causative form of the ancient Hebrew verb “hwh” (to be), God revealing himself as “he who causes to be”, the creator, not so much in the fullest sense of the word (as creator of the universe) but above all the creator of the present situation–the one who gives the people its being and who always stays with it. Thus, calling upon Yahweh will always remind the good Israelite of his reason-for-being, as an individual and as a member of a chosen people.
None of these explanations is entirely satisfactory. “This divine name is mysterious just as God is mystery. It is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name, and hence it better expresses God as what he is–infinitely above everything that we can understand or say: he is the ‘hidden God’ (Is 45:15), his name is ineffable, and he is the God who makes himself close to men (cf. Judg 1.3:18)” (“Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 206).
At a later time, around the 4th century BC, out of reverence for the name of Yahweh the use of the word was avoided; when it occurred in the sacred text it was read as “Adonai”, my Lord. In the Greek version it is translated as “Kyrios” and in the Latin as “Dominus”. “It is under this title that the divinity of Jesus will be acclaimed: ‘Jesus is Lord’” (ibid., 209). The RSV always renders “Yahweh” as “the Lord”. The medieval form Jehovah was the result of a misreading of the Hebrew text into which vowels were inserted by the Massoretes; it is simply a mistake and there is no justification for the use of “Jehovah” nowadays (cf. ibid., 446).
[14] **God replied, “I am who am”: **God has already told Moses that he was the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. In other words, he was the God who had made the Israelites his Chosen People. In answer to Moses’ request he gave a special name, a descriptive one, Yahweh. From its grammatical Hebrew form it means: “He who causes to be,” the “Creator” namely, of all being. And he who is the cause of all existing beings must be Existence itself.
The divine name manifests God to the worshipper; the old name, the God of your fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is no longer adequate [SCBBS]
**This my name forever: **The name stands for the nature, the essence. God declares he is the infinite existence—the source of all being—the
causa causarum, and so he wishes to be known forever.
Moses’ conversation with the Lord is a beautiful prayer and one worth imitating. By following his example, a Christian can dialogue personally and intimately with the Lord: “We ought to be seriously committed to dealing with God. We cannot take refuge in the anonymous crowd. If interior life doesn’t involve personal encounter with God, it doesn’t exist–it’s as simple as that. There are few things more at odds with Christianity than superficiality. To settle down to routine in our Christian life is to dismiss the possibility of becoming a contemplative soul. God seeks us out, one by one. And we ought to answer him, one by one: ‘Here I am, Lord, because you have called me’ (1 Kings 3:5)” (St. J. Escrivá, “Christ Is Passing By”, 174; cf. “Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 2574-5).
L 52,401CD; cf. Gal 4:6).