Глава 3

1–3. The appearance of God to Moses at Horeb in a thorn bush. 4–10. Embassy of Moses to Egypt for the deliverance of the Jews. 11–22. Moses' refusal. Ex.3:1. Moses tended the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. One day he led his flock far into the desert and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The word “hoten,” used in the Hebrew text to denote Jethro’s relationship with Moses, means not only “father-in-law,” but “son-in-law” (Judges 19:5) and even “brother-in-law,” the wife’s brother (Judges 1:16, 4:11, Num. 10:29 according to the Russian text). Accordingly, in itself it does not yet represent an undoubted indication that Jethro is one and the same person with Raguel, the father of Zipporah, the wife of Moses. It acquires a similar meaning in the light of other biblical passages that make it clear that in relation to Moses, Jethro is a relative. So, Moses, intending to go to Egypt, asks Jethro for consent to this (Exodus 4:18), and, having received news of his approach, went out to meet him and bowed (Exodus 18:6–7). Jethro's honorable reception is consistent with his position as the father of Moses' wife, and, conversely, is strange if one imagines him as Zipporah's brother, Moses' brother-in-law. The name Horeb is also adopted by the entire mountain range (Exodus 17:6), in which Sinai lay, due to which these two names turn out to be identical (cf. Exodus 3:1 with Acts 7:30, Exodus 19:11 with Deut. 1:6, 19, 4:10, 15, 5:2, 18:16; Exodus 32:1 with Ps. 105:19), and a separate mountain located north of Sinai. Since Horeb is part of the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula, it is obvious that the desert, the deepening into which (“far into the desert”, “to the end of the desert”, according to the Samaritan text) led Moses to this mountain, is understood to be the desert of the Sinai Peninsula (see Acts 7:30). The pastures of Horeb in ancient times, as now, were abundant in food and watering places sufficient for small livestock (Heb. “tzon”). Ex.3:2. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a thorn bush. And he saw that the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. The outer side of the vision - a burning but not consumed thorn bush - depicts the plight of the Jews in Egypt. A thorn bush, not distinguished by either growth or fertility, serves as a symbol of something low, despised (Judges 9:8–15), in the present case of the Jewish people, and the flame of fire, as a destroying force (Deut. 4:24), indicates the severity of suffering (Deut. 4:20, Jer. 11:4, 1 Kings 8:51). But just as the bush burned and was not consumed, so the Jewish people were not destroyed, but were only cleansed in the crucible of disasters (Ex. 2:23). The Angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses in the thorn bush is considered by the Church Fathers to be the Second Person of the Holy Trinity; He differs from God himself and the first martyr Stephen (Acts 7:35), and the whole vision is, according to the paternal interpretation, a prototype of the sacrament of the incarnation (Gregory of Nyssa, Blessed Theodoret). Other Church Fathers, for example. Cyril of Alexandria, they understand, in accordance with the context (Ex. 3:6–7), as the Angel of God himself. He is called an Angel because of His activity among the chosen people and because of His visible appearance to people. Ex.3:3. Moses said: I will go and look at this great phenomenon, why the bush does not burn up. By the greatness of what appeared, the vision itself is called great. Ex.3:4. The Lord saw that he was coming to look, and God called to him from the midst of the bush and said: Moses! Moses! He said: Here I am, [Lord]! Ex.3:5. And God said: Do not come here; take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. Due to absolute holiness, the one who appeared is inaccessible to mortal man: “do not come here.” The latter must experience in His presence a feeling of deepest humility and reverence: “take off the sandals from your feet” (cf. Josh. 5:15). Ex.3:6. And he said [to him], “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. Ex.3:7. And the Lord said [to Moses]: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry from their leaders; I know his sorrows Exodus 3:8. and I go to deliver him from the hand of the Egyptians and bring him out of this land [and bring him] into a good and spacious land, where milk and honey flow, into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the [Girgashites,] the Hivites and the Jebusites. Exodus 3:9. And behold, the cry of the children of Israel has already reached Me, and I see the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. The internal side of the phenomenon is God’s determination about the coming time for the liberation of the Jews and their introduction into the Promised Land. The basis for it is, on the one hand, the immutability of the promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (“I am the God of your father”, Exod. 3:6), the only “father” instead of the plural “fathers” (Ex. 15:2, 18:4) about their descendants inheriting the land of Canaan: they are as living (Matt. 22:32, Luke 20:37 , Mark 12:26), are awaiting their fulfillment, and on the other hand, prayers for help from the Jews themselves. “God saw their suffering, heard their cry, knows their sorrows,” all this was assimilated by His feelings and thoughts. They deserve divine mercy, and their evil oppressors must be judged (Gen. 15:14). Therefore, God comes to deliver His people and takes a direct part in their liberation. Exodus 3:10. Go therefore: I will send you to Pharaoh [the king of Egypt]; and bring my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 3:11. Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh [the king of Egypt] and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? “I am a simple shepherd,” Moses seems to be saying, “and suddenly I will demand from the king of a powerful people that he let the Jews go!” Exodus 3:12. And [God] said: I will be with you, and this is a sign for you that I have sent you: when you bring [My] people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain. The service of God at Horeb, as an event following the expulsion of the Jews from Egypt, should serve as Moses’ guarantee for the undoubted success of his mission. He should not be afraid of his insignificance: God himself will be with him. Exodus 3:13. And Moses said to God, Behold, I will come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they will say to me: What is His name? What should I tell them? Moses sees a new obstacle to fulfilling the order in the people themselves. The latter can ask Moses: what is the name of that God of the fathers who appeared to him? What will he answer them? The Jews will want to see in the divine name itself indications of such properties that would undoubtedly guarantee that the promise to lead out of Egypt will be fulfilled. Exodus 3:14. God said to Moses: I am who I am. And he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: Jehovah [Jehovah] has sent me to you. Exodus 3:15. And God said again to Moses: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and the remembrance of Me from generation to generation. In accordance with such a legitimate desire, a comprehensive designation of the essence of God is revealed to Moses - Jehovah, in Hebrew - “Jehovah”. The word Jehovah, the Hebrew Yahweh, from the verb “gaia” - to be, taken in the 1st form, means an original personality, existing absolutely and independently of anything (Existing). The concept of such a person is expressed by the double use of the personal verb “ehjeh” = I am. They are connected by a pronominal connective to indicate that the only self-sufficient reason for the existence of this person lies in herself. Due to the unconditional originality, the Being is always equal and unchangeable in His actions; one can and must rely on His word. And if now the Most High, who appeared to Moses, is at the same time the God of the fathers of the Jewish people, with whom a covenant confirmed by an oath was concluded, then there is no longer any reason or reason to doubt that He will fulfill His promise to lead their descendants out of Egypt. In accordance with this, the words of Moses, the messenger of such a God, deserve complete trust: “The Lord has sent me to you... The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:16. Go, gather the elders of Israel and say to them: The Lord God of your fathers has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, and said: I have visited you and seen what is happening to you in Egypt. Exodus 3:17. And he said: I will bring you out from the oppression of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the [Girgashites,] the Hivites and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. Evidence of the success of Moses' mission is needed for the people (Ex. 3:13). They consist in indicating that the promises given to the patriarchs are transferred to the Jewish people suffering in Egypt: “I have visited you...”, due to which he, as a direct descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, will be brought out of Egypt: “I will lead you out of the oppression of Egypt...”. Exodus 3:18. And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel will go to [Pharaoh] the king of Egypt, and you will say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews has called us; So let us go into the wilderness, a three-day journey, to offer a sacrifice to the Lord our God. The demand presented to Pharaoh has the character of a national desire: it is stated not only by Moses, but also by representatives of the people - the elders. Deserving respect on this basis, it acquires the force of a decree binding on the king, since it comes from the national God of the Jews: “The Lord, the God of the Jews, has called us.” Fulfilling the will of his gods, Pharaoh must give the family of Israel the opportunity to fulfill the demand of their God. Exodus 3:19. But I know that [Pharaoh] the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless you force him with a strong hand; Exodus 3:20. And I will stretch out My hand and smite Egypt with all My wonders that I will do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. Exodus 3:21. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you will not go empty-handed: Exodus 3:22. Every woman will beg from her neighbor and from the one who lives in her house for silver and gold and clothing, and you will dress your sons and your daughters with them, and you will rob the Egyptians. Despite Pharaoh's stubbornness (Ex. 3:19), Moses and the elders should not doubt the fulfillment of the divine decree to drive the Jews out of Egypt. Its immutability is guaranteed by the coincidence of the circumstances of the upcoming exodus with what was predicted about it to Abraham. If he was told that “the Lord will execute judgment on the people whose descendants will be enslaved, after which they will come out with great wealth” (Gen. 15:14), then this will happen. Before leaving Egypt, God will “stretch out His arms” (Exod. 6:6, 7:5, 9:15), strike him with wonders, signs, “plagues,” and “great judgments” (Exod. 7:3–4, 11:9; Deut. 6:22; Neh. 9:10; Ps. 105:27, 135:9; Jer. 32:20; Acts 7:36), after which Pharaoh will let you go, and you will not go empty-handed (Exod. 3:20–21), “you will rob the Egyptians” (Exod. 3:22). The expression "take the Egyptians" is a translation of the third form of the Hebrew verb nazal, literally meaning "to take something by force, by authority, as spoil." The Jews will take things from the Egyptians, like victors from the vanquished. The idea of ​​the possibility of violence on the part of the Israelis in this case is eliminated by the fact that when describing the same event in Art. 36. Chapter 12 book Exodus (Ex. 12:36) is the expression: “the Egyptians gave” in the literal translation from the Hebrew “gave” (5th form of “shaal”). The verb “shaal”, used again in 1 Samuel. 1:28, - in the story that Hannah, Samuel's mother, gave him to serve God - contains an indication of a voluntary gift, but not forced. The same conclusion is confirmed by the expression: “And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians; and when you go, you will not go empty-handed” (Ex. 3:21), as well as v. 36. Chapter 12: “The Lord gave mercy to the people... in the eyes of the Egyptians: and they gave to him” (Ex. 12:36). God Himself, by His power, disposed the Egyptians to generosity. Note: “and you dress them up,” i.e. taken things, your sons and your daughters” (Exodus 3:22) indicates that the things relate to objects of decoration (see Gen. 24:53, Exodus 35:22, Numbers 31:50). You might be interested in: