Chapter 3:8-22

Commentary:

3:8- When you think about it, and abundance of milk and honey feels like strange way to describe the goodness of a land. But I think there’s a connection to Egyptian culture and within the Bible Itself. The Egyptians supposedly utilized milk and honey in religious rituals and milk especially in funeral ceremonies. There is also a possible connection to Gen 49:12 and Genesis 43:11. In Genesis 49:12, Jacob’s blessing of Judah included a mention of his teeth being “white with milk.” In Genesis 43:11, Jacob sent some honey with his sons back to Egypt to placate the Egyptians he thought were mad at them. So, I think the mention in Exodus 3 of milk and honey is a narrative connection both forwards to the promise of the messiah from the line of Judah and backwards to the abundance Abraham experienced in the land. This would signal to Moses that God still intended to keep His covenant with Abraham and to bless this generation of Israelites. While the list of -ites that inhabit the land change from passage to passage, this list is connected to the one in Genesis 15:15-21 when God first makes His covenant with Abraham. It’s also significant that they’re all mentioned again in 2 Chronicles 8:7-8 in the list of people Solomon taxed. Canaanite is an overarching term for any of the people groups that lived in Canaan, so most if not all of the groups listed would also fall under the term Canaanite. What makes it ok for God to displace those indigenous people in favor of Israel? One of the most common questions that people trip over in reading the Bible is the violence God enacts on the men, women, and children of the Canaanite cultures. While saying, “God knew how wicked they’d become, and He always knows what’s best,” is a theologically correct answer, it’s hardly a morally satisfying one. In my studies, I have come across a different perspective that I believe is consistent with the narrative of the Bible and avoids this problem completely. The Canaanites are frequently connected to the giants, the nephilim, and the rephaim in the Tanakh. Those beings were a cursed mix of half-human half-divine genetics, going all the way back to the Genesis 6 sons of God passage. From that view, the Canaanites appear to have not been fully human. God commanded certain tribes be wiped out completely because their bloodline was corrupted by demonic forces. He was not endorsing violence against innocent humans. He was empowering Israel to defeat semi-supernatural forces so that He could welcome all of humanity into a restored Eden fellowship.

‌3:10- In a way, Moses was the perfect guy for the job. In another way, how terrifying. I kind of understand Moses’ fear here, especially when this being claiming to be the God of his ancestors hasn’t done anything (apparently) for them in 400 years.

3:11- It’s tempting to think ahead and read these verses as Moses’ being obstinate and doubting God. But put all that aside and just read the text like it’s your first time. The Bible hasn’t said yet that his fears are invalid.

‌3:12- Notice that God doesn’t respond to Moses’ question with an answer about Moses. He answers Moses’ question of identity with a promise of nearness. Our identities are wrapped up in who God is. We all have times we ask “why me” in a given situation. God’s answer isn’t “Because you’re skilled at x or because no one else was available.” His answer is simply, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be there with you, and that’s all you need.”

‌3:13- That word for serve is the same word from Exodus 1:13 when Pharaoh made them serve with rigor. This is a promise of service to a new master.

‌3:14- The story of God’s revealing His name to Moses parallels an Egyptian myth in which Isis tries to learn the unknown name of Ra. But Ra has refused to tell anyone the name for fear it will give them magical power over him. At the end of the story, Isis tricks Ra into revealing the name, but we as readers never learn it. The Biblical story presents Yahweh as greater than Ra because He is not afraid to share His name with Moses or the readers.

‌‌3:18- It’s interesting that Moses doesn’t end up taking the elders with him. He does inform them of the plan, but he doesn’t take them. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why Pharaoh didn’t listen.....

‌3:19- Two possible translation options for this verse included “the king of Egypt won’t let you go, not by a strong hand” or “the king of Egypt won’t let you go except by a strong hand.” Both are grammatically possible, and both could be argued from the story. Yahweh presents a strong hand, yet through most of the plagues, Pharaoh does not let Israel go. But it could also be argued that Pharoah eventually yields to Yahweh and thereby does let Israel go but only after being forced by a strong hand.

‌3:20- “In Egyptian mythology. . . Horus and Seth battled… Then the Pharaoh becomes the incarnate Horus, and he’s the great warrior. . . . It is not until the Middle Kingdom (1970-1800 B.C.) that we begin to see expressions related to the conquering arm of pharaoh appearing. Of particular interest is the term ẖpš (khepesh) which means “arm” or “power” and is found beginning in the 12th Dynasty and continues with even greater frequency in the New kingdom. Khepesh begins to appear in royal titles and names in the Hyksos period. The Hyksos king Apophis bears the Pre-nomen neb khepesh reʿ = ‘Re is Lord or Possessor of a Strong Arm.’ This is one of the names of that particular pharaoh. . . . You’re going to get certain pharaohs that one of their names has this khepesh in it—this reference to a “strong arm.” It’s metaphorical for a militaristic leader. . . .” Yahweh is using Egyptian terminology to get across His point that He’s stronger than Pharoah or any of the gods of Egypt. Wonders is the word often translation “miracle.” It’s something that defies explanation or definition, something that confuses and requires a lot of pondering to wrap your mind around. In the Tanakh, it does not primarily “refer to the breach of an objectively established order (e.g., natural law) but to exceeding one’s specific expectations or what one considers possible in one’s situation. . . . In the distress of barrenness Sarah expects, according to human criterion, to remain childless in Gen 18. The wonder is that God reveals an unexpected possibility by announcing the birth of a child to her (v 14). The process of deliverance itself can then be entirely “natural”; it need not be, however (cf. e.g., 2 Kgs 6:6). [Miracle] refers to the unexpected possibility that God reveals to the person “in the abyss” (Psa 107:24).‌‌

3:21- They will have khen, value, in the sight of the Egyptians. This seems like such a strange way to view the people whose God just destroyed your land, but we have to remember that Pharoah’s tactics were beginning to oppress his own people as well. The Egyptians saw in Yahweh a God who cared about the oppressed and overlooked in society so much that some of them even chose to leave Egypt with Israel (Exodus 12:38). What a reversal from the disdain they felt earlier (Exodus 1:12)!

Suggested Meditation:

God often works His most unbelievable miracles at the very times we feel the most distant from hope. If you have a situation where you feel like you’re beyond hope or help, start looking for new opportunities to appear like a burning bush in your life. That just might be God’s first step in your path through to a new life.

Next Week:

Why Moses’ staff was more than a cool party trick, Moses the magician, when God stutters, a different perspective on the priesthood, and how Moses (maybe) almost didn’t make it back to Egypt.