What Does Exodus 3:4 Mean in the King James?
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The call follows Moses’s turn of attention: the moment he turns aside to see, the bush becomes an encounter.
THE MEANING
When your attention turns toward what is before you, the voice from within the bush becomes personal address and calls you by name. The name comes twice, and “Here am I” answers with presence.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that the mystery must be solved before the call can meet you: the call comes as Moses turns aside to see.
THE ROOT
סָר
sar
GROWS FROM
סור
s-w-r
To turn aside, depart, or remove.
“turned aside” in this verse is sar. The verb comes from a root that also means removing something from its place. Moses’s turn is a departure from his path, the movement that opens his attention to what is there.
ALSO GROWS
sûr: Turn aside; depart.
סוּר
This is the root’s basic movement, expressed in Moses’s turning from his route to look.
hēsîr: Remove; take away.
הֵסִיר
The same root can describe removing something from its place, adding the sense of a shift away from the course already being followed.
וַיַּרְא
wayyar
GROWS FROM
ראה
r-ʾ-h
To see, look at, or perceive.
“saw / to see” in this verse is wayyar. The same Hebrew root appears for the LORD’s seeing and Moses’s seeing. The LORD perceives Moses turning toward perception, so attention is mutual before the call begins.
ALSO GROWS
ro’eh: One who sees; a seer.
רֹאֶה
The root can name the one who perceives, echoing the two perceivers in this verse.
mar’eh: Sight, appearance, or vision.
מַרְאֶה
The root can name what is seen as well as the act of seeing; Moses turns toward the bush’s appearance, and that sight becomes an encounter.
מֹשֶׁה
Moshe
GROWS FROM
משׁה
m-sh-h
To draw out, especially from water.
The Torah’s own wordplay links Moses’s name to being drawn out of the water. Here that name is spoken twice from within the bush, and the one named through being drawn out answers the call with presence.
ALSO GROWS
māshāh: Draw out.
מָשָׁה
This is the verb behind the name’s explanation in Exodus 2:10.
meshîtihû: I drew him out.
מְשִׁיתִהוּ
This is the wording used in Exodus 2:10 to explain the name Moses.
THE PATTERN
A name spoken into a charged moment makes the encounter personal and draws a response.
And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.THE THREAD
And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.Exodus 2:10 links Moses’s name to מָשָׁה (māshāh), “to draw out”: “I drew him out of the water.” In this verse, that name is repeated from within the bush, and the one named through being drawn out answers, “Here am I.”
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