Exodus 3:4 - On the “epiphany”
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ShareExplaining the RJPS footnote.
וַיַּ֥רְא יְהֹוָ֖ה כִּ֣י סָ֣ר לִרְא֑וֹת וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֵלָ֨יו אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֗ה וַיֹּ֛אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֥ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
When GOD saw that he had turned aside to look, God* called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.”
*God This label can refer to the angel, as acting on God’s behalf; cf. Ibn Ezra here and at v. 7.
(The above rendering—and footnote—come from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation.)
Given the involvement of a messenger (“angel”) who was introduced in verse 2, the participant reference here (the label “God”) is probably not meant to be taken literally. Rather, the narrator seems to be employing a linguistic device that I call agency metonymy. On this device, see my comment at Gen 17:22.
Given the involvement of a messenger (“angel”) who was introduced in verse 2, the participant reference here (the label “God”) is probably not meant to be taken literally. Rather, the narrator seems to be employing a linguistic device that I call agency metonymy. On this device, see my comment at Gen 17:22.
