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Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Exodus, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God’s Identity and Power
Redemption and Deliverance
The Covenant
Mediators and the Priesthood
Summary
Analysis
While keeping the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro, Moses comes to the mountain of Horeb in the wilderness. Suddenly, the angel of the LORD appears in a burning bush. Though the bush is on fire, it’s not consumed. When Moses comes closer to look, God calls to him out of the bush. He tells Moses to remove his sandals, because he’s standing on holy ground. He then tells Moses that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses hides his face in fear.
This chapter turns to God’s calling of Moses as Israel’s leader. In the Hebrew Bible, “the angel of the LORD” is often a way of referring to God. The imagery of fire also appears throughout Exodus to symbolize God’s untouchable holiness. In this “theophany,” or divine appearance, God specifically reveals himself to Moses as that same God who made a covenant with Moses’s ancestors.
Themes
The LORD tells Moses that he’s seen his people’s misery in Egypt. He has now come down to deliver them and to bring them to a new land—one flowing with milk and honey—which currently belongs to the Canaanites and other peoples. God will send Moses to Pharaoh in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses feels unworthy for the task. God assures Moses that he will be with him. Moreover, as a sign that this is God’s doing, the people will worship God on Mount Horeb after their departure from Egypt.
Throughout the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, “LORD” (“Adonay” in Hebrew) is a traditional way of rendering God’s name, “YHWH” (so as to avoid pronouncing it directly). God’s care for the Israelites is personal—he describes them as his own people and tells Moses he has witnessed their sufferings. He will also “be with” Moses personally. Their new land will be a place of plenty instead of lack.
Themes
But Moses has questions. For one thing, if the Israelites ask him the name of their ancestors’ God, what should he tell them? God replies, “I AM WHO I AM.” Moses must tell the Israelites that “I AM” has sent him, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God instructs Moses to tell Israel’s elders that God will lead them out of their sufferings in Egypt and into the plentiful land of the Canaanites. Then the elders must approach the king of Egypt and ask that they be allowed to go on a three-day journey into the wilderness in order to sacrifice to their God. However, God knows that the king won’t let them, so he will strike Egypt with “wonders.” In the end, the Israelites will leave Egypt with favor, taking their neighbors’ gold, silver, and clothing with them and thereby “[plundering] the Egyptians.”
In his first job mediating between the people and God, Moses must gather the leaders of Israel and convey God’s words to them. The order to approach Egypt’s ruler is bold—Israel is an insignificant minority—yet it implies that God has a greater claim on the people (to worship and serve him) than their enslaver, Pharaoh, does. Similarly, the idea of “plundering the Egyptians”—as if the Israelites are a conquering army! —seems incredibly bold.
Themes
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