The Burning Bush and the Divine Name: Exodus 3 and the Revelation of Yahweh

Introduction

When Moses turned aside to see the bush that burned without being consumed, he stepped into one of the most consequential theological moments in human history. The encounter at Horeb in Exodus 3 is not simply another theophany in the biblical narrative — it is the moment when God reveals the name by which he will be known to Israel for all subsequent generations. That name, YHWH, becomes the signature of the covenant relationship, appearing over 6,800 times in the Hebrew Bible. Yet the meaning of this name, disclosed in the enigmatic phrase ʾehyeh ʾăšer ʾehyeh ("I AM WHO I AM" or "I will be what I will be"), has generated centuries of theological and philosophical debate.

This article examines the theophany at the burning bush through three interconnected lenses: the narrative context and symbolism of the burning bush itself, the linguistic and theological dimensions of the divine name revealed in Exodus 3:14-15, and the New Testament's appropriation of this name in the Johannine "I am" sayings. I argue that the divine name is not a static ontological definition but a dynamic promise of covenantal presence — God commits himself to be actively present with his people in their liberation and beyond. This reading, supported by scholars such as Brevard Childs, Terence Fretheim, and Walter Brueggemann, challenges both the Hellenistic philosophical interpretation (God as pure being) and the minimalist view that reduces the name to a mere literary device. The burning bush narrative establishes the theological grammar for understanding God's self-disclosure throughout Scripture, culminating in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, whom John's Gospel identifies as the embodiment of the divine name.

The Theophany at Horeb: Narrative and Symbolism

Exodus 3:1 locates Moses "beyond the wilderness" at Horeb, identified as "the mountain of God." This geographical note is theologically loaded: Horeb (also called Sinai) will become the site of covenant-making in Exodus 19-24, and the narrative anticipates this by naming it God's mountain even before the covenant is established. Moses is tending the flock of Jethro, his Midianite father-in-law, having fled Egypt forty years earlier after killing an Egyptian taskmaster (Exodus 2:11-15). The chronology matters: Moses is now eighty years old (Exodus 7:7), a man who has spent half his life in Pharaoh's palace and half in the Midianite wilderness. He is no longer the impetuous young prince but a seasoned shepherd — a detail that will prove symbolically significant when God commissions him to shepherd Israel out of Egypt.

The angel of Yahweh appears to Moses "in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Exodus 3:2). The Hebrew term malʾak YHWH ("angel of Yahweh") is a complex theological construct in the Old Testament. In some texts, the angel is clearly distinct from God (Genesis 24:7, 40); in others, the angel speaks as God in the first person and receives worship (Genesis 16:7-13; Judges 6:11-24). Exodus 3 exhibits this fluidity: the angel appears in verse 2, but by verse 4, "Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him out of the bush." The narrative moves seamlessly from angel to Yahweh to God (ʾĕlōhîm), suggesting that the angel is not a created intermediary but a mode of divine self-manifestation. Terence Fretheim argues that the angel represents "God's personal presence in a form that makes it possible for human beings to experience God without being destroyed."

The bush burns but is not consumed — a paradox that Moses explicitly notices: "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned" (Exodus 3:3). This detail is not incidental. Fire is the standard biblical symbol for divine holiness (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29), and the consuming fire of God's presence is a recurring motif (Leviticus 10:1-2; 2 Kings 1:10-12). Yet here the fire does not destroy. Brevard Childs observes that the burning bush symbolizes "the mystery of God's holiness which does not consume but preserves." The bush represents Israel: aflame with suffering in Egypt, yet not destroyed because God is present within that suffering. This interpretation is reinforced by God's declaration in Exodus 3:7-8: "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt... and I have come down to deliver them."

The command to remove his sandals — "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5) — establishes a principle that will govern Israel's worship for centuries. Holiness is not an intrinsic property of geography but a relational quality: ground becomes holy because God is present there. This principle structures the entire tabernacle theology, where concentric zones of holiness (outer court, holy place, holy of holies) correspond to degrees of proximity to the divine presence. Joshua will receive the same command when he encounters the commander of Yahweh's army at Jericho (Joshua 5:15), creating a typological link between Moses and Joshua as leaders who mediate God's presence to Israel.

The Divine Name: Linguistic and Theological Analysis

Moses's question in Exodus 3:13 — "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" — is more complex than it first appears. Is Moses asking for information he does not possess, or is he asking for authorization to use a name already known? The patriarchal narratives use the name Yahweh freely (Genesis 4:26; 12:8; 15:7), yet Exodus 6:3 states, "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty [ʾĒl Šadday], but by my name Yahweh I did not make myself known to them." This apparent contradiction has generated extensive scholarly debate. Childs argues that Exodus 6:3 does not deny that the patriarchs knew the name Yahweh but asserts that they did not experience the full reality of what that name signifies — the God who acts decisively in history to redeem his people.

God's response to Moses is the most debated sentence in the Pentateuch: ʾehyeh ʾăšer ʾehyeh (Exodus 3:14). The verb hāyāh means "to be" or "to become," and the form ʾehyeh is first-person singular imperfect. The imperfect aspect in Hebrew typically denotes incomplete or ongoing action, which is why many scholars prefer "I will be what I will be" over the traditional "I AM WHO I AM." The phrase is notoriously difficult to translate because Hebrew lacks a simple present tense for the verb "to be" — the language thinks in terms of action and becoming rather than static existence. Walter Brueggemann writes, "The answer of God is not a flat philosophical statement about the nature of God, but a promise about the way in which God will be present and available to Israel."

The connection between ʾehyeh (first person) and YHWH (third person) is grammatically straightforward: both derive from the same root h-y-h. If ʾehyeh means "I will be," then YHWH (traditionally vocalized as Yahweh) means "He will be" or "He causes to be." The causative interpretation has ancient support: the Septuagint renders Exodus 3:14 as egō eimi ho ōn ("I am the one who is"), and Philo of Alexandria (20 BC – AD 50) interpreted the name philosophically as denoting God's eternal, unchanging being. This Greek philosophical reading dominated Christian theology for centuries, influencing thinkers from Augustine to Aquinas. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae (1265-1274), argued that Yahweh signifies God as ipsum esse subsistens — "subsistent being itself."

Yet this Hellenistic interpretation sits uneasily with the narrative context of Exodus 3. God is not delivering a metaphysical lecture on the nature of being; he is commissioning Moses to liberate Israel from slavery. The immediate context of Exodus 3:12 provides the interpretive key: "I will be with you." The divine name is a promise of presence, not a philosophical definition. John Durham captures this well: "The point of the name is not to define God's being in abstract terms but to assure Moses (and Israel) that God will be actively present in the events of the exodus." This reading is reinforced by the parallel structure of Exodus 3:14-15: "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel: "I AM has sent me to you."' God also said to Moses, 'Say this to the people of Israel: "Yahweh, the 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.'" The name Yahweh is explicitly linked to the God of the patriarchs, grounding the revelation in covenantal history rather than abstract ontology.

William Propp offers a mediating position: the name Yahweh is intentionally ambiguous, allowing for both ontological and covenantal readings. The ambiguity is not a defect but a feature — the name resists reduction to a single meaning, preserving the mystery of God's being while emphasizing his active presence. This interpretation respects both the philosophical tradition and the narrative context, recognizing that God's being and God's action are inseparable in biblical theology.

The Name in Israel's Worship and Theology

Once revealed, the name Yahweh becomes the signature of Israel's covenant relationship with God. It appears in the Decalogue's preamble: "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt" (Exodus 20:2). It structures the priestly blessing: "Yahweh bless you and keep you; Yahweh make his face to shine upon you" (Numbers 6:24-25). It dominates the Psalter, where "Yahweh" occurs over 600 times, often in contexts of praise, lament, and covenant faithfulness. The name is so sacred that by the Second Temple period (516 BC – AD 70), Jews ceased pronouncing it, substituting ʾĂdōnāy ("Lord") whenever the Tetragrammaton appeared in the text. This practice continues in modern Judaism and is reflected in English translations that render YHWH as "the LORD" in small capitals.

The prophets exploit the theological richness of the divine name. Isaiah 43:10-11 links the name to God's uniqueness and saving power: "You are my witnesses, declares Yahweh, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am Yahweh, and besides me there is no savior." The phrase "I am he" (ʾănî hûʾ) echoes the self-identification formula of Exodus 3:14, asserting Yahweh's exclusive claim to deity and salvific action. Ezekiel uses the recognition formula "you/they shall know that I am Yahweh" over 70 times, making the knowledge of God's name the goal of his prophetic ministry and the purpose of divine judgment and restoration (Ezekiel 6:7; 36:23).

The Name and the New Testament: Johannine Christology

The Fourth Gospel's use of egō eimi ("I am") sayings represents one of the most audacious christological claims in the New Testament. Jesus declares, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35), "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12), "I am the door" (John 10:9), "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11), "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), and "I am the true vine" (John 15:1). These predicate "I am" statements are striking enough, but the absolute use of egō eimi without a predicate is even more theologically charged. In John 8:58, Jesus declares, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." The Greek is grammatically jarring: prin Abraam genesthai egō eimi — "before Abraham came into being, I am." The aorist infinitive genesthai ("came into being") contrasts with the present tense eimi ("I am"), suggesting that Jesus's existence transcends temporal categories.

The reaction of Jesus's audience confirms the theological import of this claim: "So they picked up stones to throw at him" (John 8:59). Stoning was the prescribed penalty for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16), and the attempt to stone Jesus indicates that his hearers understood egō eimi as a claim to divine identity. Larry Hurtado argues that the Johannine "I am" sayings are deliberate echoes of Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 43:10, identifying Jesus with the God who revealed himself to Moses and the prophets. The prologue of John's Gospel supports this reading: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). The verb "dwelt" (eskēnōsen) literally means "tabernacled," evoking the tabernacle where Yahweh's glory dwelt among Israel (Exodus 40:34-38). John presents Jesus as the incarnate presence of the God who revealed his name at the burning bush.

Not all scholars accept this interpretation. Rudolf Bultmann, in his influential commentary on John (1941), argued that the "I am" sayings are primarily influenced by Gnostic redeemer myths rather than Old Testament theology. Bultmann saw egō eimi as a formula of self-revelation common in Hellenistic religious texts, not as a specific allusion to Exodus 3:14. More recently, some scholars have suggested that the "I am" sayings function as simple self-identification without theological overtones, comparable to everyday Greek usage where egō eimi means "it is I" (Mark 6:50; John 6:20).

However, the cumulative evidence favors the view that John intends a deliberate connection to the divine name. First, the absolute use of egō eimi in John 8:58 cannot be explained as simple self-identification — the context demands a claim to pre-existence and divine status. Second, John 13:19 explicitly cites Isaiah 43:10: "I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he (egō eimi)." The Isaiah passage uses "I am he" as a divine self-identification formula, and John applies it to Jesus. Third, the reaction of Jesus's opponents throughout John's Gospel — repeated attempts to stone him or arrest him for blasphemy (John 5:18; 10:33; 19:7) — makes sense only if his claims were understood as assertions of divine identity. Richard Bauckham concludes, "John's Gospel presents Jesus as the one in whom the divine identity, revealed in the Old Testament as YHWH, is now embodied and made known."

Theological Synthesis: Presence, Covenant, and Incarnation

The burning bush narrative establishes a theological trajectory that runs from Exodus to the incarnation. The God who reveals himself as ʾehyeh — "I will be with you" — is the God who tabernacles among Israel in the wilderness, who fills the temple with his glory in 1 Kings 8:10-11, who promises through Isaiah, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14, meaning "God with us"), and who becomes flesh in Jesus Christ. The divine name is not a static label but a dynamic promise: God commits himself to be present with his people in their suffering, their liberation, their worship, and ultimately in the incarnation of his Son.

This reading challenges two common misinterpretations. First, it resists the Hellenistic philosophical reduction of Yahweh to an abstract principle of being. While God's self-existence and aseity are certainly implied in the name, the primary emphasis is covenantal and relational: God is the one who will be present to act on behalf of his people. Second, it resists the minimalist view that treats the divine name as merely a literary or cultic convention without deep theological content. The name Yahweh is the theological center of the Old Testament, the signature of the covenant, and the foundation for Israel's monotheism. To know God's name is to know God's character and to trust his promises.

The New Testament's identification of Jesus with the divine name represents the climax of this trajectory. In Jesus, the God who spoke from the burning bush becomes incarnate, dwelling among his people not in fire and cloud but in human flesh. The "I am" sayings of John's Gospel are not a departure from Old Testament theology but its fulfillment: the God who promised "I will be with you" is now present in the person of Jesus Christ, who declares, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). The burning bush that is not consumed becomes the incarnate Son who takes on human flesh without ceasing to be God. The name revealed at Horeb finds its ultimate expression in the name given to Jesus: "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:9-10).

Implications for Ministry and Credentialing

The revelation of the divine name at the burning bush provides pastors with a profound theological foundation for ministry in times of crisis and suffering. When God reveals himself as ʾehyeh — "I will be with you" — he is not offering abstract comfort but making a concrete promise of presence. Ministers who understand this can proclaim God's faithfulness with confidence, knowing that the same God who met Moses in the wilderness meets his people in their darkest moments. The burning bush that is not consumed becomes a powerful image for congregations facing trials: God's presence does not eliminate suffering, but it transforms suffering by dwelling within it. Abide University equips pastors to preach the Old Testament with exegetical precision and pastoral sensitivity, helping congregations encounter the living God who reveals himself in Scripture.

For ministry professionals seeking to formalize their expertise, the Abide University Retroactive Assessment Program offers a pathway to academic credentialing that recognizes prior learning and pastoral experience.