The KJV Holy Bible

 

Exodus Chapter Three

 

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 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.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.

19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.

22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Exodus: The Burning Bush and the Revelation of the I AM

"Exodus Chapter Three Represents the Supreme Turning Point in the Great Work: the Direct, Conscious Encounter with the Divine Spark. After a necessary period of Psychological exile and purification, the Awakened Spiritual Will (Moses) is finally brought to the summit of Higher Consciousness (Mount Horeb). Here, the profound mystery of the Burning Bush reveals the Eternal, Unconsumed Fire of Spirit Dwelling Within the material form. This chapter contains the Ultimate Hermetic Axiom—the revelation of the 'I AM'—shifting the Adept from a Seeker of External Truths into a Conscious Vessel of the Universal Mind, commissioned to Liberate the Soul from the grip of the lower ego."

 

 

Verses 1-3: The Ascent to Higher Consciousness and the Unconsumed Fire - "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." 

Moses tending the flock Represents the Disciplined Spiritual Will guiding the docile animal instincts and lower Thoughts of the Mind. By leading them to the "backside of the desert" and up to Mount Horeb (the Mountain of God), the Adept elevates their Consciousness away from the mundane world and into the High, Solitary Peaks of Spiritual Meditation. The Burning Bush is a Profound Alchemical Symbol: it Represents the physical body (the dense, earthly bush) Infused with the Blazing, Electric Fire of the Divine Spirit. The fire burns without consuming the wood, Demonstrating that True Spiritual Illumination does not destroy the physical vessel, but Perfectly Animates and Purifies It.

 

 

Verses 4-6: The Removal of Earthly Attachments - "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. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground... And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." 

The command to remove his shoes is an Esoteric directive to strip away all base, earthly attachments and lower, material foundations before approaching the Divine. The "holy ground" is the Sacred, Undefiled Center of the Inner Psyche. Moses hiding his face signifies the Inherent Limitation of the Analytical Intellect; the Conscious Mind cannot directly look upon or logically comprehend the Blinding, Infinite Reality of the Absolute Source without being overwhelmed. It must be felt and experienced through Pure Spiritual Intuition.

 

 

Verses 13-15: The Supreme Revelation of the "I AM" - "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." 

This is arguably the most Profound Metaphysical Statement in All of Scripture. God does not offer a traditional name, which would imply a Separate, Finite, External Entity. Instead, the Divine identifies as "I AM THAT I AM" (Ehyeh asher ehyeh)—the state of Pure, Unconditioned Being. In Hermetic Philosophy, this reveals that God is the Universal Consciousness, the Fundamental Spark of Existence Within ALL Things. By sending the "I AM" to the Israelites, the text indicates that True Spiritual Liberation is achieved only by Awakening to the Realization that One's Own Core Consciousness is Eternally Linked to the Divine Mind.

 

 

Verses 19-22: The Resistance of the Ego and the Transmutation of Energy - "And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go... but every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians." 

The Divine warns Moses that the Pharaoh (the lower ego) will not surrender its control over the body and Mind willingly; it will require the Fierce, Transformative Power of Spiritual Law to break its grip. The command to "spoil the Egyptians" by taking their silver, gold, and raiment is a Masterclass in Alchemical Transmutation. The Adept is instructed not to destroy the energy of the lower desires, but to forcefully reclaim it. The wealth, focus, and vitality that the Mind previously wasted on earthly, material pursuits (Egypt) must be harvested and repurposed to Adorn and Empower the Rising Spiritual Faculties.