Exodus 3
Introduction
After forty years of obscurity in the Midianite wilderness, Moses encounters God in a bush that burns without being consumed. What begins as curiosity about a strange natural phenomenon becomes a divine encounter: God reveals himself, declares his intent to deliver Israel, commissions Moses as his agent, and reveals his personal name. The chapter moves from a quiet pastoral scene to the self-disclosure of God, unfolding through a conversation between a reluctant shepherd and the God who refuses to be ignored.
The theological center of the chapter is the revelation of the divine name in verses 13-15. When Moses asks God's name, the answer comes in a form that has occupied theologians for millennia: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה — "I AM WHO I AM" (or "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE"). This is then connected to the covenant name יהוה, the name by which God will be known forever. The chapter also introduces critical themes that will shape the rest of Exodus: the holiness of God's presence, God's compassion for his suffering people, the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey, and the pattern of divine commission followed by human objection. Stephen's speech in Acts 7:30-38 recounts this episode as a turning point in Israel's story, and Jesus himself invokes the burning bush passage to argue for the resurrection of the dead (Mark 12:26).
Moses at the Burning Bush (vv. 1-6)
1 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. 3 So Moses thought, "I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?" 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, "Moses, Moses!" "Here I am," he answered. 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He drove the flock beyond the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3 And Moses said, "Let me turn aside now and see this great sight — why the bush does not burn up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 And he said, "Do not come near this place. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 And he said, "I am the God of your 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.
Notes
רֹעֶה ("tending/shepherding") — Moses has spent forty years as a shepherd, a dramatic reversal from his life as a prince in Pharaoh's court. The word is a Qal active participle of רָעָה ("to shepherd, pasture, tend"), and the choice of this form emphasizes Moses' ongoing occupation — this is what he does, day after day. God often prepares leaders through shepherding: David was tending sheep when Samuel anointed him (1 Samuel 16:11), and the image of God himself as shepherd runs throughout Scripture (Psalm 23:1, Ezekiel 34:11-16). Moses must learn to tend sheep before he can shepherd a nation.
אַחַר הַמִּדְבָּר ("beyond the wilderness") — Most translations render it "to the far side of the wilderness" or "to the backside of the desert" (KJV). The preposition אַחַר ("behind, beyond, after") suggests Moses has led the flock past the edge of known grazing territory, deeper into the wilderness. It is in this remote, hidden place — far from Egypt, far from any center of power — that God chooses to reveal himself.
חֹרֵב ("Horeb") — Horeb is identified with Mount Sinai, the mountain where God will later give the Torah to Israel. The text calls it הַר הָאֱלֹהִים ("the mountain of God"), a designation that may be proleptically applied — it is called the mountain of God because of what will happen there, not because it was already a recognized sacred site. Some scholars distinguish Horeb from Sinai as different peaks in the same range, but the biblical text uses them interchangeably (Deuteronomy 4:10, 1 Kings 19:8).
מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה ("the angel of the LORD") — The "angel of the LORD" appears to Moses in v. 2, but by v. 4 it is "the LORD" and "God" who speaks from the bush. This fluidity — the angel who speaks as God, accepts worship, and bears the divine name, yet remains in some sense distinct — recurs throughout the Old Testament (cf. Genesis 16:7-13, Genesis 22:11-18, Judges 6:11-23, Judges 13:3-22). Many Christian interpreters have understood this figure as a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (a "Christophany"), though the text itself does not make this identification explicit.
הַסְּנֶה ("the bush") — The word סְנֶה occurs only in this passage and in Deuteronomy 33:16 (which refers back to this event). It likely denotes a thorny desert shrub. There may be a wordplay between סְנֶה ("bush") and סִינַי — the burning bush at the mountain that will share its name. The bush burns with fire but is not consumed (אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל, literally "it was not being eaten up"). Fire in the Hebrew Bible regularly accompanies divine presence (Exodus 13:21, Exodus 19:18, Deuteronomy 4:24). The unconsumed bush has been understood as a symbol of Israel — oppressed but not destroyed — and of God's presence that illuminates without destroying.
מֹשֶׁה מֹשֶׁה ("Moses, Moses!") — The double calling of the name is a pattern found at critical moments in biblical narrative: "Abraham, Abraham!" (Genesis 22:11), "Jacob, Jacob!" (Genesis 46:2), "Samuel, Samuel!" (1 Samuel 3:10). It signals urgency, intimacy, and divine election. Moses responds with הִנֵּנִי ("Here I am") — the same response Abraham gave when God called him to sacrifice Isaac. It is a word of availability and readiness, not merely a statement of location.
אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ ("holy ground") — The word קֹדֶשׁ ("holiness, sacred") means fundamentally "set apart." The ground is not inherently sacred — it becomes holy because God is present there. Moses must remove his sandals as an act of reverence, acknowledging the boundary between the common and the sacred. The practice of removing shoes on holy ground is also reflected in Joshua 5:15, where the commander of the LORD's army gives Joshua the same instruction. The theological implication is profound: holiness is not a property of places but of God's presence.
אֱלֹהֵי אָבִיךָ ("the God of your father") — God identifies himself not with an abstract title but through relationship — he is the God of Moses' father (singular, likely referring to Amram or to the patriarchal lineage collectively) and then specifically the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This means the God who appears at this bush is the same God who made covenant promises to the patriarchs. The encounter is not an introduction to a new deity but the reactivation of an ancient relationship. Jesus cites this verse to prove the resurrection: if God is still "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," then they must be alive, for "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:26-27).
וַיַּסְתֵּר מֹשֶׁה פָּנָיו ("Moses hid his face") — The Hiphil of סָתַר ("to hide") conveys deliberate concealment. Moses is יָרֵא ("afraid") to gaze upon God. This instinctive fear is theologically appropriate — no one can see God and live (Exodus 33:20). Yet it also sets up the intimacy that will develop: later, God will speak to Moses "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11). The trajectory of Moses' relationship with God moves from hiding his face in fear to seeking God's face in longing.
Interpretations
The identity of the "angel of the LORD" has been debated extensively. Many Reformed and evangelical interpreters (following patristic writers like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus) understand the angel of the LORD as a pre-incarnate appearance of the second person of the Trinity. They point to the angel's identification with God, the divine prerogatives exercised, and the pattern of distinction-within-unity. Other interpreters, including many Jewish commentators and some Protestant scholars, understand the angel as a created being who serves as God's fully authorized representative, speaking God's words in the first person as an envoy. Still others view "angel" here as a description of the mode of God's appearance rather than a separate being — God appeared in the form of an angelic messenger. The text preserves the tension without resolving it fully.
God Commissions Moses (vv. 7-12)
7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings. 8 I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey — the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Therefore, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt." 11 But Moses asked God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 "I will surely be with you," God said, "and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain."
7 And the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings. 8 And I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and broad land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So now, go — I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" 12 And he said, "For I will be with you, and this will be the sign for you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain."
Notes
רָאֹה רָאִיתִי ("I have surely seen") — The infinitive absolute (רָאֹה) before the finite verb (רָאִיתִי) is a Hebrew construction that intensifies the verb's meaning. It conveys emphatic certainty: "I have truly seen," "I have most certainly seen." God's seeing is not passive observation — it is the kind of seeing that leads to action. This echoes the four-fold description at the end of Exodus 2:24-25: God heard, God remembered, God saw, God knew. Now God speaks the result of that seeing.
עֳנִי עַמִּי ("the affliction of my people") — God calls Israel עַמִּי — "my people." The possessive pronoun is critical. The text gives no indication that Israel had cried out to God specifically; yet despite the centuries of silence, God claims them. The word עֳנִי ("affliction, misery") is related to the verb עָנָה ("to oppress, afflict") used repeatedly in Exodus 1 to describe Egypt's treatment of Israel.
וָאֵרֵד ("I have come down") — The verb יָרַד ("to go down, descend") is anthropomorphic language — God "comes down" to act in human history. The same verb describes God coming down to see the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:5) and coming down on Mount Sinai in fire (Exodus 19:18-20). The language of divine descent expresses God's personal, direct involvement — he does not merely observe from heaven; he enters.
אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ ("a land flowing with milk and honey") — This is the first occurrence of what will become a recurring phrase in the Pentateuch (appearing over twenty times). זָבַת is a Qal feminine participle of זוּב ("to flow, gush") — the land literally "gushes" with abundance. "Milk" represents pastoral wealth (livestock), and "honey" (whether bee honey or date syrup) represents agricultural abundance. Together they paint a picture of a land so fertile it overflows with goodness, in stark contrast to the land of slavery they will leave behind.
The six nations listed — Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites — represent the current inhabitants of the promised land. The list varies slightly across Old Testament passages (sometimes five, sometimes six, sometimes seven nations are named), but the point is consistent: the land is already occupied, and its transfer to Israel will require divine intervention. The promise of the land goes back to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21).
מִי אָנֹכִי ("Who am I?") — Moses' first objection is about his own inadequacy. Forty years earlier, he had tried to deliver Israel by his own strength and failed (Exodus 2:11-15). Now he has been humbled — he is no longer a prince but a shepherd in the back of the desert. The question "Who am I?" is the right question, because the answer God gives redirects the focus: it is not about who Moses is but about who is with him.
כִּי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ ("For I will be with you") — God's answer to Moses' inadequacy is not a list of Moses' qualifications but a promise of divine presence: "I will be with you." The word אֶהְיֶה here is the same verb form that will appear in the divine name in v. 14. God's promise of presence is itself a foretaste of the name he is about to reveal. The sign God offers is unusual — it points forward, not backward. The proof that God has sent Moses will be that Israel will worship at this very mountain. This means Moses must act on faith before he receives confirmation.
תַּעַבְדוּן אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים עַל הָהָר הַזֶּה ("you will serve God on this mountain") — The verb עָבַד means both "to serve" and "to worship." The same root is used for Israel's slave labor in Egypt (עֲבֹדָה). The wordplay is deliberate: Israel will be transferred from serving Pharaoh to serving God, from forced labor to willing worship. The mountain where Moses stands as a solitary shepherd will become the mountain where a nation receives its covenant.
The Revelation of the Divine Name (vv. 13-15)
13 Then Moses asked God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?' What should I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God also told Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, 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 this is how I am to be remembered in every generation."
13 Then Moses said to God, "Look, if I come to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is his name?' — what shall I say to them?" 14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 And God said further to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'The LORD, 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 this is my memorial to all generations."
Notes
מַה שְּׁמוֹ ("What is his name?") — In the ancient Near East, to know a deity's name was to grasp something of its character and to have standing to call on it. Moses' question is not simply about a label but about identity, character, and authority. He needs to tell Israel not just that "a god" sent him but which God — the God who has the power and the will to deliver them. The question also implies that Israel, after generations surrounded by named Egyptian deities, needs more than a title; they need a name.
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה ("I AM WHO I AM") — This phrase has generated extensive theological reflection. The verb אֶהְיֶה is the Qal imperfect first person singular of הָיָה ("to be, to become, to exist"). The imperfect tense in Hebrew can express present continuous action ("I am being"), future action ("I will be"), or habitual/characteristic action. This ambiguity is not a flaw but a feature — the name resists being pinned down to a single tense. Major translation options include: "I AM WHO I AM" (emphasizing eternal, self-existent being), "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE" (emphasizing sovereign freedom and faithfulness), and "I AM the One who IS" (emphasizing ontological reality). Some translations render it "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE." All of these are linguistically defensible, and the name likely encompasses all of them.
The connection between אֶהְיֶה and the name יהוה is the key to understanding this passage. אֶהְיֶה is first person ("I am/I will be"), while יהוה is most likely the third person form of the same verb: "He is" or "He causes to be." When God speaks of himself, he says אֶהְיֶה ("I am"); when others speak of God, they say יהוה ("He is"). The name thus encodes both God's self-knowledge and humanity's witness to God's being.
יהוה — The four-letter name of God (the Tetragrammaton) is rendered "the LORD" (in small capitals) in most English translations, following the Jewish practice of substituting אֲדֹנָי ("my Lord") when reading the name aloud. The original pronunciation was likely "Yahweh," though certainty is impossible since the name ceased to be spoken aloud in Second Temple Judaism. The name was considered so sacred that it was eventually not pronounced at all, and the vowel pointing in the Masoretic text (יְהוָה) reflects the vowels of אֲדֹנָי placed under the consonants of YHWH as a reading reminder.
זֶה שְּׁמִי לְעֹלָם וְזֶה זִכְרִי לְדֹר דֹּר ("This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations") — The word זִכְרִי ("my memorial/remembrance") comes from זָכַר ("to remember"), the same verb used when "God remembered his covenant" in Exodus 2:24. God's name is how he is to be invoked, recalled, and called upon across all generations. The parallelism — "my name forever / my memorial to every generation" — emphasizes the permanence and universality of this revelation. God is not giving a temporary designation but an eternal identity.
Note the progression in God's self-disclosure: in v. 6, he identifies himself through the patriarchs ("I am the God of your father"); in v. 14, he reveals his essential nature ("I AM WHO I AM"); in v. 15, he gives his covenantal name ("the LORD") and links it back to the patriarchs. The movement is from relational identity to essential identity and back to relational identity — God is both transcendently beyond human categories and personally committed to specific people in specific history.
Interpretations
The meaning of the divine name has been debated across traditions. (1) The ontological interpretation, prominent in the Greek patristic tradition and in medieval theology (Thomas Aquinas), understands the name as a statement about God's being — God is pure existence, the uncaused cause, being itself (esse ipsum). This reading draws on the Septuagint's translation: ego eimi ho on ("I am the one who is"). (2) The covenantal-relational interpretation, preferred by many Reformation and modern evangelical scholars, emphasizes the promissory dimension: "I will be [with you] what I will be" — God is pledging his faithful presence and active involvement. This reading connects אֶהְיֶה to the promise in v. 12 ("I will be with you"). (3) The sovereign freedom interpretation reads the name as an assertion of divine independence — God cannot be defined, manipulated, or controlled by naming; he is who he chooses to be. Each interpretation captures something true about the name, and they are not mutually exclusive. The name reveals God as the self-existent one who is sovereignly free yet faithfully present with his people.
Instructions for the Elders and Pharaoh (vv. 16-22)
16 Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites — a land flowing with milk and honey.' 18 The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.' 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders I will perform among them. And after that, he will release you. 21 And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed. 22 Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians."
16 "Go, and gather the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have surely visited you and seen what is being done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites — a land flowing with milk and honey.' 18 And they will listen to your voice. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now, please let us go a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.' 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do in its midst. And after that he will send you out. 21 And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, so that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22 Each woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the woman staying in her house for silver vessels and gold vessels and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, and so you shall plunder the Egyptians."
Notes
פָּקֹד פָּקַדְתִּי אֶתְכֶם ("I have surely visited you") — Another infinitive absolute construction for emphasis. The verb פָּקַד is one of the richest words in biblical Hebrew, meaning "to visit, attend to, take note of, muster, appoint, call to account." When God "visits" his people, it can be for blessing or for judgment. Here it is a visit of compassion and deliverance. The same verb will be used of God "visiting" Egypt with plagues. Joseph used this same word in his dying prophecy: "God will surely visit you" (פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֶתְכֶם, Genesis 50:24-25). Moses' message to the elders thus echoes and fulfills Joseph's final promise — the God who told Joseph "I will visit you" now tells Moses "I have visited you."
אֱלֹהֵי הָעִבְרִיִּים ("the God of the Hebrews") — When addressing Pharaoh, God does not use the name YHWH or the patriarchal formula but identifies himself as "the God of the Hebrews." The term עִבְרִי ("Hebrew") is an ethnic-social designation, possibly related to עָבַר ("to cross over") or to the broader ancient Near Eastern category of Habiru/Apiru (a socioeconomic class of displaced peoples). In diplomatic communication with Pharaoh, God uses the term the Egyptians would recognize.
דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר ("a three-day journey into the wilderness") — The request for a three-day journey to sacrifice appears modest, even diplomatic. Some interpreters see this as a limited initial request designed to test Pharaoh's willingness — if he will not grant even a short religious pilgrimage, how much less will he grant full release? Others view it as a genuine initial request that, upon Pharaoh's refusal, escalates to full liberation. The three-day journey also foreshadows the actual route: after crossing the sea, Israel will travel three days into the wilderness of Shur (Exodus 15:22).
וְלֹא בְּיָד חֲזָקָה ("not even by a mighty hand") — Verse 19 turns on the ambiguity of וְלֹא. Some translations render it "unless a mighty hand compels him," taking it as "except by," while others read "no, not by a mighty hand" — Pharaoh will not yield even when confronted by divine power. The translation above follows the latter reading: Pharaoh's resistance will be so total that even miracles will not move him. The "mighty hand" (יָד חֲזָקָה) becomes a major motif in Exodus, referring to God's power displayed through the plagues (Exodus 6:1, Exodus 13:9, Deuteronomy 4:34).
וְנִצַּלְתֶּם אֶת מִצְרָיִם ("you shall plunder the Egyptians") — The verb נָצַל in the Piel means "to strip, plunder, despoil." The departing slaves will leave with the wealth of their oppressors. This is not theft but divine restitution — wages for centuries of unpaid labor. The silver, gold, and clothing will later be used to construct the tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-7, Exodus 35:4-9), though some of it will also be misused for the golden calf (Exodus 32:2-4). The fulfillment of this promise is recorded in Exodus 12:35-36.
וְשָׁאֲלָה אִשָּׁה מִשְּׁכֶנְתָּהּ ("each woman shall ask of her neighbor") — The verb שָׁאַל means "to ask, request" — not "to borrow" as the KJV's "borrow" might imply. The Israelite women are told to ask (and will receive) silver and gold items and garments from their Egyptian neighbors. This detail presupposes a social reality where Israelite and Egyptian women lived in proximity and had neighborly relationships, even amid the oppression. The word גָּרַת ("woman staying in her house") may refer to an Egyptian woman lodging in the Israelite's home or vice versa.
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת חֵן הָעָם הַזֶּה בְּעֵינֵי מִצְרָיִם ("I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians") — The word חֵן ("favor, grace") is the same word used of Noah finding favor in God's eyes (Genesis 6:8) and of Joseph finding favor in Potiphar's house (Genesis 39:4). God supernaturally disposes the Egyptians to look favorably on Israel — the very people they have been oppressing. This reversal of attitude is itself a wonder: the enslaved become the honored, the plundered become the plunderers.
Interpretations
The request for a "three-day journey" has generated significant discussion. Some interpreters (particularly those in critical scholarship) view it as a deception — God and Moses ask for a short trip while intending permanent departure. Others argue that the three-day request is a genuine opening offer that becomes moot when Pharaoh refuses even this minimal concession, thereby justifying the full exodus. Still others see it as a test of Pharaoh's character: if he will not grant a reasonable religious request, he reveals himself as a tyrant who oppresses not just bodies but souls. The broader theological point is that Pharaoh's refusal is not caused by the limited nature of the request but by his refusal to acknowledge the LORD at all — "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?" (Exodus 5:2).