Acts 7:31

31 And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came:

Acts 7:31 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:31

When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight
To see a bush on fire was no extraordinary thing; but to see a bush on fire, and yet not consumed by it, which was the case here, was wonderful indeed: and that an angel of the Lord, or the Lord himself, should appear in it, made it still more amazing; though, as yet, this was not observed by Moses, only the former; and which struck him with wonder, and excited his curiosity:

and as he drew near to behold it;
to take a more exact view of it, and satisfy himself with the truth of it, and, if it was possible, to find out the reason why it was not burnt:

the voice of the Lord came unto him;
to his ears, out of the bush, and expressed the following words.

Acts 7:31 In-Context

29 And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

30 "And [when] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush.

31 And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came:

32 'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it].

33 And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

Footnotes

• [a] *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("saw") which is understood as temporal
• [b] *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [c] *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("approached")
• [d] *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation