2.264
NOW Moses, when he had obtained the favor of Jethro, for that was
one of the names of Raguel, staid there and fed his flock; but some time
afterward, taking his station at the mountain called Sinai, he drove his
flocks thither to feed them. Now this is the highest of all the mountains
thereabout, and the best for pasturage, the herbage being there good; and
it had not been before fed upon, because of the opinion men had that God
dwelt there, the shepherds not daring to ascend up to it; and here it was
that a wonderful prodigy happened to Moses; for a fire fed upon a thorn
bush, yet did the green leaves and the flowers continue untouched, and
the fire did not at all consume the fruit branches, although the flame
was great and fierce. Moses was aftrighted at this strange sight, as it
was to him; but he was still more astonished when the fire uttered a voice,
and called to him by name, and spake words to him, by which it signified
how bold he had been in venturing to come into a place whither no
man had ever come before, because the place was divine; and advised him
to remove a great way off from the flame, and to be contented with what
he had seen; and though he were himself a good man, and the offspring of
great men, yet that he should not pry any further; and he foretold to him,
that he should have glory and honor among men, by the blessing of God upon
him. He also commanded him to go away thence with confidence to Egypt,
in order to his being the commander and conductor of the body of the Hebrews,
and to his delivering his own people from the injuries they suffered there:
"For," said God, "they shall inhabit this happy land which
your forefather Abraham inhabited, and shall have the enjoyment of all
good things." But still he enjoined them, when he brought the Hebrews
out of the land of Egypt, to come to that place, and to offer sacrifices
of thanksgiving there, Such were the divine oracles which were delivered
out of the fire.
2.270
But Moses was astonished at what he saw, and much more at
what he heard; and he said, "I think it would be an instance of too
great madness, O Lord, for one of that regard I bear to thee, to distrust
thy power, since I myself adore it, and know that it has been made manifest
to my progenitors: but I am still in doubt how I, who am a private man,
and one of no abilities, should either persuade my own countrymen to leave
the country they now inhabit, and to follow me to a land whither I lead
them; or, if they should be persuaded, how can I force Pharaoh to permit
them to depart, since they augment their own wealth and prosperity by the
labors and works they put upon them ?"
2.272
But God persuaded him to be courageous on all occasions, and promised
to be with him, and to assist him in his words, when he was to persuade
men; and in his deeds, when he was to perform wonders. He bid him also
to take a signal of the truth of what he said, by throwing his rod upon
the ground, which, when he had done, it crept along, and was become a serpent,
and rolled itself round in its folds, and erected its head, as ready to
revenge itself on such as should assault it; after which it become a rod
again as it was before. After this God bid Moses to put his right hand
into his bosom: he obeyed, and when he took it out it was white, and in
color like to chalk, but afterward it returned to its wonted color again.
He also, upon God's command, took some of the water that was near him,
and poured it upon the ground, and saw the color was that of blood. Upon
the wonder that Moses showed at these signs, God exhorted him to be of
good courage, and to be assured that he would be the greatest support to
him; and bid him make use of those signs, in order to obtain belief among
all men, that "thou art sent by me, and dost all things according
to my commands. Accordingly I enjoin thee to make no more delays, but to
make haste to Egypt, and to travel night and day, and not to draw out the
time, and so make the slavery of the Hebrews and their sufferings to last
the longer."
2.275
Moses having now seen and heard these wonders that assured him of
the truth of these promises of God, had no room left him to disbelieve
them: he entreated him to grant him that power when he should be in Egypt;
and besought him to vouchsafe him the knowledge of his own name; and since
he had heard and seen him, that he would also tell him his name, that when
he offered sacrifice he might invoke him by such his name in his oblations.
Whereupon God declared to him his holy name, which had never been discovered
to men before; concerning which it is not lawful for me to say any more
note Now
these signs accompanied Moses, not then only, but always when he prayed
for them: of all which signs he attributed the firmest assent to the fire
in the bush; and believing that God would be a gracious supporter to him,
he hoped he should be able to deliver his own nation, and bring calamities
on the Egyptians.
note
2.277
SO Moses, when he understood that the Pharaoh, in whose reign he
fled away, was dead, asked leave of Raguel to go to Egypt, for the benefit
of his own people. And he took with him Zipporah, the daughter of Raguel,
whom he had married, and the children he had by her, Gersom and Eleazer,
and made haste into Egypt. Now the former of those names, Gersom, in the
Hebrew tongue, signifies that he was in a strange land; and Eleazer,
that, by the assistance of the God of his fathers, he had escaped from
the Egyptians. Now when they were near the borders, Aaron his brother,
by the command of God, met him, to whom he declared what had befallen him
at the mountain, and the commands that God had given him. But as they were
going forward, the chief men among the Hebrews, having learned that they
were coming, met them: to whom Moses declared the signs he had seen; and
while they could not believe them, he made them see them, So they took
courage at these surprising and unexpected sights, and hoped well of their
entire deliverance, as believing now that God took care of their preservation.