page_title: Burning bush
section_title: Interpretations from Eastern Orthodoxy
hierarchical_section_title: Burning bush / Interpretations from Eastern Orthodoxy
caption_attribution_description: English: The Icon of the Theotokos "Unburnt Bush" of the Old Testament. 19th, Polissya, Ukraine. The Museum of Ikrainian home icons, Radomysl Castle, Ukraine Polski: Ikona Matki Bożej „Krzew gorejący według Starego Testamentu” Українська: Iкона Богородиці «Неопалима Купина Старозавітна». Полісся, ХІХ ст. Музей української домашньої ікони, «Замок Радомисль» Русский: Икона Неопалимая Купина старозаветная. Полесье, XIX век. Музей украинской домашней иконы
context_page_description: The burning bush is an object described by the Book of Exodus as being located on Mount Horeb. According to the narrative, the bush was on fire, but was not consumed by the flames, hence the name. In the biblical narrative, the burning bush is the location at which Moses was appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan.
  The Hebrew word in the narrative that is translated into English as bush is seneh, which refers in particular to brambles; seneh is a biblical dis legomenon, only appearing in two places, both of which describe the burning bush. It is possible that the reference to a burning bush is based on a mistaken interpretation of Sinai, a mountain described in Exodus 19:18 as being on fire. Another possibility is that the use of seneh may be a deliberate pun on Sinai, a feature common in Hebrew texts.
context_section_description: In Eastern Orthodoxy a tradition exists, originating in the Orthodox Fathers of the Church and its Ecumenical Synods (or Councils), that the flame Moses saw was in fact God's Uncreated Energies/Glory, manifested as light, thus explaining why the bush was not consumed. Hence, it is not interpreted as a miracle in the sense of an event, which only temporarily exists, but is instead viewed as Moses being permitted to see these Uncreated Energies/Glory, which are considered to be eternal things; the Orthodox definition of salvation is this vision of the Uncreated Energies/Glory, and it is a recurring theme in the works of Greek Orthodox theologians such as John S. Romanides.
  In Eastern Orthodox parlance, the preferred name for the event is The Unburnt Bush, and the theology and hymnography of the church view it as prefiguring the virgin birth of Jesus; Eastern Orthodox theology refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus as the Theotokos ("God bearer"), viewing her as having given birth to Incarnate God without suffering any harm, or loss of virginity, in parallel to the bush being burnt without being consumed. There is an Icon by the name of the Unburnt Bush, which portrays Mary in the guise of God bearer; the icon's feast day is held on 4 September (Russian: Неопалимая Купина, romanized: Neopalimaya Kupina).
  While God speaks to Moses, in the narrative, Eastern Orthodoxy believes that the angel was also heard by Moses; Eastern orthodoxy interprets the angel as being the Logos of God, regarding it as the Angel of Great Counsel mentioned in the Septuagint version of Isaiah 9:6; (it is Counsellor, Almighty God in the masoretic text).
caption: The Icon of the Theotokos "Burning Bush" of the Old Testament. 19th century, Polissya, Ukraine. The Museum of Ukrainian home icons, Radomysl Castle, Ukraine[25]
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 1100D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2013:10:23 16:44:39", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "244", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "8620", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4148", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/4", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "3200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:10:08 15:20:20", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:10:08 15:20:20", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "2", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "27", "EXIF SubSecTime": "859", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "80", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "80", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1491", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1857", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8532", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "451200/181", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "300800/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}