Burning Bush

The Burning Bush before Moses (Art by Louiz Brito)

## Names and Epithets

### Aliases

Burning Bush, Flaming Shrub, Unburnt Bush, I Am that I Am, The Angel of the Lord

## Portrayal

### Voice Actor

Hideaki Tezuka (Japanese)
Val Kilmer (English)

The **Burning Bush**, also known as the **Flaming Shrub**, is a shrub that appeared burning for the prophet Moses and spoke to him claiming to be the "God of yours fathers", the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Yahweh. The Burning Bush was also what gave Moses the powers he would need to dethrone the gods of Egypt and defeat Pharaoh.

## Overview

During the year 2,300 BCE, Moses was tending his sheep near the mountains of Midian, where as ruler he saw a very powerful glow coming from the mountain, and as he ascended he came across a bush on fire, but which although it was on fire, the fire didn't burn it.

It was then that the bush spoke to Moses introducing himself as "I Am that I Am" and gave him a staff that is a Sacred Gear, in order to perform miracles and extraordinary deeds. The Burning Bush is believed to have been the manifestation of Yahweh, or one of His Angels, although the most accepted thesis is that the Burning Bush was Yahweh Himself.

The fire that manifested in the Burning Bush appears to have been the same fire that manifested in the Pillar of Fire and later inhabited the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. This same fire would also have been responsible for smoking the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, charring from the inside out.

## Myths and Legends

In real life, within Judaism and Christianity, it is believed that the Burning Bush was a manifestation of Yahweh (God the Father) through the Bush and spoke to Moses, this being a theophanic manifestation of the Lord. However, in Christianity some scholars and teachers argue that the Burning Bush was not a Theophanic but a Christophanic manifestation, which was Jesus Christ Himself who appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush.

## Quotes

* *"Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto 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 turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 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. 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."* - Exodus 3:1-6.

* *"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. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD, the 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."* - Exodus 3:13-15.

## Gallery

(Art by Sébastien Bourdon)(Art by Eikonik)*The Burning Bush speaks to Moses* (Scene from Prince of Egypt)
## Trivia

* Helena Smith when recovering her memories as Lucifer, she mentions that below or behind the Burning Bush on Mount Horeb there was a portal that gave access to Heaven, so the voice that spoke to Moses did not allow him to approach.