Day 7 – 03. Burning Bush │Moses well

Burning Bush

Burning bush │Moses Well


The burning bush is an object described by the Book of Exodus[3:1–4:17] 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 Adonai (God) to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan.
The Hebrew word used in the narrative, that is translated into English as bush, is seneh (סנה‎), 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 (סיני‎), a mountain described by the Bible as being on fire. Another possibility is that the use of seneh (סנה‎) may be a deliberate pun on Sinai (סיני‎), a feature common in Hebrew texts.

Biblical narrative
In the narrative, an angel of the Lord is described as appearing in the bush, and God is subsequently described as calling out from it to Moses, who had been grazing Jethro’s flocks there. When Moses starts to approach, God tells Moses to take off his sandals first, due to the place being holy ground, and Moses hides his face.[9] Some Old Testament scholars regard the account of the burning bush as being spliced together from the Yahwist and Elohist texts, with the Angel of Adonai and the removal of sandals being part of the Yahwist version, and the Elohist’s parallels to these being God and the turning away of Moses’ face, respectively.
When challenged on his identity, Adonai replies that he is the God of the Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and that he is Adonai. The text derives Yahweh (יהוה‎) from the Hebrew word hayah (היה‎) in the phrase ehyeh ašer ehyeh , meaning he who is he, or I am that I am;.
The text portrays Adonai as telling Moses that he is sending him to the Pharaoh in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, an action that Adonai is described as having decided upon as a result of noticing that the Israelites were being oppressed by the Egyptians. Yahweh tells Moses to tell the elders of the Israelites that Adonai would lead them into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a region generally referred to as a whole by the term Canaan; this is described as being a land of milk and honey.
According to the narrative Adonai instructs Moses to confront the Egyptians and Israelites and briefs the prophet on what is to take place. Adonai then performs various demonstrative miracles in order to bolster Moses’ credibility. Among other things, his staff was transmuted into a snake, Moses’ hand was temporarily made leprous, and water was transmuted into blood, In the text, Yahweh instructs Moses to take this staff in his hands, in order to perform miracles with it, as if it is a staff given to him, rather than his own; some textual scholars propose that this latter instruction is the Elohist’s version of the more detailed earlier description, where Moses uses his own staff, which they attribute to the Yahwist.
Despite the signs, Moses is described as being very reluctant to take on the role, arguing that he lacked eloquence, and that someone else should be sent instead; in the text, Yahweh reacts by angrily rebuking Moses for presuming to lecture the One who made the mouth on who was qualified to speak and not to speak. Yet Yahweh concedes and allows Aaron to be sent to assist Moses, since Aaron is eloquent and was already on his way to meet Moses. This is the first time in the Torah that Aaron is mentioned, and here he is described as being Moses’ mouth piece.

Location
Christian hermits originally gathered at Mount Serbal, believing it to be the biblical Mount Sinai. However, in the 4th century, under the Byzantine Empire, the monastery built there was abandoned in favour of the newer belief that Mount Saint Catherine was the Biblical Mount Sinai; a new monastery – Saint Catherine’s Monastery was built at its foot, and the alleged site of the biblical burning bush was identified. The bush growing at the spot (a bramble, scientific name Rubus sanctus, was later transplanted several yards away to a courtyard of the monastery, and its original spot was covered by a chapel dedicated to the Annunciation, with a silver star marking where the roots of the bush had come out of the ground. The Monks at Saint Catherine’s Monastery, following church tradition, believe that this bush is, in fact, the original bush seen by Moses, rather than a later replacement, and anyone entering the chapel is required to remove their shoes, just as Moses was said to have done so in the biblical account.
However, in modern times, it is not Mount Saint Catherine, but the adjacent Jebel Musa (Mount Moses), which is currently identified as Mount Sinai by popular tradition and guide books; this identification arose from Bedouin tradition.
Mount Serbal, Mount Sinai, and Mount Saint Catherine, all lie at the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, but the peninsula’s name is a comparatively modern invention, and it was not known by that name at the time of Josephus or earlier. Most modern scholars, as well as many modern theologians, dismiss the idea that the biblical Sinai was at the south of the peninsula, instead favouring locations in the Hijaz (at the north west of Saudi Arabia), northern Arabah (in the vicinity of Petra, or the surrounding area), or occasionally in the central or northern Sinai Peninsula. Hence, the majority of academics and theologians agree that if the burning bush ever existed, then it is highly unlikely to be the bush preserved at St Catherine’s Monastery.
Source : wikipedia 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLF-eRdbvzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dls_zF396w
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Moses Well

Image result for moses well saint catherine's monastery
Image credit : pinterest.com

St Catherine’s Monastery also encompasses the Well of Moses, also known as the Well of Jethro, where Moses is said to have met his future wife, Zipporah.
As recounted in Exodus (2:15-21), Moses was resting by the well when the seven daughters of Jethro (also called Reuel) came to draw water. Some shepherds drove them away and Moses came to their defence.
In gratitude, Jethro invited Moses to his home and gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage.
The well is still one of the monastery’s main sources of water.
Source : seetheholyland.net 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKEV2cpa8M

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