Hebrew tradition: Moses [ca 1300 BCE]
Bible: Exodus » Chapter 3 : The Burning Bush
3:1 Moses tended the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, sheik of Midian.
He led the flock to the edge of the desert, and he came to God's Mountain,
in the Horeb area.
3:2 God's angel appeared to [Moses] in the heart of a fire, in the middle
of a thorn-bush. As he looked, [Moses] realized that the bush was on fire,
but was not being consumed.
3:3 Moses said [to himself], 'I must go over there and investigate this
wonderful phenomenon. Why doesn't the bush burn?'
3:4 When God saw that [Moses] was going to investigate, He called to him
from the middle of the bush.
'Moses, Moses!' He said.
'Yes,' replied [Moses].
3:5 'Do not come any closer,' said [God]. 'Take your shoes off your feet.
The place upon which you are standing is holy ground.'
3:6 [God then] said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, God
of Isaac, and God of Jacob.'
Moses hid his face, since he was afraid to look at the Divine.
3:7 God said, 'I have indeed seen the suffering of My people in Egypt. I
have heard how they cry out because of what their slave-drivers [do], and
I am aware of their pain.
3:8 I have come down to rescue them from Egypt's power. I will bring them
out of that land, to a good, spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and
honey, the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites
and Yebusites.