Text -- Exodus 3:3 (NET)

3:3 So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up?”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Exo 3:3

¹ tn Heb “And Moses said.” The implication is that Moses said this to himself.

² tn The construction uses the cohortative אָסֻרָה־נָּא (’asura-nna’) followed by an imperfect with vav (וְאֶרְאֶה, vÿ’er’eh) to express the purpose or result (logical sequence): “I will turn aside in order that I may see.”

³ tn Heb “great.” The word means something extraordinary here. In using this term Moses revealed his reaction to the strange sight and his anticipation that something special was about to happen. So he turned away from the flock to investigate.

⁴ tn The verb is an imperfect. Here it has the progressive nuance – the bush is not burning up.