The narrative in Exodus 3 is normally divided by scholars among the sources J and E, with the allocation of the verses as follows: to E, vv. 1, 4b, 6, 9-15, 19-22; to J, vv. 2, 3, 4ac, 5, 7, 8, 16-18. I see no reason to quarrel with this basic division, though I hope to show in the following pages that there is every reason to reject the commonly held assumption that we have in the text thus divided a ninth or eighth century version of the tradition (E), and a tenth century version (J) respectively. Since the passage is clearly a central one in the matter of the origins of the Israelite cult of Yahweh, our conclusions, if they can be sustained, will be seen to have far-reaching conclusions for Old Testament studies.

The E Tradition

The lack of homogeneity in the E version has been widely acknowledged. M. Noth drew attention to the reference to Horeb in v. 1, and to ‘the middle of the bush’ in v. 4b, and suggested that these were added by Rje. Most attention has been paid however to vv. 13-15, where it has been noted that there must have been a succession of expansions to an older form of the tradition, since Moses' question in v. 13 elicits no less than three responses (vv. 14a, 14b, 15), each of which could stand on its own.