Exodus 3:7

Hebrew Bible

5 God said, “Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He added, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.

Nehemiah 9:9

Hebrew Bible

7 “You are the Lord God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham. 8 When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous. 9You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea. 10 You performed awesome signs against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians had acted presumptuously against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day. 11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through the sea on dry ground. But you threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into surging waters.

 Notes and References

"... The wording of Nehemiah 9:9 seems to be a prayer-confession of Exodus 3:7 ... “See” and “hear” in Nehemiah 9:9 as well as “know” in 9:10b probably reflect their usage in Exodus 3:7 emphasising YHWH’s nearness and attentiveness to his covenant people in the midst of their trouble. The prayer focuses on this particular aspect of the exodus story probably because of its own hunger for God’s attentiveness. Unlike Exodus 3:7, Israel’s cry in Nehemiah 9:9 is not situated within the setting of Israel’s subjugation in Egypt but rather associated with Israel’s alarm at the Sea of Reeds during the approach of Pharaoh’s chariots (Exodus 14:10b, 21). Newman regards this reference to the people’s cry at the Sea located before the events of 9:10 as “sequentially misplaced.” This, however, overlooks the carefully crafted structure of Nehemiah 9:9 – 11, which displays the synthetic parallel construction ..."

Vincent, Kean Hong Scripture and Its Readers: Readings of Israel's Story in Nehemiah 9:6-37, Ezekiel 20:5-31 and Acts 7:2-6 (pp. 105-106) Durham University, 2011

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.