The Burning Bush
The logo of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America is also an image of the burning bush with the phrase "and the bush was not consumed" in both English and Hebrew.[25]
Eastern Orthodoxy[edit]
Traditional icon of Our Lady of the Burning Bush (Neopalimaya Kupina).
The Icon of the Theotokos "Burning Bush" of the Old Testament. 19th century, Polissya, Ukraine. The Museum of Ukrainian home icons, Radomysl Castle, Ukraine[26]
In Eastern Orthodoxy a tradition exists, originating in the early Christian Church Fathers and its Ecumenical Synods (or Councils), that the flame Moses saw was in fact God's Uncreated Energies/Glory, manifested as light, thus explaining why the bush was not consumed. It is viewed as Moses being permitted to see these Uncreated Energies/Glory, which are considered to be eternal things; the Orthodox definition of salvation is this vision of the Uncreated Energies/Glory, and it is a recurring theme in the works of Greek Orthodox theologians such as John S. Romanides.
In Eastern Orthodox parlance, the preferred name for the event is The Unburnt Bush, and the theology and hymnography of the church view it as prefiguring the virgin birth of Jesus; Eastern Orthodox theology refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus as the Theotokos ("God bearer"), viewing her as having given birth to Incarnate God without suffering any harm, or loss of virginity, in parallel to the bush being burnt without being consumed.[27] There is an Icon by the name of the Unburnt Bush, which portrays Mary in the guise of God bearer; the icon's feast day is held on 4 September (Russian: Неопалимая Купина, romanized: Neopalimaya Kupina).
While God speaks to Moses, in the narrative, Eastern Orthodoxy believes that the angel was also heard by Moses; Eastern orthodoxy interprets the angel as being the Logos of God,[citation needed] regarding it as the Angel of Great Counsel mentioned in the Septuagint version of Isaiah 9:6;[28] (it is Counsellor, Mighty God in the Masoretic Text).
Reformed tradition[edit]
The emblem of the Church of Scotland, above the entrance to the Church Offices in Edinburgh
The burning bush has been a popular symbol among Reformed churches since it was first adopted by the Huguenots (French Calvinists) in 1583 during its 12th National Synod. The French motto Flagror non consumor – "I am burned but not consumed" – suggests the symbolism was understood of the suffering church that nevertheless lives.[29] However, given the fire is a sign of God's presence, he who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) the miracle appears to point to a greater miracle: God, in grace, is with his covenant people and so they are not consumed.
The current symbol of the Reformed Church of France is a burning bush with the Huguenot cross.
The motto of the Church of Scotland is Nec tamen consumebatur, Latin for "Yet it was not consumed", an allusion to the biblical description of the burning bush, and a stylised depiction of the burning bush is used as the Church's symbol. Usage dates from the 1690s.
The burning bush is also used as the basis of the symbol of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which uses the Latin motto Ardens sed virens, meaning "Burning but flourishing", and is based on the biblical description of the burning bush. The same logo is used from the separated Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.
The burning bush is also the symbol of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Presbyterian Church in Australia crest, Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia with the motto in English since its foundation in 1846: 'And the Bush was not consumed', Presbyterian Church in New Zealand, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, Presbyterian Church in Singapore, Presbyterian Church of Brazil, the Presbyterian Church in Malaysia, the Free Reformed Churches of North America, and the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.
According to the Qur’án, Moses (Musa) departed for Egypt along with his family after completing the time period. The Qur’án states that during their travel, as they stopped near the Tur, Musa observed a fire and instructed the family to wait until he returned with fire for them.[30] When Musa reached the Valley of Tuwa, God called out to him from the right side of the valley from a tree, on what is revered as Al-Buq‘ah Al-Mubārakah (Arabic: الـبُـقـعَـة الـمُـبَـارَكَـة, "The Blessed Ground") in the Qur’án.[31] Musa was commanded by God to remove his shoes and was informed of his selection as a prophet, his obligation of prayer and the Day of Judgment. Musa was then ordered to throw his rod which turned into a snake and later instructed to hold it.[32][33] The Qur’án then narrates Musa being ordered to insert his hand into his clothes and upon revealing it would shine a bright light. God states that these are signs for the Pharaoh, and orders Musa to invite Pharaoh to the worship of one God.[32]
Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh located in Bahjí near Acre, Israel
The Baháʼí Faith understands the Burning Bush to represent the Voice of God. The term Burning Bush appears frequently in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the faith. In the teachings of the Baháʼí Faith, the Voice of God as spoken from the Burning Bush, is now, through the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, speaking directly to humanity; “a Revelation,” Bahá’u’lláh proclaims, "the potency of which hath caused every tree to cry out what the Burning Bush had aforetime proclaimed unto Moses.”[34]
In recounting the association between Moses and the Burning Bush, Bahá’u’lláh writes,
Call thou to mind the days when He Who conversed with God tended, in the wilderness, the sheep of Jethro, His father-in-law. He hearkened unto the Voice of the Lord of mankind coming from the Burning Bush which had been raised above the Holy Land, exclaiming, “O Moses! Verily I am God, thy Lord and the Lord of thy forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” He was so carried away by the captivating accent of the Voice that He detached Himself from the world and set out in the direction of Pharaoh and his people, invested with the power of thy Lord Who exerciseth sovereignty over all that hath been and shall be. The people of the world are now hearing that which Moses did hear, but they understand not. -from Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh[35]
The Rastafari believe that the burning bush was cannabis.