How long was moses in the wilderness before the burning bush?

Answer 1

The Exodus occurred in about 1441 BC (according to 1 Kings 6:1) and so it was not long before that. At the most only a year or two - this is because we don't know how long it took Moses to travel back to Egypt or how long the process of deliverance which led to the Exodus took.

Answer 2

Moses was shepherding Yisro's sheep, and he saw a burning bush which was not blackening. He understood that it was a divine sign and drew near to understand it more closely. Then God spoke to him (Exodus ch.3).

Answer 3

Moses was in the land of Midian, which is on the border of the Red Sea facing the Sinai Peninsula ( ie modern Saudi Arabia) when he saw the burning bush:-

Exo 3:1-5 KJV Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. [v. 2] And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. [v. 3] And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. [v. 4] And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. [v. 5] And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Moses then left to return to Egypt:-

Exo 4:18-21 KJV And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, andreturn unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. [v. 19] And the LORD said unto Moses inMidian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. [v. 20] And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. [v. 21] And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

At this time Moses was living in the land of Midian, which is on the border of the Red Sea facing the Sinai Peninsula, ( now Saudi Arabia). Rather than directly cross the barren and inhospitable Sinai peninsula to get to Egypt, they would have travelled along the 'King's Highway' to Jerusalem, and then either along the coast or inland along 'The Road To Shur' to the land of Goshen in Egypt. This is about 250 miles, and if Moses and his family travelled 10 miles a day by donkey this trip would have taken them about a month.

Soon after Moses arrived in Egypt the first of the 10 Plagues began. It is not known when Moses arrived in Egypt or how long it took for all 10 plagues to occur, but if it is assumed there was a plague every month then the total time from the burning bush to the Exodus from Egypt would have been a year - it could have been far less: we don't know. What is known is the date of the Exodus: this was dated by Bishop Ussher as 1446BC, which would make it 1447BC when Moses saw the burning bush.

Answer 4

The Lord made him see it because he chose Moses to lead his people.

Answer 5

Moses was on the top of Mount Sinai for a period of 40 days , but he went up again to get the ten commandments as the first two slabs were smashed.

Answer 6

Mount Horeb (Sinai) "The Mountain of God"

Answer 7

Eighty years old

Answer 8

80