And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

EXODUS 3:12KJV
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Exodus 3:12 (KJV)

What does Exodus 3:12 mean?

God tells Moses that he will be with him as Moses brings Israel out of Egypt. God also promises that the rescued people will worship him on the very mountain where Moses is now speaking with him.

The key word is “serve” — עָבַד (avad), which can mean work, serve, or worship. Israel has been serving Egypt under forced labor; now God describes Israel’s future service to him. The rescue has a destination and a purpose: the people will gather at this mountain to worship God.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 3:12

  • “token” — אוֹת (ot): A sign that confirms something. Here the promised sign is the people’s future worship at the mountain. The words “When thou hast brought forth the people” place that confirmation after the departure from Egypt.

  • “sent” — שָׁלַח (shalach): To send or commission someone. In “that I have sent thee,” God identifies himself as the one commissioning Moses. Moses has just asked, “Who am I?” God’s answer centers on who sends Moses and accompanies him.

  • “forth” — יָצָא (yatsa): To go out. The form used here means to cause someone to go out, hence the KJV’s “brought forth.” Moses is commissioned to bring the people out of Egypt, rather than merely leave Egypt himself.

  • “God” — אֱלֹהִים (elohim): The Hebrew expression here means “the God,” referring to the God speaking to Moses. Although the word has a plural-shaped ending, the reference in this sentence is to one God, whom the people will serve.

Why Exodus 3:12 matters

  • The promise moves from Moses to the whole people. The KJV preserves the change: “with thee” addresses Moses alone, while “ye shall serve” addresses the people together.

  • The sign lies beyond the task Moses fears. God promises that Moses will return with the people to “this mountain,” the mountain identified as Horeb in Exodus 3:1. Their gathering there will confirm that God sent him.

  • God answers Moses’s question about his adequacy with a promise of presence. “Certainly I will be with thee” answers Moses’s “Who am I?” in the preceding verse. The commission rests on God accompanying Moses.

Where else these words appear

“that” Hebrew H3588 · used in 43 verses

  • Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
  • Exodus 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
  • Joshua 2:24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

“token” Hebrew H226 · used in 77 verses

  • Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
  • Deuteronomy 4:34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
  • Psalms 65:8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.