And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

EXODUS 3:5KJV
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Exodus 3:5 (KJV)

What does Exodus 3:5 mean?

Exodus 3:5 describes God setting a boundary for Moses at the burning bush. God tells Moses to stop approaching and remove his shoes because the ground where he stands is holy: it is set apart by God’s presence.

The command interrupts Moses as he turns aside to look at the bush. Removing his shoes marks the encounter as different from an ordinary meeting. The verse also places Moses within a space that calls for care before he hears what God will say next.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 3:5

  • “shoes” — נַעַל (naʿal): The word refers to footwear, often sandals. Moses is told to remove what separates his feet from the ground.
  • “holy” — קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh): The word carries the sense of being set apart as sacred. Here it describes the ground in relation to God’s presence, rather than a quality Moses could see in the soil itself.

Why Exodus 3:5 matters

  • The ground’s importance comes from the encounter taking place there. God gives the reason for the command with the words “for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
  • Moses is both called and stopped. In verse 4, God calls Moses by name; in verse 5, God tells him not to come closer. The two commands show that being addressed by God does not mean Moses may approach without regard for the boundary.
  • The voice from the bush identifies the speaker in the next verse. God names himself as the God of Moses’ father and of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, placing this encounter in the story of Moses’ family.

Where else these words appear

“off” Hebrew H5394 · used in 7 verses

  • Deuteronomy 7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
  • Deuteronomy 19:5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
  • Joshua 5:15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

“hither” Hebrew H1988 · used in 11 verses

  • Genesis 16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
  • Ruth 2:14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
  • 1 Samuel 14:38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.

“shoes” Hebrew H5275 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 14:23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
  • Joshua 9:13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
  • Isaiah 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

“whereon” Hebrew H834 · used in 105 verses

  • Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
  • Genesis 31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
  • Deuteronomy 12:2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: