Occam’s Razor, Moses’ First Encounter with God: an Alternative View of the Burning Bush

according to the merriam-webster dictionary, occam’s razor is defined as

“a scientific and philosophical rule that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily which is interpreted as requiring that the simplest of competing theories be preferred to the more complex or that explanations of unknown phenomena be sought first in terms of known quantities”

prior to moses’ first encounter with god at the burning bush, the torah states that

“moses was pasturing the flocks of jethro, his father in law, the chief of midian, and he led the flocks after the free pastureland, and he came to the mountain of god, to horeb.” exodus 3:1

many bible stories tell the story as if moses simply wandered up the mountain in search of a lost member of his flock and then encountered the burning bush. these stories come off as if this encounter was random. it is contended that the text of the torah tells a far different story.

moses came to the mountain of god. why should the reader believe if that was the case?

if someone went to an ice cream store, would you make the assume that the person was searching for ice cream? this is the premise of occam’s razor. therefore, it is contended that moses was going to the mountain of god to search out……god. and he found him in a big way. the language is clear. moses led the flock to the destination. the destination was the mountain of god. thus, moses intended to come to the mountain of god. therefore, it should be concluded that the meeting was not random. thus, it is contended that, at that point in time, moses intended to seek a relationship with god.

this contention is further supported by the first words from god to moses “”moses, moses!” and he said, “here i am!” exodus 3:4. there is no indication that moses then asking, “who are you?” the reason being is that there was no such question was the fact that moses knew who he was meeting. also, god knew that moses knew who he was looking for him.

further, of import, almost instantaneously, moses is then tasked by god to taking the children of israel out of egypt. would god task someone with such a huge responsibility based upon a random encounter? it is contended that this meeting was intended by both people. perhaps moses was taken aback at the urgency and directedness of god. it can be argued that god had been waiting awhile for moses to finally “step up” to the mountain and take on his acceptance of god and the task at hand. as we know, both moses and god were aware of the suffering of god’s people. it was not necessary for moses to be educated.

be well!