What does אֵלָ֛יו mean in Exodus 3:2?

Question

Here is the verse taken from the WLC. אֵלָ֛יו is the fourth word in the verse, following יְהֹוָ֥ה.

3:2 וַ֠יֵּרָא מַלְאַ֨ךְ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֵלָ֛יו בְּלַבַּת־אֵ֖שׁ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֑ה וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְהַסְּנֶ֖ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ אֻכָּֽל׃

And he saw a messenger of God in a flame of fire, from the midst of the bush, and he saw, and behold the bush was burning with the fire, and the bush was not consumed.

What does this word mean in the context above? I can think of two possibilities. First, it could be the preposition "to" with an ending that indicates "to him". But there is a second possibility. I know that this word can also be the root for God. Does it mean God, or more specifically, "his God"?

Answer 1

I thought about this a little more and realized that I mistook the meaning of the first word, וַ֠יֵּרָא. I parsed it as active, when really it belongs to the niphal binyan and is passive.

The most literal translation of the opening phrase would be, "And there was seen to him a messenger of God", or even better, "And there appeared to him a messenger of God".

The word אֵלָ֛יו most appropriately means "to him". Below is a complete translation.

And there appeared to him a messenger of God in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush; and he saw and behold, the bush was burning with the fire, and the bush was not consumed.