The Giving of God’s Special Name

The Giving of God’s Special Name 

I. The Role of Names in the Ancient World 

In ancient times to give a name to something or someone was, in a sense, to have some degree of power or authority or control over what was named. Recall, for example, the old folktale about Rumplestiltskin, in which the young girl was able attain release from the control of Rumplestiltskin when she learned and pronounced his name. 

Furthermore, the name of a person was considered a summary of that person’s nature or character. An important change in a person’s status often called for a new name: “Abram” to “Abraham,” and “Jacob” to “Israel,” for example. Even the name of a place was understood as having to do with the character of the locality, or with some special event that occurred there. A message delivered or an action done “in the name of” a person, even though that person were absent from the scene, meant that the authority, power, character, and the active presence of that person were fully involved in what took place. 

In the New Testament, for example, it is only in that sense that Christians are meant to understand prayer “in the Name of Jesus” in a text like John 14:13-14. There Jesus is reminding His followers that their prayers must be in accordance with His own Spirit and character—which presumably would automatically exclude any purely selfish requests. Thus, the phrase, “in the Name of Jesus” was never intended simply as a magical rubric that a person could stick at the end of a prayer to guarantee results, in the manner in which some TV evangelists use it. 

Because of these considerations the Hebrews spoke of the gift of God’s Name to them as an event of special importance. Whenever God initiates a covenant, or some other special action with Abraham or Jacob or Moses and the people at Sinai God speaks the Divine Name. For example, the prelude to the giving of the Ten Commandments: 

20:1 Then ’Elohim [Hebrew: “God”] spoke all these words: He said, 2 “I am Yahweh, your ’Elohim [Hebrew: God], Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. . . .—Exodus 20: 1-2a 

The beginnings of Israel’s experience and understanding of the significance of God’s Name “Yahweh” (KJV, NRSV, REB, NJPS and most other translations: “The LORD”) is apparently to be found in two accounts of the call and commissioning of Moses, in Exodus chapters 3 (J-E) and 6-7 (P). Today most interpreters of the Bible have concluded that we have in these chapters two accounts of one and the same event set in two different contexts. At any rate, they certainly deal with the same subject matter. 

II. The Priestly Tradition (P) 

The account of Moses’ commissioning in Exodus 6 and 7 is significant. It clearly indicates that tradition’s belief (probably a correct one) that at this point, for those who participated in the Exodus and for their descendants, they understood that there was a change in the Name of the God of the Ancestors, to signify the great deliverance that was about to take place. We are here told that the God previously experienced and known as “’El Shaddai” ( = “God Almighty” or “God of the Mountain”) (Genesis 17:1; 28:3: 35:11: 43:13; 48:3; 49:25) is now to be experienced and known as “Yahweh.” 

6:2 ’Elohim [God] spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am Yahweh.” 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as ’El Shaddai [“God Almighty”], but I did not make Myself known to them by My Name Yahweh. [however, cf. Genesis 4:26; 12:8; 14:22; 15:2, 7-8; 16:2; 18: 18:13-14; 19:13; 24:3, 31; 28:13!] 4 I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: “I am Yahweh. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through great acts of judgment. 7 And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your ’Elohim. And you shall know that I, Yahweh, am your ’Elohim, Who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession. I, Yahweh, will do this.’”—Exodus 6:2-8 

III. The Old Epic (J-E—Yahwist-Elohist) Tradition 

The other account of Moses’ call and commissioning, in Exodus 3 and 4, is perhaps more illuminating, but is also more puzzling. It comes from a combination of traditions: One tradition (the “Elohist” [E]), like the Priestly one, holds that the Name “Yahweh” was not revealed until the call and commissioning of Moses. The other (the “Yahwist” [J]) did not hesitate to read the use of the Name Yahweh back to the time of the man and the woman in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:4b ff.). And it continued to use that Name in the stories of the flood, the tower in Babylon, and the experiences of the Patriarchs. Here is the Old J-E Epic Tradition of Moses’ call and commissioning: 

3:1 Now Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, drove the flock into the wilderness, and came to Horeb [the E tradition’s name for Sinai], the mountain of ’Elohim [God]. 2 And the Messenger [“Angel,” perhaps representing here the Presence] of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush [Hebrew: sineh, probably a play on the word “Sinai”]. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?” 4 When Yahweh saw that he had turned aside to look, ’Elohim called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” 5 And He [i.e., ’Elohim/Yahweh] said, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. 6 He said further, “I am the ’Elohim of your ancestor, the ’Elohim of Abraham, the ’Elohim of Isaac, and the ’Elohim of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at ’Elohim. 

7 And Yahweh continued, “I have marked well the plight of My people in Egypt, and have heeded their outcry because of their taskmasters; yes, I am mindful of their sufferings. 8 I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the region of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me; moreover, I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt.” 

11 But Moses said to ’Elohim, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?” 12 And He said, “I WILL BE [Hebrew: ’Ehyeh] with you; that shall be the sign that it was I Who sent you. And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship ’Elohim on this mountain.” 

13 Moses said to ’Elohim, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The ’Elohim of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His Name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14a And ’Elohim said to Moses, “’Ehyeh-’Asher-’Ehyeh” [Hebrew, probably to be translated: “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE,” but other translations are also possible]. 

14b He continued, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, “’Ehyeh [“I WILL BE”] has sent me to you.’” 15 And ’Elohim said further to Moses, “Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: ‘Yahweh [Hebrew, probably should be translated as HE (or, THE ONE) WHO WILL BE], the ’Elohim of your ancestors, the ’Elohim of Abraham, the ’Elohim of Isaac, and the ’Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This shall be My Name forever; thus I will be remembered for all generations.” –Exodus 3:1-15 

Grammatically speaking, the Hebrew verb ’ehyeh is a first-person singular, imperfect tense/aspect, form of the verb hayah, “to be.” The Name “Yahweh” is a third-person singular, imperfect tense form of the same verb. There is actually no time element in Hebrew verbs; the primary element is the state of the action. A perfect tense speaks of action completed—in the past, the present, or the future, depending on the context; an imperfect tense speaks of action in progress, but not yet completed—in the past, the present, or the future, depending on the context. All of this would seem to imply that the Deity was describing Himself as simply the “Being One,” the “Eternal One,” or the “Everlasting One”—the One unalterably persisting in His “Being.” But that is a rather abstract concept of a kind not present elsewhere in Hebrew thought. 

Actually the verb “to be” in Hebrew does not carry the particular shade of meaning of pure “existence” for its own sake. Hebrew thought is more concrete, and this verb speaks of “happening,” “coming into being,” “being there,” “being present,” “being . . . thus and thus” for a purpose, or for the sake of something or someone—but not just to pure “being” in an absolute sense. Its reference, therefore, is rather to “being” in act, in activity, than “being” at rest. And therefore, whatever else this passage means, we can say with near certainty that the reference here is not to God “as God is in Himself,” but rather to God “as God turns Himself towards human beings.” 

Some interpreters have suggested a causative implication in the verb, with the sense, “I Cause to Be What Comes Into Being,” as referring to God in the particular role as Creator. I’m not sure that meaning fits this context, although it might fit in other passages in which the Name Yahweh occurs in the Hebrew Bible. It is certainly grammatically possible. 

Others have suggested that the phrase “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE” or “I AM WHO I AM” is a way of responding to Moses’ question by suggesting, “My Name is none of your business.” In light of what we noted about the significance of giving and knowing names in ancient cultures, as having some degree of power or authority over what was named, this suggestion would perhaps seem relevant. But if so we must come to terms with the fact that Yahweh did not really avoid the question. 

At this moment, of all moments, this God, Who comes to inform His people of their impending liberation, is actually revealing something about Himself, and not trying to put distance between Himself and the people He comes to deliver. What we have here is a picture of a God Who condescends to these people, making them aware both of His willingness to help them, and of His supporting Presence. 

Such an idea is supported by three more occurrences of that same Hebrew verb ’ehyeh in this account. In Exodus 3:12, after Moses says, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites. . . . ” God replies, “I WILL BE (’ehyeh) with you; that shall be your sign that it was I Who sent you.” Again, in Exodus 4:12 and 15, after Moses again protests that he is not eloquent, God again reminds Moses, “I WILL BE (’ehyeh) with your mouth.” So when God says to Moses, “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE,” we might even extend its meaning to “I WILL MANIFEST MYSELF TO BE WHO I WILL MANIFEST MYSELF TO BE,” or “I WILL BE FOR YOU WHO I WILL BE FOR YOU,” or “I WILL BE FOR YOU THE ONE WHO WILL BE WITH YOU.” 

There is even perhaps an echo of this sense of God’s Presence in the story found in Isaiah 7:1-17. During the time of the military crisis in 734 BCE, the “Syro-Epharaimitic War,” the prophet counseled King Ahaz to trust in Yahweh, rather than in military alliances. As a guarantee of Yahweh’s help, the prophet promises the impending the birth of a child (probably a child of the King or of Isaiah himself). Both the life of this child and its name, “Immanu-El” [ = “God is with us”] (Isaiah 7:14) would be a sign that Yahweh would protect Ahaz and his kingdom. 

Christians, of course, have come to believe that they have experienced a “fulfillment” of the name “Immanu-El” in the Person of Jesus, even though Isaiah probably never actually had Jesus in mind. Jesus certainly never referred to Himself as “Immanu-El,” but the early Church recognized that for them He fulfilled the meaning of that Name as no other messianic figure could. 

IV. “Calling on the Name” of Yahweh 

According to the Exodus story, the people did learn a name for their God, the Name “Yahweh,” and this Name was accepted as being in itself the guarantee of that revelation of deliverance that God had been pleased to give them. So this Name was very far from being just a Name that a person could learn and then there was no more to it. This Name stood for, and summed up, the gift of the whole gracious will of God for His people. As a result, their constant “calling upon the Name of Yahweh”—as, for instance, in the Psalms—was anything but a meaningless figure of speech for those people: 

Psalm 116: 

12 What shall I return to Yahweh for all His bounty to me? 

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of Yahweh, 

14 I will pay my vows to Yahweh in the presence of all His people. . . . 

17 I will offer to You a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the Name of Yahweh, 

18 I will pay my vows to Yahweh in the Presence of all His people, 

19 In the courts of the House of Yahweh, in your midst, O Jerusalem. 

Hallellu-Yah ( = Praise Yah[weh])!—Psalm 116:12-14, 17-19 

And again, 

Psalm 23: 

1 Yahweh is the One shepherding me, 

I am never wanting for anything. 

2 He is the One ever making me to lie down in green pastures; 

He is the One always leading me beside peaceful waters; 

3 He is the One constantly restoring my being 

He is the One constantly leading me in the paths of righteousness 

For His Name’s sake. . . .–Psalm 23:1-3 

Chapters 33 and 34 of Exodus throw a little more light on the significance of the Name Yahweh. Here Yahweh tells Moses that the time has come for the people to leave Sinai and make their way into the desert. Moses again expresses anxiety as he contemplates the way before them. He wants assurance that Yahweh will continue to go with them. Yahweh promises: 

“I will let all My glory pass in front of you, and I will pronounce before you the Name “Yahweh”. I have compassion on whom I will have compassion, and I show mercy to whom I show mercy.”—Exodus 33:19 

—an expression almost identical in form to the one we encountered in Exodus 3. 

Then Yahweh places Moses in the cleft of a rock, so that Moses cannot see God’s Face. God passes by as Moses “calls upon the Name of Yahweh,” and Yahweh proclaims in the passing by: 

“Yahweh, Yahweh, ’Elohim [God] of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness, for thousands maintaining His kindness, forgiving faults, transgressions, sin . . . ” etc. –Exodus 34:6 

Once more, as the Name is revealed, so also is the character of the Deity with Whom Moses and the Israelites must deal during their entire existence as a people.