Who is God? · Foundations
Step 3 of 3
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What does God's name tell us about him?
14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Read the verses around it (Exodus 3:13-15)
13And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
6And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Read the verses around it (Exodus 34:5-9)
5And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
Our explanation
When Moses asked for God's name, God answered "I AM THAT I AM," and told him to say that "the LORD God of your fathers" had sent him. "This is my name for ever" (Exodus 3:15).
In the King James Version, "LORD" in capital letters stands for that name, written in Hebrew with four letters (see the word card).
Later, God proclaimed his name to Moses by describing his character: "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," forgiving, yet not clearing the guilty (Exodus 34:6-7). His name is tied to who he is.
Word cardיהוהYHWH
The personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible, written with four letters. It is connected with the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14). The King James Version usually shows it as "LORD" in capital letters, and a few times as "JEHOVAH" (Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18). How it was first pronounced is not known for certain; many scholars suggest "Yahweh."
Exodus 3:14-15 · Exodus 6:3 · Psalm 83:18
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste!”
Psalm 119:103
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