But it was not always known:
Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by
the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
Why do you suppose YHWH did not make this name known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
Why was this name revealed to Moses?
If God changed his name once before, how many other names could he have and to what peoples?
Is it possible that God's name was changed again and now is known by the name of Jesus?
Why did he change his name from God Almighty that he was known of by his friend Abraham, to YHWH for Moses?
Why change the name?
hugs
I disagree, YHWH God used the title “God Almighty” (El Shaddai) when making his promise to Abraham concerning the birth of Isaac, a promise requiring that Abraham have great faith in God’s power to carry out that promise. It was thereafter used when God was spoken of as the one who would bless Isaac and Jacob as heirs of the Abrahamic covenant..(
Genesis17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 48:3)
In harmony with this, YHWH God could later say to Moses: “I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but as respects my name YHWH I did not make myself known to them.” (
Exodus 6:3) This could not mean that the name YHWH was unknown to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob since it was frequently used by them as well as by others before them. (
Genesis 4:1, 26; 14:22; 27:27; 28:16) In fact, in the book of Genesis, which relates the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the word “Almighty” occurs only 6 times, whereas the personal name YHWH was written 172 times in the original Hebrew text. Yet, while Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had come to appreciate by personal experience God’s right to and qualifications for the title of “the Almighty One,” they had not had opportunity to appreciate the full meaning and implications of his personal name, YHWH. In this regard, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary Volume 1, page 572 comments: “The former revelation, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, concerned promises belonging to a distant future; it supposed that they should be assured that He, YHWH, was such a God as was competent to fulfill them. The revelation at the bush was greater and more intimate, God’s power and immediate and continuing presence with them being all wrapped up in the familiar name of YHWH.”
Exodus 3:13-16 and Exodus
6:3 are often misapplied to mean that the true God name YHWH was first revealed to Moses sometime prior to the Exodus from Egypt. True, Moses raised the question: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” But this does not mean that he or the Israelites did not know the true God name was YHWH.The very name of Moses’ mother Jochebed means, possibly, “YHWH Is Glory.” (
Ex 6:20) Moses’ question likely was related to the circumstances in which the sons of Israel found themselves. They had been in hard slavery for many decades with no sign of any relief. Doubt, discouragement, and weakness of faith in God’s power and purpose to deliver them had very likely infiltrated their ranks. (Note also
Ezekiel 20:7, 8.) For Moses simply to say he came in the name of “God” (Elohim or the “Sovereign Lord” (Adhonai) therefore might not have meant much to the suffering Israelites. They knew the Egyptians had their own gods and lords and doubtless heard taunts from the Egyptians that their gods were superior to the God of the Israelites.
Then, too, we must keep in mind that names then had real meaning and were not just “labels” to identify an individual as today. Moses knew that Abram’s name (meaning “Father Is High (Exalted)”) was changed to Abraham (meaning “Father of a Crowd (Multitude)”), the change being made because of God’s purpose concerning Abraham. So, too, the name of Sarai was changed to Sarah and that of Jacob to Israel; in each case the change revealed something fundamental and prophetic about God’s purpose concerning them. Moses may well have wondered if YHWH God would now reveal himself under some new name to throw light on his purpose toward Israel. Moses’ going to the Israelites in the “name” of the One who sent him meant being the representative of that One, and the greatness of the authority with which Moses would speak would be determined by or be commensurate with that name and what it represented. (Compare
Exodus 23:20, 21; 1Samuel 17:45.) So, Moses’ question was a meaningful one.
God’s reply in Hebrew was:
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh. Some translations render this as “I AM THAT I AM.” However, it is to be noted that the Hebrew verb hayah, from which the word
Ehyeh is drawn, does not mean simply “be.” Rather, it mens “become,” or “prove to be.” The reference here is not to God’s self-existence but to what he has in mind to become toward others. Therefore, the
New World Translation properly renders the Hebrew expression Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh as “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” YHWH God thereafter added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to you.’”(
Exodus 3:14)
That this meant no change in God’s name, but only an additional insight into God’s personality, is seen from his further words: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘YHWH the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation.” (
Exodus 3:15; compare
Psalm 135:13; Hosea 12:5.) The name YHWH comes from a Hebrew verb that means “to become,” and a number of scholars suggest that the name means “He Causes to Become.” This definition well fits YHWH God role as the Creator of all things and the Fulfiller of his purpose. Only the true God could rightly and authentically bear such a name.
This aids one in understanding the sense of YHWH God later statement to Moses: “I am YHWH. And I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but as respects my name YHWH I did not make myself known to them.” (
Exodus 6:2, 3) Since the name YHWH was used many times by Abraham Isaac and Jacob who were ancestors of Moses, it is evident that God meant that he manifested himself to them in the capacity of YHWH God only in a limited way. To illustrate this, those who had known the man Abram could hardly be said to have really
known him as
Abraham (meaning “Father of a Crowd (Multitude)”) while he had but one son, Ishmael. When Isaac and other sons were born and began producing offspring, the name Abraham took on greater meaning or import. So, too, the name YHWH would now take on expanded meaning for the Israelites.
To “know,” therefore, does not necessarily mean merely to be acquainted with or cognizant of something or someone. The foolish Nabal knew David’s name but still asked, “Who is David?” in the sense of asking, “What does he amount to?” (
1Samuel 25:9-11; compare
2Samuel 8:13.) So, too, Pharaoh had said to Moses: “Who is YHWH, so that I should obey his voice to send Israel away? I do not know YHWH at all and, what is more, I am not going to send Israel away.” (
Exodus 5:1, 2) By that, Pharaoh evidently meant that he did not know YHWH God as the true God or as having any authority over Egypt’s king and his affairs, nor as having any might to enforce His will as announced by Moses and Aaron. But now Pharaoh and all Egypt, along with the Israelites, would come to know the real meaning of that name, the person it represented. As YHWH God showed Moses, this would result from God’s carrying out His purpose toward Israel, liberating them, giving them the Promised Land, and thereby fulfilling His covenant with their forefathers. In this way, as God said, “You will certainly know that I am YHWH your God.”(
Exodus 6:4-8)