Exodus 3:14, the Divine Name of God
And 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.
//Moses, worried that Israel won't accept his authority if he returns to Egypt to try and rescue the children of Israel, asks God for God's name. God identifies himself as I AM, in what became recognized as a Divine Formula. For example, John's Gospel seven times presents Jesus as the I AM in a claim of divinity. In John, the Jews recognize this claim, and wish to stone him for impersonating God.
But what does the phrase really mean? Other suggested translations include "I will be who I will be," or "I cause to be what I cause to be." In each case, the answer isn't an answer at all for poor Moses. Karen Armstrong believes it was a Hebrew idiomatic expression to denote deliberate vagueness. God will be whatever or whomever he wishes!
This vagueness may have contributed to the understanding that God's name was to be revered, not dissected. The two most common names for God in the original Hebrew are Elohim and YHWH, and the latter became so sacred that it was never spoken aloud. Readers of the scriptures would substitute the name Adonai, meaning "my Lord." YHWH is usually written and pronounced Yahweh by today's scholars (some references read Jehovah), but in truth, the pronunciation of God's holy name has been forever forgotten through lack of use. We no longer even know the name of God.
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//Moses, worried that Israel won't accept his authority if he returns to Egypt to try and rescue the children of Israel, asks God for God's name. God identifies himself as I AM, in what became recognized as a Divine Formula. For example, John's Gospel seven times presents Jesus as the I AM in a claim of divinity. In John, the Jews recognize this claim, and wish to stone him for impersonating God.
But what does the phrase really mean? Other suggested translations include "I will be who I will be," or "I cause to be what I cause to be." In each case, the answer isn't an answer at all for poor Moses. Karen Armstrong believes it was a Hebrew idiomatic expression to denote deliberate vagueness. God will be whatever or whomever he wishes!
This vagueness may have contributed to the understanding that God's name was to be revered, not dissected. The two most common names for God in the original Hebrew are Elohim and YHWH, and the latter became so sacred that it was never spoken aloud. Readers of the scriptures would substitute the name Adonai, meaning "my Lord." YHWH is usually written and pronounced Yahweh by today's scholars (some references read Jehovah), but in truth, the pronunciation of God's holy name has been forever forgotten through lack of use. We no longer even know the name of God.
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