By asking God for his name, Moses was not simply trying to figure out what to call God. In those days, names conveyed important information about you: where you came from, whom you belonged to, or your status. Moses was asking God for his credentials: “What are you in charge of?” God didn’t respond with a name Moses expected, and certainly not with the list of credentials Moses was asking for. He simply replied with “I AM.” “I am” is a verb phrase, of course, not a name. By answering this way God is saying, “Moses, you can’t relate to me like anything or anyone else. I am beyond categories,
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