God’s Name

Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:13-14).

When asked his name, God replies, “I Am Who I Am.” The Hebrew YHWH (pronounced “Yahweh”) means “I Will Be What I Will Be”.

God is alive, immediate, and present. He is! In the past He was known by what He did for the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Now He will be known by what He does for the Israelites. The proof that He is will be that His people will be rescued from slavery—and worship Him on the mountain known as Horeb.

“The Lord” is the English translation of Yahweh or “Jehovah”. It comes from the days when strict Jews would not pronounce God’s name, because their lips were unholy. Instead, they took the letters of YHWH and the vowels from “Adonai” (“my Lord”) to make “Jehovah”.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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