Exodus 6:2
Verse
Context
God Promises Deliverance
1But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”2God also told Moses, “I am the LORD. 3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.
Sermons
J. Vernon McGeeSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
I am the Lord - It should be, I am Jehovah, and without this the reason of what is said in the 3d verse is not sufficiently obvious.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
And God spake unto Moses--For his further encouragement, there was made to him an emphatic repetition of the promise (Exo 3:20).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord. Or Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the everlasting I am, the unchangeable Jehovah, true, firm, and constant to his promises, ever to be believed, and always to be depended on. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord. Or Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the everlasting I am, the unchangeable Jehovah, true, firm, and constant to his promises, ever to be believed, and always to be depended on. Exodus 6:3 exo 6:3 exo 6:3 exo 6:3And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty,.... Able to fulfil all his purposes, promises, and covenant, with whom nothing is impossible; or Elshaddai, God all-sufficient, who has a sufficiency of happiness in himself, and everything to supply the wants of his creatures in things temporal and spiritual, see Gen 17:1, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them; which he had in the preceding verse called himself by. This is not to be understood absolutely; for it is certain that he had made himself known by this name, and this name was known unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Gen 15:6, and but comparatively, as some think; that is, he was not so much made known to them by the one name as the other; though it may be questioned whether the one was more used in speaking to them than the other; wherefore others think, as Saadiah Gaon, that the word only is to be supplied, as in Gen 32:28 and the sense to be, that by his name Jehovah he was not only made known to them, but by his name Elshaddai, and others also; and others reconcile the difficulty thus, that though the name Jehovah itself was known to the patriarchs, by which they were assured that God is eternal, immutable, and faithful to his promises; yet he was not known as to the efficacy of this name, or with respect to the actual performance of his promise, as he now would be by delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt, and bringing them into the land of Canaan; though perhaps, by reading the words with an interrogation, the clause will appear more plain, "and by my name Jehovah was I not known to them?" (t) verily I was. Josephus (u) says, this name was not before made known to men, and that it was not lawful for a man to speak it; and this is the common notion of the Jews, that it is ineffable, and not lawful to be pronounced, and therefore they put Adonai and Elohim in the room of it, and the vowel points of these words to it, which is a false and superstitious notion: this name was known among the Heathens; it is the same with in the oracle of Apollo (w); and Diodorus Siculus (x) says, that with the Jews Moses is said to give laws from a God called "IAO", and is the same which in Philo Byblius (y) is called Jevo; and both are no other than a corruption of Jah or Jehovah; and perhaps the of the Pythagoreans (z), by which they swore, is the same with the tetragrammaton, or this word of four letters, with the Jews. (t) Vid. Noldium, No. 788. (u) Antiqu. l. 2. c. 12. sect. 4. (w) Cornelius Labeo de oraculo Apoll. Clarii apud Macrob. Saturnal. l. 1. c. 18. (x) Bibliothoc. l. 1. p. 84. (y) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 9. p. 31. (z) Carmin. Aurea Pythagor. l. 47. & Hierocles in ib. p. 225, 277. Porphyr. de Vita Pythagor. p. 189.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
6:2-8 Once again, God forcefully linked his promises to the patriarchs (Abraham’s family) with what he was about to do. God’s work in history shows his faithfulness. He has made promises, and he will keep them. God also wished to reveal more of himself than he had been able to do with the patriarchs. This generation would know more of God and his intentions than Abraham had, particularly regarding the implications of the covenant (6:4-5). Why does God redeem (6:6)? Why did he reveal himself to Abraham in the first place? God wanted the Israelites to be his own people, and he wanted to be their God (6:7). God’s goal is for humanity to be in a lovingly submissive covenant relationship with him, where we can be what he made us to be. 6:2-3 I am Yahweh . . . El-Shaddai: Here the NLT transliterates the divine names Yahweh and El-Shaddai because God was emphasizing that he was now using a different name than the name by which he was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To assist the English reader, the translators have also supplied the English terms usually used for these Hebrew terms: “the Lord” and “God Almighty.” • I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them: The name Yahweh in fact appears frequently in Genesis (translated “the Lord”). Two solutions are possible: (1) The name Yahweh was not known to the patriarchs, but Moses, the author of Genesis, was inspired to insert that name in those places in Genesis where God’s grace and his nature as covenant-keeper were apparent. While the patriarchs might have known the name Yahweh, it is possible that they had never seen God’s nature displayed as it was in the Exodus and the Sinai covenant. In Hebrew, a person’s name has a broader significance than it does in English. People’s names were intended to reflect their character and nature, not just serve as a label (see, e.g., Pss 8:1, 9; 148:13). Here reveal is a Hebrew word often translated “to know,” which implies intimate knowledge and experience. In this case, the patriarchs knew God’s name, but they did not know and experience his nature fully as he revealed himself in the Exodus.
Exodus 6:2
God Promises Deliverance
1But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”2God also told Moses, “I am the LORD. 3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
I am the Lord - It should be, I am Jehovah, and without this the reason of what is said in the 3d verse is not sufficiently obvious.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
And God spake unto Moses--For his further encouragement, there was made to him an emphatic repetition of the promise (Exo 3:20).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord. Or Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the everlasting I am, the unchangeable Jehovah, true, firm, and constant to his promises, ever to be believed, and always to be depended on. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord. Or Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the everlasting I am, the unchangeable Jehovah, true, firm, and constant to his promises, ever to be believed, and always to be depended on. Exodus 6:3 exo 6:3 exo 6:3 exo 6:3And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty,.... Able to fulfil all his purposes, promises, and covenant, with whom nothing is impossible; or Elshaddai, God all-sufficient, who has a sufficiency of happiness in himself, and everything to supply the wants of his creatures in things temporal and spiritual, see Gen 17:1, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them; which he had in the preceding verse called himself by. This is not to be understood absolutely; for it is certain that he had made himself known by this name, and this name was known unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Gen 15:6, and but comparatively, as some think; that is, he was not so much made known to them by the one name as the other; though it may be questioned whether the one was more used in speaking to them than the other; wherefore others think, as Saadiah Gaon, that the word only is to be supplied, as in Gen 32:28 and the sense to be, that by his name Jehovah he was not only made known to them, but by his name Elshaddai, and others also; and others reconcile the difficulty thus, that though the name Jehovah itself was known to the patriarchs, by which they were assured that God is eternal, immutable, and faithful to his promises; yet he was not known as to the efficacy of this name, or with respect to the actual performance of his promise, as he now would be by delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt, and bringing them into the land of Canaan; though perhaps, by reading the words with an interrogation, the clause will appear more plain, "and by my name Jehovah was I not known to them?" (t) verily I was. Josephus (u) says, this name was not before made known to men, and that it was not lawful for a man to speak it; and this is the common notion of the Jews, that it is ineffable, and not lawful to be pronounced, and therefore they put Adonai and Elohim in the room of it, and the vowel points of these words to it, which is a false and superstitious notion: this name was known among the Heathens; it is the same with in the oracle of Apollo (w); and Diodorus Siculus (x) says, that with the Jews Moses is said to give laws from a God called "IAO", and is the same which in Philo Byblius (y) is called Jevo; and both are no other than a corruption of Jah or Jehovah; and perhaps the of the Pythagoreans (z), by which they swore, is the same with the tetragrammaton, or this word of four letters, with the Jews. (t) Vid. Noldium, No. 788. (u) Antiqu. l. 2. c. 12. sect. 4. (w) Cornelius Labeo de oraculo Apoll. Clarii apud Macrob. Saturnal. l. 1. c. 18. (x) Bibliothoc. l. 1. p. 84. (y) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 9. p. 31. (z) Carmin. Aurea Pythagor. l. 47. & Hierocles in ib. p. 225, 277. Porphyr. de Vita Pythagor. p. 189.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
6:2-8 Once again, God forcefully linked his promises to the patriarchs (Abraham’s family) with what he was about to do. God’s work in history shows his faithfulness. He has made promises, and he will keep them. God also wished to reveal more of himself than he had been able to do with the patriarchs. This generation would know more of God and his intentions than Abraham had, particularly regarding the implications of the covenant (6:4-5). Why does God redeem (6:6)? Why did he reveal himself to Abraham in the first place? God wanted the Israelites to be his own people, and he wanted to be their God (6:7). God’s goal is for humanity to be in a lovingly submissive covenant relationship with him, where we can be what he made us to be. 6:2-3 I am Yahweh . . . El-Shaddai: Here the NLT transliterates the divine names Yahweh and El-Shaddai because God was emphasizing that he was now using a different name than the name by which he was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To assist the English reader, the translators have also supplied the English terms usually used for these Hebrew terms: “the Lord” and “God Almighty.” • I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them: The name Yahweh in fact appears frequently in Genesis (translated “the Lord”). Two solutions are possible: (1) The name Yahweh was not known to the patriarchs, but Moses, the author of Genesis, was inspired to insert that name in those places in Genesis where God’s grace and his nature as covenant-keeper were apparent. While the patriarchs might have known the name Yahweh, it is possible that they had never seen God’s nature displayed as it was in the Exodus and the Sinai covenant. In Hebrew, a person’s name has a broader significance than it does in English. People’s names were intended to reflect their character and nature, not just serve as a label (see, e.g., Pss 8:1, 9; 148:13). Here reveal is a Hebrew word often translated “to know,” which implies intimate knowledge and experience. In this case, the patriarchs knew God’s name, but they did not know and experience his nature fully as he revealed himself in the Exodus.