Yahweh's Name and Covenant Proclaimed

EXODUS CHAPTER SIX

YAHWEH'S NAME AND COVENANT PROCLAIMED

This chapter records Yahweh's answer to Moses' prayer (ch. 5:22-23). He announces that the time has come for the manifestation of His Name, and the vindication of His promise to deliver the nation. Moses proclaims Yahweh's answer to the people, but they are so discouraged by their problems and miseries that they do not heed. The genealogy of Moses is recorded, and Yahweh's important commission to him renewed.

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Yahweh Proclaims His Intentions To Deliver The People — vv. 1-8.

Despite the disappointment of the people, and the complaints of Moses, God reveals that He has not forsaken them. He reminds Moses of the Covenant Name, and proclaims that the time has come for its significance to be revealed in action.

VERSE 1

"Then Yahweh said unto Moses" —

It is significant to note the time indicated by the opening word "then." It was at a period when Israel had given up in despair; when even Moses had questioned God (Ex. 5:19-23). This situation is typical of a future "time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:3-6) when Israel will despair of relief (Eze. 37:11), but out of which there again shall be deliverance by the hand of the redeemer Yahweh provides, and who bears His Name (Jer. 30:7).

"Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh" — Yahweh calmed the agitation of Moses by renewing the promise of redemption. The title Pharaoh claimed divine power for the king. It signifies The Gift of the Ra, rendered by some as The Servant of the Sun, or, The Child of the Sun. Ra was the sun-god of Egypt. It was against this pagan claim of divine authority that Yahweh was about to vindicate His power.

"For with a strong hand shall he let them go" — The word for "hand" is yad and denotes the open, pointing hand. It is symbolic of power, guidance and direction. Pharaoh would be caused to act in such a way as to urge the people to leave Egypt.

"And with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land" — There would be some urgency in his decree, after Yahweh had brought His judgments to bear upon the land. Thus under extreme pressure, Pharaoh, himself, would "force" the people to leave. See Psa. 136:12; Isa. 63:12.

VERSE 2

"And God said unto him, I am Yahweh" — The divine Name is used four

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times in this declaration of deliverance (see vv. 2, 6-8). As the covenant Name of God, it emphasizes that aspect of the divine revelation (cp. v.4), providing assurance of success for Moses in his mission. That name would later be represented in the four ensigns of the camp of Israel, indicating the divine principle of salvation by which the nation was established (Num. 2). It would ultimately be revealed in the character and life of the "Word made flesh" in his perfect manifestation of the Yahweh-Name (Jn. 17:6).

VERSE 3

"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty" — See note, Gen. 17:1.

"But by My name Yahweh was I not known to them" — The use of "Jehovah" as in the AV is quite unwarranted. It is a Gentile combination of Hebrew consonants and vowels in a way never intended by the Jews, and certainly not in the original text. The original text of Scripture supplied only consonants JTirP; the vowels were added between 600-800ad, the work of Masoretic scholars, notably at Tiberias in Palestine.

In a superstitious regard of the divine Name, Jewish scribes inserted the vowel points of Adonai or Elohim wherever these four consonants representing Yahweh (ΡΠΓΡ, yhwh) occurred. The eye read Yahweh but the voice proclaimed Adonai or Elohim, as the case might be.

There was no intention, originally, that the consonants and vowels should be combined as they are in Jehovah, and the Hebrews never used that form of the Name. The Jewish scribes intentionally wrote alien vowels, not for combination with the consonants or the name, but for the purpose of cautioning the Jewish reader to enunciate a totally different word, namely, some other familiar title of the Most High.

One final comment on the Name. In modern times with men, a name is merely a mark of difference or identification. Not so with God. A person's relationship with

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the One he worships will be governed by his knowledge of His Name, for the significance of the Name is designed to reveal God unto him. If God is known as Ammon, the main idea will be that He is a mystery, a riddle; if it be Shaddai, that He is powerful; if Mazda, that He is wise and bountiful; if merely as God, that He is good, or Lord, that He is a monarch.

The various titles, as El, Elohim, Adonai, Elyon, set forth Yahweh's many and varied attributes and manifestations. His name Yahweh, therefore, pronounces that He will become manifested and revealed in sons and daughters of His choice. It proclaims that He desires worship of such a nature that His attributes and characteristics become revealed in those who bow before Him. His name, Yahweh, therefore, is both His covenant name and His family name. It announces that He is a God who "keepeth covenant and mercy for them who love Him and observe His commandments" (Neh. 1:5), as well as constituting them members of His family (Eph. 3:14-15).

The Lord Jesus both manifested and declared the Name of Yahweh to the apostles (John 17:6, 26) and taught them to pray: "Hallowed be Thy Name."

On the other hand, the false prophets of Israel, were indicted by Yahweh because, as He declared, their teaching caused the people to "forget My name" (Jer. 23:27). The Name of the Father must be treated with understanding and reverence.

VERSE 4

"And I have also established My covenant with them" — This was manifested to their fathers (cp. Gen. 15:18-21; 17:7-8; 26:3; 28:13).

"To give them the land of Canaan" — The men referred to were then dead, but the angel spoke as though they were living, upon which fact, Christ effectively argued the doctrine of bodily resurrection, claiming that "God is not a God of the dead, but of the living," adding "For all live unto Him" (Luke 20:37-38).

But upon what grounds can it be rea-

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soned that dead men already live unto God? On the principle advanced in Romans 4:17, "God quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were." Yahweh can speak thus because of the certainty of accomplishment of those things He proposes to do.

"The land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers" — A pilgrim is a wanderer in a strange, or foreign land, who moves forward with an objective in mind. See note at Gen. 47:9. Whilst such a journey may subject the wanderer to many privations, he remains joyful in anticipation of accomplishing the purpose of his pilgrimage; hence the Psalmist exulted: "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage" (Psa. 119:54). All true saints (separated ones) are strangers and pilgrims in the earth (Heb. 11:13; IPet. 2:11).

VERSE 5

"And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage" — See Ex.

2:24; 3:9. Note the comment of the Psalmist (Psa. 106:44-45), and Yahweh's tender feelings for His people as expressed by Isaiah (ch. 63:9). Now, to Moses, God gives assurance that He will act on behalf of Israel. Moses had remonstrated with Him, but is reminded that Yahweh does not forget the needs of His own people, even though circumstances may appear to imply that He does (see Heb. 13:5-6).

"And I have remembered My covenant" — See Ex. 2:24.

VERSE 6

"Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Yahweh" — This statement identified the Name with the covenant of divine manifestation and redemption of the seed of Abraham.

"And I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians" — In this declaration made on the basis of the covenant confirmed with Abraham, the verb / will occurs seven times. This is appropriate, for, in biblical numerics,

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Evidence Concerning the Pronunciation of the Memorial Name of Yahweh

Paul Haupt, General Editor of The Polychrome Bible states in an article on the Psalms, "The pronunciation Jehovah was unknown until 1520, when it was introduced by Galatinus; but was contested by Le Mercier, J. Drusius, and L. Capellus, as against grammatical and historical propriety." Jehovah therefore is merely a combination of the sacred Tetragrammaton [niPP] and the vowels in the Hebrew word for Lord, Adonai ['3"1N], which the Jews substituted for Yhwh because they shrank from pronouncing the Name, owing to a misconception of Ex. 20:7 and Lev. 24:16.

In The Emphasised Bible, Rotherham considers this matter at length in an introduction explaining why he restored Yahweh to the text of his translation. He declares that to give the Name Yhwh the vowels of the word Lord (Heb. Adonai) and pronounce it Jehovah, is about as hybrid a combination as it would be to spell the name Germany with the vowels in the name Portugal, namely Gormuna.

He concludes: "From this we may gather that the Jewish scribes are not responsible for the 'hybrid' combination. They intentionally wrote alien vowels — not for combination with the sacred consonants, but for the purpose of cautioning the Jewish reader to enunciate a totally different word, namely, some other familiar name oftheMostHigh."(p. 25).

The name Yahweh occurs some seven thousand times in the OT, but, apart from a few occasions, it has been suppressed and rendered by being printed as Lord or God. An example of this is found in Ezekiel 38:1-3. The word Lord occurs twice in this passage, but on the first occasion it is printed in small capitals (v. 1 = Lord), and on the second occasion, in the lower case (v. 3 = Lord).

Again, the word God is used twice in Eze. 37:27 and 38:3. On the first occasion it is printed in the lower case, and on the second occasion in small capitals. The latter [Lord] is to indicate that the original Hebrew word is Yahweh, and is identified wherever the words Lord or God are printed in small capitals [Lord, God].

How could the angel declare to Moses that the divine Name was unknown to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, seeing that it occurs frequently in Genesis? In our notes on Ex. 3:14 we pointed out that the name Yahweh is built up of the Hebrew verb havah mn, denoting "to become." The verb was in common use among Hebrews, and as God had proclaimed His future purpose from the beginning, He might well be referred to as He Who Will Become, the basic meaning of Yahweh, and later so indicated by Moses in his records. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob may well have applied such a title to Him without knowing that God intended this to become known as His memorial Name. This fact is shown by the refusal of the angel to disclose that Name to Jacob when he had enquired as to what it was (see Gen. 32:29).

The proclamation of the Name at the time of Moses, therefore, was a new and important development. It indicated that God was about to move on the behalf of His people in a way that would be an object lesson for all time, "unto all generations" (Ex. 3:15). His future intentions are indicated in the repetition of the declaration / will in context with the proclamation of the Name, and in setting forth His intentions on behalf of His people (v. 6), constituting them as His family (v. 7), and providing them with the heritage of Abraham (v. 8). After stating this, He proclaimed the formula: / am Yahweh!

The real significance of the Name is beautifully expounded in Phanerosis and Eureka. We add here a confirming comment from The Emphasised Bible:

"Men's names are throughout the Scriptures fraught with significance, enshrining historical incidents, biographical reminiscences, and so forth; and why should the

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Name of the Ever-Blessed be an exception to this rule? Does not the Almighty Himself employ this Name of His as though it had in it some self-evident force and fitness to reveal His nature and unfold His ways? His Name is continually adduced by Himself as His reason for what He does and what He commands: 'For I am Yahweh.' Israel and the nations are placed under discipline, says the Divine Speaker, 'that they may know that I am Yahweh.' Is it not probable, then, that His Name was intended to be understood? Thus encouraged, we proceed, only requesting that the exposition which follows may be regarded as an individual opinion respectfully submitted:

"(a) The conclusion formed may be thus expressed: The name itself signifies, 'He who becometh:' and the formula by which that significance is sustained and which is rendered in the AV. Ί am that I am,' expresses the sense, Ί will become whatsoever I please'; or, as more exactly indicating the idiom involved, Ί will become whatsoever I may become.' We amplify the 'may,' and more freely suggest the natural latitude which the idiom claims, by saying: 'Whatsoever I will, may, or can become.'

"(b) The reasons for this conclusion are two: First, that it gives the simplest, most obvious, most direct force to the derivation of the Name itself, as generally admitted. Yahweh is almost always regarded as the third person, singular, masculine, imperfect tense, from the root hawah, an old form of the root hayah. The one meaning of hawah is 'become.' So that the force of Yahweh thus derived, as a verb, would be 'He will become'; or, as expressive of use and wont, 'He becometh.' Then, passing into use as a noun, it is: 'He who becometh,' 'The Becoming One.' That is precisely how any other Hebrew name would be formed and would yield up its inherent significance. Thus viewed, its human-like simplicity would be its great recommendation. If the Eternal would speak to man so as to be understood, we seem compelled to expect that He will speak after the manner of men. And if, after the manner of users, He pleases to make and bear a Name, it would seem the very perfection of condescension that His Name should be formed after the manner of men's names. Second, the sense of the formula given above is very simply and idiomatically obtained. The formula itself is ehyeh asher ehyeh, in which it should be noted that the verb ehyeh, Ί will become,' runs forward into a reduplication of itself; for it is that which constitutes the idiom. As a mere repetition, the assertion would be unmeaning. To escape this we must resort to mystery or imagination or — idiom. How, if the mystery itself is imaginary; and where is imagination to end? How is it to be reduced to any trusty significance? Would it not be more humble and childlike to be prepared to find that the All-wise and All-loving is simply addressing us in an idiom of our own? We have many such idiomatic formulas even in English: Ί will speak what I will speak,' and the like. Only after the manner of our tongue, we avoid the semblance of meaningless repetition by emphasising the auxiliary verb: Ί will speak what I will speak' — my mind is made up; or I will speak what I can, may, must speak' according to need and opportunity. Now, in Hebrew, the future (imperfect or incipient) tense (the one used here) is freely employed to express mood; in other words, to convey those nicer shades of thought which in English are conveyed by such helping words as 'will,' 'can,' 'may,' 'could,' 'would,' 'might,' 'must.' The only question is whether we can assure ourselves that we are not acting fancifully in resorting to that principle of interpretation in the important statement before us. Have we any examples of such an idiom finding place where, as in Ex. 3:14, a word is folded back upon itself? As a matter of fact, we have in the Old Testament at least three examples in which the recognition of this simple idiom brings out an excellent sense, and in which the Authorised Version leads the way (followed by the Revised) in so expressing the sense."

The three examples supplied by Rotherham are those of ISam. 23:13; 2Sam. 15:20; 2Kings 8:1. He then continues: "We thus gain all needful countenance for the

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idiomatic explication of Ex. 3:14, Ί will become whatsoever I will — may — can — become.' The only difficulty is to suggest the suitable latitude, without multiplying words and without violating any known characteristic of the Speaker. Perhaps the best word on this momentous occasion is: 'what I please,' since we know that the divine resources are infinite, and that God will please to become to His people only what is wisest and best. Thus viewed, the formula becomes a most gracious promise; the divine capacity of adaptation to any circumstances, any difficulties, any necessities that may arise, becomes a veritable bank of faith to such as love God and keep His commandments. The formula is a promise, the promise is concentrated in a Name. The Name is at once a revelation, a memorial, a pledge. To this Name, God will ever be faithful; of it He will never be ashamed; by it He may ever be truthfully proclaimed and gratefully praised: 'This is My Name to times age-abiding, and this My Memorial to generation after generation' (Exo. 3:15)."

Seven is representative of the covenant (Heb. sheva).

Further: there is certainty expressed in this promise of Yahweh; it will be fulfilled. Therefore faith must take hold of that assurance in relation to divine promises, acknowledging that they will be fulfilled even though circumstances might suggest the opposite, or cause a delay in the performance.