Exodus 3:13

13 And Moses said to God, Behold, I shall go forth to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of our fathers has sent me to you; and they will ask me, What is his name? What shall I say to them?

Exodus 3:13 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 3:13

And Moses said unto God
Having received full satisfaction to his objection, taken from his own unfitness for such a service, and willing to have his way quite clear unto him, and his commission appear firm and valid to his people, he proceeds to observe another difficulty that might possibly arise: when I come unto the children of Israel:
out of Midian into Egypt; and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you;
with a message to them to receive him as his ambassador and their deliverer: and they shall say unto me, what is his name?
a question it was probable they would ask, not through ignorance, since in their distress they had called upon the name of the Lord, and cried unto him for help and deliverance; but either to try Moses, and what knowledge he had of God: or there being many names by which he had made himself known; and especially was wont to make use of a new name or title when he made a new appearance, or any eminent discovery of himself, they might be desirous of knowing what was the present name he took: what shall I say unto them?
what name shall I make mention of?

Exodus 3:13 In-Context

11 And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharao king of Egypt, and that I should bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt?

12 And God spoke to Moses, saying, I will be with thee, and this shall be the sign to thee that I shall send thee forth, —when thou bringest out my people out of Egypt, then ye shall serve God in this mountain.

13 And Moses said to God, Behold, I shall go forth to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of our fathers has sent me to you; and they will ask me, What is his name? What shall I say to them?

14 And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING; and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you.

15 And God said again to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, The Lord God of our fathers, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name for ever, and my memorial to generations of generations.